As the summer vacations are nearing to an end, I'm trying to checkmark all the plan made. So on a fine Friday night, instead of the usual gang of friends, I decided to stay over at my grandma's house. She was simply delighted, and I packed my bags and left. On reaching and staying over there for a night, I came to certain realisations: Grandparents are usually extremely lonely and bored.
Well, grandma had an old phonograph, so I was fiddling with it and playing some really old 1960-70s tracks (Bengali songs, loads of Rabindra Tagore compositions, and a few Russian and Italian opera vinyls), and they seemed pretty good. After a hearty dinner and a long chat about life at the hostel and college, along Grandmotherly advice, it was getting late and we all decided to sleep. My Grandma didn't have any WiFi, so I was completely cut off from the net. And I found some great books nad comics "Xmen: Evolution" and "Spidergirl". These were nostalgic as I had read these 10-8 years back. Grandparent's houses can be nostalgia dens, quite literally. Later I had dozed off, packed my things, thanked Grandma and her help for all the fun, and headed back home.
There's been a steady rise in old-age or "retirement" homes, especially in India. The usual Reasons being: Lack of respect towards parents, Excessive job pressures of sons and daughters, Lack of time to give proper care, etc (Source). It's sad, depressing and haunting, because a large number of parents have spend their entire lifespan to mold their children, to prepare them for the world, fueling their education and job by the money earned by decades of sweat and toil. This Hindu Post highlights some of the pain face and endured by some of our senior citizens. The Indian Government has "The Rights to older Persons", laws which are the entitlements and independence claimed for senior citizens, persons aged over 60 years (in India); these are some of the fundamental rights in India. Among the different laws, there is one, Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007 (Wiki link).
Well, grandma had an old phonograph, so I was fiddling with it and playing some really old 1960-70s tracks (Bengali songs, loads of Rabindra Tagore compositions, and a few Russian and Italian opera vinyls), and they seemed pretty good. After a hearty dinner and a long chat about life at the hostel and college, along Grandmotherly advice, it was getting late and we all decided to sleep. My Grandma didn't have any WiFi, so I was completely cut off from the net. And I found some great books nad comics "Xmen: Evolution" and "Spidergirl". These were nostalgic as I had read these 10-8 years back. Grandparent's houses can be nostalgia dens, quite literally. Later I had dozed off, packed my things, thanked Grandma and her help for all the fun, and headed back home.There's been a steady rise in old-age or "retirement" homes, especially in India. The usual Reasons being: Lack of respect towards parents, Excessive job pressures of sons and daughters, Lack of time to give proper care, etc (Source). It's sad, depressing and haunting, because a large number of parents have spend their entire lifespan to mold their children, to prepare them for the world, fueling their education and job by the money earned by decades of sweat and toil. This Hindu Post highlights some of the pain face and endured by some of our senior citizens. The Indian Government has "The Rights to older Persons", laws which are the entitlements and independence claimed for senior citizens, persons aged over 60 years (in India); these are some of the fundamental rights in India. Among the different laws, there is one, Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007 (Wiki link).
Everyone requires love and care, especially the ones who watched over you with a great deal of love when you were young and fragile. Some times, we should extend our helping hands to spread love and peace.
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