Aged persons don’t deserve to be neglected, abused or abandoned THE essential values of Indian culture and tradition are learnt through families. Throughout our childhood we are taught to respect elders and gestures such as touching their feet are practised out of respect. Even now, joint family systems exist and are valued where three or…
Aristophanes once referred to old age as a “second childhood”. This statement has stayed with mankind even after centuries of the writer’s passing away, probably because of the crisp truth it offers. The elderly, with their bodies beginning to give in to old age, indeed enter into a stage of second infancy. They need a…
Listening to music, little did I realise when I nodded off on the bus to Bijapur. A call from an unknown number woke me up but I was feeling too drowsy to answer. When the person called for a third time, I figured that I should answer. “Hello, I’m Shyamala from Spurthi Mahila Mandal,” came…
It all started in the year 1981 when Ms. Shyamala Vardarajan, the founder of Spurthi Mahila Mandal (SMM) relocated to Bijapur from Chennai after marriage. With a Masters in Botany, she joined The Aided College in Bijapur as a professor. Shyamala was an active volunteer back in Chennai, always ready to get involved with social…
“Old people are pressure cookers, ready to burst any moment if pressure is not handled at the right time.” – Himanshu Rath, Founder, Agewell Foundation. Himanshu has a new definition for retirement. “I’m done with earning money for livelihood now. I have saved enough and sometimes I do freelancing. I want to focus on something…
A fifteen minute autorickshaw ride in scorching heat from South Delhi to a two-storied office building in the city’s suburb of Lajpat Nagar seemed worthwhile after I met Himanshu Rath, the founder of Agewell Foundation. Himanshu’s professional journalistic roots were immediately evident in the large piles of books neatly arranged in all corners of his…
Mr. Barua, the founder of Bavada Devi Memorial Philanthropic Trust (SENEH), used to be part of the Airforce. Bavada Devi was his mother and ‘SENEH’ translates to mother’s love in Assamese. His work took him to many places and he had seen the whole of India by the early 90s. In 1999, he took voluntary…
Old-Age Home: A grey-haired man who thinks he is 12 years old, since he is stuck in the past because of a traumatic incident in his teenage years. An elderly man who is stuck in his childhood after a snake scared him. A weak, senile man who was found on the road appallingly sick with…
It was my first trip to Pune and little did I realize it was going to be such a memorable one. Amidst heavy rains, I boarded a bus at the ever-crowded Dadar for the Maharashtrian capital. It turned out to be a three and half hour serene journey as the monsoons made the ride through…
by Yashika Sharma Started in 1999 as emergency blood phone help line, Sarthak Prayas now works for four majorcauses —creating the longest chain of emergency blood donors, providing education and human values to children, giving benefits to senior citizens, and greening the environment for future generations. Mission Save Life, which is their dream project, is…