Grizzled...

Hello All,
Here am I sharing my thought on the decrepit people of India...

Bang! I bump into a friend of mine. We meet after a very long time and both were little free at the moment so decided to catch up over the coffee. The aroma of coffee filled our nostrils as we caught with each others life. Talking further with him, I realized, he is currently running an old age home simultaneously to his other job. I got interested in that and dig deep about it. So here is summary of what discussion we had then.

They had around 50 beds for accommodation. Of that 47 has been occupied. Most of them single parent being lost their partner in the middle of journey! He talks to me of their varying ages ranging from 62 to 98. They have monthly doctor visit for check up of resident. A common area for recreational activities where they conduct yoga classes, laughter club. Plus once every quarterly they conduct some games and competitions for residents where they call inspirational achievers from various fields. This was about the environment of the facility.

A note on physical health of the resident, he tells me thus about it. They have a kitchen which is cleaned every night after everyone's dinner. Cooking is ensured in a hygienic processes like washing hands and vegetables before cooking, use of caps and gloves and more. The storage room is also cleaned frequently and kept well away from pests. Plus the organization doctors visit them often and cost no charge for routine check up. 

Finally, I ask him if all the residents are happy and enjoying the stay. He glares at me for being so silly. Then he continues though to tell me about their mental health. They make sure all of them sit together for dinner every night. They kept the phone number of the guardian, usually children and call them to visit often. But the response from other end is mostly pathetic to be heard. They provide every possible faculty that could keep a man happy and yet the inmates seems to be torn. They cry in silence, wipe tears in happy moments and feel lonely even with so much facilities. All the luxury of would seems to cease with the feeling that you aren't wanted by family anymore.

We sat there in silence with our hearts heavy. Each on the thought process of how we are outnumbering those because of whom we are alive, how we grow so much to outgrow our parents and how our we have been running away from basic humanity of being there for the ones who have helped us to live. He had a new idea of trying to involve the guardians more with the inmates and I had a fresh perception of being kind to my parents. We parted with a new lesson not just for us but also for everyone to share...

[Author's Note : This happens to be an imaginary story. Since the old age home I visit did not have any of the facilities above. I felt very bad and pity on the plight of the inmates. I felt they need much more than all the stuff. So I am here trying to imagine what all could be given so that they could be kept happier. But then again they can never be happy mentally of course!!!]