The Golden Agers

 

The Golden Agers 

~by Priya Jyoti

Number of old age homes are increasing in India.

 The day we forget to respect our elders, we lose our culture. India has always been a country that is known for its diverse and exquisite culture. This culture teaches us to greet our seniors with love and respect. In the past few years, the new generation has shown that they are deprived of their basic ethics when it comes to taking care of their senior citizens. They have forgotten that a society that doesn’t know how to respect and love the preceding generation is the one that never grows. Can you imagine how a tree would grow if it left its roots? Our senior citizens are our roots and if they are not greeted with love and respect now, the day is not far when we shall be deprived of the fruits of happiness because the younger generations are the trees nurtured by their seniors.

A survey by Zee news in the year 2015 says that 63% of the old people living in old age homes feel lonely; 62% live there to avoid the disrespect they get from their children; 85% do not like to live there; and 73% are not happy with the conditions and bad facilities at old age homes. The mushrooming of nuclear families and this culture is one of the main reasons for the elderly living away from their homes. Apart from this, the other reasons are the generation gap, where children find that they are not getting the freedom they want if their parents or grandparents live with them; the leisure and money which they do not want to share with their elders; and the medical care they need at a certain age or time. Some reasons also include personal choice and loneliness. Parents find that they are not getting the love, respect, and care they deserve at home from their children or grandchildren, so they end up living in old age homes. It also happens that after retirement, senior citizens want to explore their interests and want to live with people of the same age group, which is why they choose to live in old age homes, but these are the rare cases which are seen. The increase in such organisations is also because of the people who abandon their parents at hospitals, airports, or railway stations, and from there they are sent to places like old age homes. When people talk to these vulnerable people, they get to know that many of the children live in different countries, states, or sometimes even in the same state. They hardly ever visit to see their parents. The promises of visiting again, which they make before leaving their parents at places like old age homes, are never abided by them. The wet eyes of these mothers and fathers always seek their children’s love and respect. The longing to play with their grandchildren can be observed in their words. Some women have also faced violence from their own sons, daughters-in-law, and even young grandchildren. How can a person lose his/her basic ethics of touching their elders’ feet to get blessings and not lifting their hands against them? Gradually, we are leaving our culture and tradition far behind and think that modernization teaches us to do the same, but this is not true. Modernization always teaches us to grow instead of forgetting the right lessons our culture and tradition have taught us. 

The total number of old homages in India is 728, and among these, Kerala has the highest number of senior living facilities with 182, followed by West Bengal and Tamil Nadu. In India, 8.6% of the total population is over 60 years of age. The annual An increase in old homages in India is 25%. The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment is supporting 551 NGOs to provide accommodation to senior citizens. As per the surveys and reports, around 100 old age homes are only for elderly women, around 350 are free of cost, around 100 are payable, and around 250 are mainly for the accommodation of sick senior citizens. The old age homes get their financial support from different government welfare schemes like Integrated Programme for Senior Citizens (IPSrC), Rashtriya Vayoshri Yojana (RVY), Senior Citizens' Welfare Fund, National Council for Older Persons (NCOP), National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP), and many others. Donations by civilians and prominent people and CSR carried out by companies under Section 135 of the Companies Act 2013. Apart from all the support which is seen on paper, the old age homes are suffering from a lack of funds and facilities. The roofs are leaking. Proper rations, clothing, and medicine are missing. It was also found in surveys that sometimes the workers or helpers at old age homes have killed some senior citizens or have beaten them for complaining against the bad facilities. 

The question that arises here is that if these organisations for senior citizens are getting funds and support, where are the results? Is the government really helping these organisations through different schemes, or are the helping hands only on paper? Are the inspections done properly? Different minds have different questions, which only seek a healthy and peaceful life for senior citizens. The system needs to look after all the initiatives that they take for the vulnerable part of our society. We, as the current generation, should not abandon our culture and tradition for the sake of fake modernization and freedom. We are the people of a country which is always appreciated for its relations with its seniors, and we, as youth, have to maintain this with all our love and respect towards our golden agers. Instead of worrying about the increase in old age homes, we should take a step towards taking care of our parents and grandparents and ensuring them a life full of love, respect, and care.