Dear Friends I had the opportunity to stay here for a day -- wonderful experience.
Follwoing is the article published in HT-Mumbai:
Life begins at 75
A youthful zest for life was in ample evidence at an old-age home
Cheery laughter drew us to Athasree's vegetable patch... Friendly
teasing blended with conviviality as arthritic hands tended individual
patches
Radha Nair
ON THE invitation of a friend 75 years young, on a crisp October
morning, I went to Athasree. I was prepared for knots of elderly
people in chairs lined against walls, clinging to each other for
comfort from the cruel vacuum created by their twilight years.
Instead, I came away feeling older than all of them put together! The
best thing about Athasree, a home for senior citizens, is that it has
the necessary peace and tranquility, along with a certain air of
liveliness created by its residents. They eagerly dress up for special
evenings set aside for poetry readings. They love their musical
soirees and only expect dance recitals under a star studded sky in
their own amphitheatre. For rainy days they have the choice of a game
of snooker or Bridge Lunch I found was delicious, with lots of
nutritious, tasty food cooked the Maharashtrian way. Looking across
the tables, I found the hearty way they balanced food and murmured
appreciation of this and that, clearly gave away their contentment.
I also noticed the natural way, a gentleman excused himself from his
jolly, allmale group, to join a lady having her lunch alone. Soon her
meal was something else, enlivened by agreeable companionship. Never
did I think that spontaneity of this kind could give a glow to an
ordinary afternoon. In fact that gesture of care made them young once
again.
After lunch there were those, who took out from a pocket or purse,
boiled sweets which went round in handfuls. Some left for their rooms
for their forty winks. Others drifted to a library, with its much
thumbed collection of books of all the residents. The tiny room had a
little balcony, commanding an unexpected view of rustic charm. The
chairs in the library were deliberately placed to encourage, as much
the pleasure of reading as also lively debate.
After tea in my friend's flat, we decided to go down. Cheery laughter
drew us to Athasree's vegetable patch. "Look at my brinjals, real
beauties are they not? Arrey what has happened to your sad tomato
patch?" Friendly teasing blended with lots of conviviality, as
arthritic hands tended individual patches.
Evening constitutionals in the flower-scented lawns included the
special pause on the benches, invitingly placed to view the blue hills
and listen to "the drone of the beetle.
Turning a corner just before I left, I saw a bunch of men in their
mid-sixties, become boys of ten. The most satisfying thing they found
was a bet of Rs 10, for anyone who dared to sit on top of a pile of
chairs. Without hesitation, one of them sprang up to a round of hearty
applause.
At Athasree, their zest for life is as inspirational as these lines:
"The woods are lovely, dark and deep, And I have promises to keep, And
miles to go before I sleep, And miles to go before I sleep." Radha
Nair is a Pune-based writer
Publication : HT; Section: Oped page; Pg : 11; Date : 7/11/07
Dr P Vyasamoorthy,
Society for Serving Seniors
30, Gruhalakshmi Colony, Secunderabad 500015
Phone 27846631 / 94908 04278
http://societyforservingseniors.satyamcsr.org
Forget yourself for others, and others will never forget you.
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