I had never been to an old age home.I had seen in movies and all...but i had never been to one in real life.Thanks to a friend of mine, it was his birthday and the angelic soul wanted to celebrate it in a different way....so he went to a HOME FOR THE AGED along with his friends.i joined in.
Serene and beautiful it was. I was amused to see swings and slides in the park that was there in front of the home.i dint dare to ask wat it was for..
The youngest in the home was a gentleman 62 years old.he was our guide.
Right now, when i am writing this, my mind is getting flooded with so many thoughts and my heart’s getting overwhlemed with so many emotions...am just getting stuck...wondering which emotion to pen down first…as if each feeling is struggling with others to come out first..and i m afraid i dont want to miss any of them...
Before introducing us to anybody, the Guide uncle was asking us to guess their ages. And each time we made a guess, he was happily announcing that we were wrong.None of the people there were less than 80 years old!
He introduced us to a lady.She was 88, Guide Uncle told us. When he said to her that we all work for TCS, she said a confident and smilin"okay". i was surprised that at this age, she is so well informed about the IT industry and all...i was thinking about my uncles and aunts who know nothing, being a part of this growing age…
Her face had an enchanting glow. .her gait so confident and her voice so .no sign of self-pity in her personality. She was speaking in tamil/telugu as all my friends cud understand. I was engrossed by her smile and glowing face! She spoke a sentence in English.." All of them they were crying that i am coming to this old age home to stay...but i said, its like hostel only, i l be able to relive my youth again.."...I was dumbstruck!
While walking through the corridors, i was wondering..is it so easy to put up with life...is there deep sorrow behind these radiant smiles…the grief of being away from their loved ones…or the pain of being abandoned by their children....
In front of us, guide uncle playfully asked her.."mam ur age please..these children want to know..."
Prompt came her reply that" you should never ask a lady her age..".she turned to me, put her hand on my shoulder and asked with a smile.." should i ask you how much you get paid.." and all of us laughed! "These two questions should always be avoided". she said. I was so amused...
I have met people who derive pleasure in attracting sympathy...in dwelling on their misfortune..who consider their age as the most important deciding factor in doing/not doing things in life...
But look at the lady! so full of live and energy!
We all went on..I happened to see throug the door of a room..a lady..must be in her eighties was immersed into reading something..it seemed like she was doing some homwork..with a book in one hand and a notebook in other..writing something..i was so touched to see that...
I always think that i should have studied something else than engineering..whenever someone happens to suggest that i can still go on and study something i like..i say.." ..cannot happen anymore, i have crossed the age.."
On one end of the corridor we all stood, an elderly person was sitting on a chair at the other end.guide Uncle asked again" guess his age"...and after we all made wrong estimates, he said, he is 98!
We all went to him.He was a freedom fighter.he started getting up from his chair looking at of us. We asked him keep sitting. He spoke to each of us. I could not understand much of it as he was speaking in telugu. He was sharing his life experiences..about some military training he had undergone in 1942..about some acident..
he said..his voice loud and clear.." live with satisfaction, it will give you strength..". Dont bribe anybody!
Every now and then he wanted to stand up but we were not letting him, regarding his age..
Finally he stood up..started hopping and singing..saying that" see i m not that old..i can dance ..".
That moment i felt overwhelmed. So many thoughts crossing my mind..why must have his children left him in this place..he has seen almost the whole century... how must he be feeling to see the chaos going on in the country..scams, riots, inflation, terrosrist attacks...
It was a completely different world there inside the home. There was a community hall with a big tv in the centre. A gentleman, all this hair grey and a shrivelled body, was watching an action movie!
Well….if I go on narrating..it wudnt end soon..
For sometime, I felt I m into a completely different world…
I forgot all my worries… I was drenched with the calmness of the place…
All I could think of, while leaving the place was,Age does not make you old, your way of thinking does...
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