INDIA BEATS
The spirit of giving
R. SUJATHA
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Set up in 1782, the Monegar choultry continues to function as a home for the elderly destitute.
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It was set up in 1782 to feed the poor during the great famine. Today, it is home to elders rejected by their family.
Fruitful enterprise: These elderly men are cared for by generous benefactors. PHOTO: V. GANESAN
IT is a rare saga of the kindness of human spirit that has survived government changes across the centuries. The story of Monegar Choultry is about the spirit of giving that is ingrained in the Indian psyche. Though government officials continue to hold positions of power, it is the kind benefactors who have helped sustain the shelter.
For nearly 225 years, a small asylum near Stanley Medical College in Mint (Royapuram), Chennai, has been functioning as a shelter for the destitute. It was set up in 1782 to feed the poor during the great famine that rocked Madras from 1781 to 1784. Today it is home to elders rejected by their family.
The Monegar Choultry owes its name to a village headman (maniakaran) who ran a gruel centre for the poor. The British funded this choultry during the famine. At the asylum, the native `Black' population was served rice kanji in bowls. In later years, the shelter continued to receive funds from wealthy men and business houses such as Parry, Best and Binny. When conditions improved the Government took over and set up an infirmary. The asylum was shifted out and the Monegar Choultry Hospital was set up.
The choultry was renamed and became Rajah of Venkatagiri's Choultry. The asylum has 65 inmates, 35 of them women. "We do not admit anyone below 60 and who has a family," says M. Vasu, the manager, who has been serving here for the past 20 years.
The asylum has a board of directors headed by the Chennai Collector and the top officials of the city police and Corporation. The dean of Government Stanley Hospital is the treasurer. But funding continues to come largely from the nearby Marwari and the Gujarati families. R. Bhavani joined the asylum as a geriatric assistant in the early 1980s and remembers the old building. "It was like an ashram. Only rice kanji was served then. In the afternoon it was sambar and rice. Only if there was donation, rice would be given. Now we get good (quality) rice." The inmates get a sumptuous breakfast of idli/dosa/pongal and a nutritious meal for lunch and dinner. Tea is served at breakfast and in the afternoon biscuits are served with tea. "We also receive fresh fruits and vegetables as donations. Six to eight days in a month they are served payasam and vadai for lunch."
A television set has been installed in each dormitory. Sai Baba devotees organise lecture sessions and a few other volunteers help with the residents' spiritual needs. Most of the inmates help Kamalamma with her daily chores in keeping the asylum clean. Kamalamma is 74 and has served at the asylum for 34 years. "I used to cook when we had mud stoves. The new gas stoves scare me." She assists the new cook in his work in the kitchen, complete with pipeline gas supply.
Residents water plants, dust office rooms and tend the garden. Despite its proximity to the hospital, the elderly men and women have to get admitted for treatment. The hospital rules require that every patient should have an attendant. Mr. Vasu feels volunteers could help by sitting with patients. At present the inmates help each other but they are too old and frail. One of the rules of the asylum is that relatives will not receive the body after death. It is handed over to the Anatomy Department of the StanleyMedical College.
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