BANGALORE: However good an old-age home may be, it cannot be a substitute to the care provided by the near and dear ones.

Chennai-based Nandini Voice for the Deprived (nandinivoice.org) has made it a mission to sensitise people in the country about the need to care of their parents.

N.S. Venaktaraman, himself a senior citizen, has started this organisation.

Because of advances in the field of medical sciences, life expectancy is increasing.

The collapse of the joint family system and poverty have made it impossible for the aged to make both ends meet. Mr. Venaktaraman says the elderly, even if both husband and life survive, are weak and fatigued.

If one of them was bereaved, the surviving person's condition is far worse, both economically and emotionally.

Little time to spare

As individuals get busy with life, they find little time to spend with their aged parents, he says.

The relationships get need-based and the aged are made to feel important in the family only as long as they take care of the young children, he says.

He has called for a sensitisation campaign so that people understand that taking care of the aged parents is a noble task.

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