Durga Puja and senior citizens of Kolkata

In the fast-paced world of today, most of the senior citizens belong to a neglected lot. Their families do not want to recognize their presence and they might even discover themselves in old age homes. It could have been forced upon them due to circumstances beyond their control. Or - they might have opted for such an existence in order to survive. During a major festival like the Durga Puja, old timers in this category deserve a better deal. It is not possible for them to negotiate crowded streets, serpentine queues at pandals and bumper-to-bumper traffic. Ultimately, many of them have no other alternative but to stay at home. This has led to the creation of groups who arrange to take them around and bring some cheer into their lives. Hand in hand with senior citizens for pandal-hopping. Many of these organizations arrange special packages for the elderly on special days. They offer visit to prestigious venues of the Pujas and these are not cheap.

Those who plan such outings have to keep in mind the safety and comfort of the senior citizens. Usually, they travel in air-conditioned buses with packed breakfast along with bottled water and beverages. The organizers keep ready nursing assistants, wheelchairs, medical kits etcetera and adhere to all COVID precautions. The itinerary avoids crowded and congested roads. There are also charity organizations that take around senior citizens and especially abled persons. Enthusiastic professionals from various occupations usually conduct activities of this nature. They arrange to distribute new clothes to the needy and try to bring some cheer in their dull lives.

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Old age home for senior citizens

India is a unique country. Here, the sons hold their parents in high esteem and have a responsibility towards them. As the child grows into an adult, he begins to worry about the wellbeing of his parents. It does not pose much problem if he lives with them because he can share his feelings straightaway. However, in the world of today, he might get a job in another city. In such a scenario, he has to worry about his aged parents. They might suddenly face issues related to health. That has created a new lifestyle – it is the old age home.

Old age brings with it innumerable problems. One of these is dementia or loss of memory. The person might not only forget the names of close friends and relatives but even the schedule of taking medicines. Moreover, he might meet with an accident like slipping in the bathroom or on the stairs or in the bedroom. If the senior citizen does not have anyone to give him company, he might miss getting prompt medical attention. The old age home provides a solution. It has its team of in-house staff to attend to emergencies. Members of these homes bond quite easily because they have one thing in common. They do not have their near and dear ones with them in case of emergencies.


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Health is an important issue for senior citizens above 60

A person gets a new lease of life once he reaches the age of 60. By then, the individual has gained enough experience to know what is right and what is not. He has to manage not only his health but his wealth as well. Some of the following factors decide how he would pass his twilight years. He has to be choosy about his food habits and avoid anything that might look attractive but could have ill effects on the body. Diabetes is common among this group of people and they should not succumb to the temptation of items loaded with the sweet stuff. Another common complaint is about blood pressure and the heart disease. By the time he has crossed the threshold of 60, he must have passed through periods of breathlessness, inability to have sound sleep, perspiration etcetera. These indicate trouble if ignored. Nowadays, home kits are available to check blood pressure and blood sugar levels in the comfort of your home.

In India, hospitals offer attractive health packages. However, the best policy is to take care of your health by yourself. The human body is, after all, a machine that runs 24X7 and has to be given due care. In order to ensure the longest possible service, it needs to be pampered. All around us we see men in their 80s who go for morning walks, who use the stairs instead of the elevators. They want to exercise their bones and muscles in order to keep the mechanisms in working condition.


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Senior citizens in the world of smart phones and credit cards

Today a person becomes a senior citizen when he or she crosses the age of 60. It is an accepted norm and with life expectancy increasing, there are thousands of them around us. Most of them can perform their work independently without assistance from others. Very few of them use walking sticks for support. In the past, such individuals used to be written off. Those days are history. Of course, they have had to learn new tricks to adapt to the changing times. These are gadgets like the smartphone, debit and credit cards, online banking, online shopping etcetera. They have mastered the arts.

They know about Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram etcetera. The concept of joint family exists by exception. It is now the age of nuclear families and the children set up separate establishments. The young generation maintains regular contact through smartphones or video calling. Writing letters are primitive and the sight of the postman is rare. Those who ring the doorbell are usually the delivery boys with the items ordered online. The items could be burgers or footwear. There was a Bollywood movie starring Sanjay Dutt on senior citizens. It was “Lage raho Munna Bhai.”



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How safe are senior citizens in today’s world

The recent murder of an elderly couple, who lived in a flat in North Kolkata, has thrown up a major question on the safety of elderly people who live in metros and are always at the mercy of others. Their daughter stays abroad and the professor couple lived all alone in the flat.

Both of them were retired professors and they had a young man to do odd jobs in the house. This man was supposed to be very reliable and trustworthy because the elderly couple had helped him out in many ways. They had got him married to a girl who used to be their maid servant and had even financed a cycle rickshaw so that he could earn a decent living. It seems this young man murdered both of them and ransacked the flat searching for money that the old man had withdrawn from the bank. Incidentally, he had gone to bank on the same cycle rickshaw of the murderer. This murder is now being debated by all media outlets and no one really knows how to tackle such problems. Yes, the police keep advising people, especially aged people, to keep records of all those who work in their house and pass it on to the local police. But, that can never be enough. With the disappearance of the joint family system, the bonds between members of a family have weakened and the effects are felt at every step. The sons and daughters are either away in distant places because of jobs or because of marriage and the parents are left to fend for themselves in a world that shows no mercy. These elderly persons do not have any shortage of money, what they are short of is the closeness of the immediate family. In today’s world, contact can certainly be maintained through SMSs or phone calls or even through chat rooms – but, the personal touch is missing, it can never be replaced with any other means. Father’s Day, Mother’s Day are all ornamental stuff and, when one grows old, one wants something more than just words. (to be continued …)
(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

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The power of tulsi leaves – it keeps at bay the pacemaker

The clinic sent their assistant to install the Holter Monitor on my wife and informed that she could carry on her normal activities and he would come next day to remove the equipment – the report would be given subsequently. This Holter monitor was a new concept in cardiac therapy – it recorded the condition and functioning of the heart on a continuous basis for 24 hours and helped the cardiologist to take a decision. In this case, the decision was ‘install a pacemaker’.

However, my wife was not willing to undergo the procedure right then in Kolkata – she wanted to return to Nashik and discuss the pros and cons with my son and with the doctors who treated her regularly. The doctors in Kolkata reluctantly agreed to let us go but, there were problems of another kind in store for us. And, that was to arrange return rail reservations. I made four trips on four successive days to the city booking office of the railways and did not succeed to get Tatkal tickets. There used to be a separate queue for senior citizens and women but, invariably, by the time I reached the counter, there was no vacancy!
Ultimately, I had to request a distant relative to arrange tickets. He was an employee of the railways and had necessary contacts and he arranged Tatkal tickets by the Howrah-Pune Duronto Express.
We reached Pune and from there our son drove us down to Nashik where we discussed the line of action based on the test results of Kolkata. My wife underwent another Holter monitoring and the hospital recommended ‘install pacemaker’.
Incidentally, the hospital had a huge display board at the entrance that read – ‘Pacemaker available on EMI basis’.
It was then that I decided to carry out the tulsi experiment on my wife. We decided to go for a walk in the morning for an hour or so and, on return, take the tulsi medication. I also began to maintain a record of the BP and Heart beat on a daily basis. And, gradually, the heart beat began to pick up.
I had succeeded in keeping at bay the pacemaker, thanks to tulsi leaves. (to be continued …),br>
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