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True to the meaning of Vishranthi, peace is what the residents at the home enjoy, says Prince Frederick
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Photos: M. Karunakaran
GREY Spells GRACE The residents at Vishranthi
Until we arrive at the doorstep of Vishranthi (at Pallavakkam), we are unaware that chairperson Savithri Vaithi was widowed just four days ago. She smiles weakly as she waves us to our seats. When you run a shelter for senior citizens, you get used to the idea of death. For years, Savithri has comforted residents at Vishranthi whenever one of them has passed away. Regular work, however, has never been disrupted because of loss.
Today, it is obvious there are no double standards. She goes about her daily duties with the usual commitment. Her swollen face, however, betrays the sorrow in her heart.
Her husband Vaithi’s demise has shattered the residents, but they keep a stiff upper lip, pretending that everything is normal. But one of them, Kaveri, breaks down as she talks about him. Then, the 96-year-old talks about her own life, her fears about the future, shuttling between the present and the past. Forsaken by her family, she has sheltered for 24 years in this old age home at Pallavakkam. True to the meaning of Vishranthi, Kaveri has found ’peace’ here.
As we do the rounds, we hear many stories. Some convey the pain of old age. Some, the resilience of the human spirit. And some, the healing power of compassion. Not all inmates at Vishranthi are destitute old women being offered food and shelter for free. We visit a short stay home, where aged women can stay for three months by paying Rs. 2,500 a month. Eighty-year-old A.R. Indira, professor of Tamil at Ethiraj College between 1948 and 1969, has undergone multiple operations on her fractured limbs. A spinster, she opted for a temporary stay at Vishranthi. But, as things turned out, her stay got extended because of her literary pursuits. As she was attempting to translate Virgil’s “Aeneid”, Homer’s “Ulysses” and Dante’s “The Divine Comedy” into Tamil, the Board decided she could use the peaceful atmosphere of the short stay home to concentrate better on her work. Slightly daunted by the task she has taken up, Indira nevertheless is determined to go all out.
From this cheerful start, we rapidly descend to a gloomy atmosphere. At the block set aside for women with Parkinson’s Syndrome and other mind-related problems, the blank stares are distressing. Some of the women have to be bathed. Lost in their own world, they make a painful sight. Suffering from a compulsive-obsessive disorder, one woman is consumed by the fear of voodoo and tries to shake off an evil charm placed in her clothes.
But this scene is nothing compared to those at the sick ward. A full-fledged team of doctors and nurses hop from one section to another based on requirement, but the Intensive Medical Care Unit (IMCU) provides round-the-clock attention to senior citizens recovering from major health problems and those with mobility problems. Some of the patients are put through physiotherapy.
Laughter is also heard down the corridors of Vishrathi. Musicians like V.V.T. Srinivasan organise entertainment programmes for the women in a huge hall. Now, old women gathered around the television are full of toothless grins as they watch a comedy scene from “Annamalai”.
As they are blissfully lost in the film, you can’t help wondering if they have any care in the world. With an adequately staffed kitchen, a medical unit and a washing section, the ailing need not lift their finger to have their needs met.
And the healthy ones go about their work as they used to at their houses. They pluck flowers, sweep the floor and wash their clothes. This is work meant to keep them occupied and exercise their limbs.
Ninety-six-year-old Kaveri sums up succinctly, “We believe in taking care of ourselves until the day we can’t.”
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