Most major cities in India have many old age homes with many elderly people living in them. Some really overflowing with numbers, some almost begging for funds and volunteers and most of them poorly managed. This is on the basis of a small net search done to admit an old lady into a home where she could be taken care of.
Fortunately, for the young minds, modern ways of life and ethics have better rationale and thought provoking justifications to prove themselves right in their stand. Unfortunately, the aged parents of today too stand in support of such ideas and ways of life. It is definitely not the western influence or the growing disrespect for age-old traditions of joint families and cultural values of our Indian society, because today we consider them, as a matter of one’s individualistic thought and opinion.
Left to themselves, most people are good and have a lot of respect and care for their elders. Then why does one need to have so many old age homes in the first place at all? All this has been debated upon and we have arrived at many a viewpoint, each having its own dimension and direction. But, the essence of all this is, we are neither western nor totally Indian. Some where in between, Na ghar ka na ghat ka.
I may not be very right when I say most youngsters and most middle aged adults do not want to be tied up to a particular way of life defined by our elders/ parents. Again, here let us for a while set aside the expectations of our parents, because most have nothing to expect from their children. Modern society, the necessity of earning fat salaries, fighting to make ends meet, working hard to run up the ladder and the blind rush to accumulate luxury for ourselves are the vagaries of life. This is something that we see everyday everywhere. As I understand, it is the mindset that one moulds when he or she pursues education as to how he would like the future to be.
One cannot find fault with the very thought of our youngsters, because our parents too somewhere in their past have had such opinions and ideas of life and the desire to fulfill their dreams and wishes. While justifying this, youngsters need to know what would give their parents the contentment of a relationship they look forward to from their child. Sometimes small things like sweets, saris etc, or something like a small amount of money, or settlement of a trivial issue, or sometimes an exchange of just sweet little nothings.
Definitely these emotions are well justified. In the same way, reciprocation of elders too makes a hell of a lot of difference to a youngster and strengthens the bond between their relationships with the young. It could just be a few words of appreciation from the elderly, which brings in the joy of contentment in a child.
I may quite be theoretical in my approach with respect to the analysis that I have made, but basically I see a very important practical side of it. “The Tolerance, ” have we lost it somewhere?
This mechanical life and burning heat of challenges have brought miles between the two “S’s” “SMILES” drawn the hard lines of “FROWN” on our faces. Let’s take a few minutes to smile at ourselves before we smile at others at home.
Who’s there?