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Autumn of life, spring in the step
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In the wake of "Baghban", NEETA SINGH ANAND gives her take on the plight of our senior citizens, with a wish in her heart.
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WHEN ONE sees an aged yet love-struck Amitabh Bachchan reiterating his affection for his wife on Valentine's Day in the film "Baghban", a silent query visits the mind. Is he not too old after all, for all this? Conditioned as we are by our social system, being old in body yet young at heart somehow does not fit well. And, with the present-day hectic life of more money and less space at home, growing nonchalance of the younger generation to sentiments of the family elders, plus lack of a good support system, life is not so easy for our senior citizens. "Baghban" no doubt shows some extreme situations but nonetheless, producer Ravi Chopra does throw up a valid point to ponder.
Almost 70 million people in India are above the age of 60, and seldom are their issues taken up by our leaders seriously. Every other day we get to see headlines in newspapers of old couples getting murdered in their homes. And yet we think each case is an aberration. What is hardly discussed is their failing health, financial difficulties, loneliness, and their changing role in urban families. For the nearly 3,500 widows of Vrindavan, is not life a constant pain to be endured? And what about the other deprived old individuals who have virtually no access to health care and are neglected by their own family in the autumn of their lives. The biggest lacuna in that little media coverage they get is lack of details about their rights and the legal points one can resort to in case of their violation.
Involved all their life in raising their children and carving out their careers, most do not realise that they have entered the senior citizen bracket until retirement day nears. The joint family system enables the old to retain their status. But many have now opted to live in small families. The large majority of families are under stress of either making money, time or space.
But does it actually need to be so indescribably grim for our older citizens? Do we need to underestimate the capacity of the human mind and the body to kick start, even when the prospects seem most wretched?
Well, not really. Many are of course not as fortunate as Bachchan in "Baghban" to become suddenly rich and famous but even then, there are options. There are still many NGOs organising older people into self-help groups to enable them to earn a living by involving them in an activity their age permits. HelpAge, Age Care and other organisations encourage senior citizens constantly to take up the traditional livelihood system. Also, there are several financial options now to save a penny or two for that rainy day if you are nearing retirement from work. A little planning today can make tomorrow less troublesome and more independent.
Added to this, if a little love and care from the younger generation chance to lace their life, that would indeed be the icing on the cake. So then, this is an effort towards bridging the widening gap: Generation X...you need to realise that even in old age, our elders have very wonderful things to offer. They have lived many seasons and very well know the art of living. All they need is a little affection. And, you know that!
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