The initial response, the silent support & an "I" turns "We"...

Today when I sit down to write this post, my faith is restored in the youth of today. We might be blamed for blindely following the MTV culture, being careless, for not realising our responibilities etc.. But when Youth for Old did'nt even exist, I somehow believed that the only thing that was required was that initial push & not hundred's or thousand's but millions of Us would take the plunge... All that was required was that little knocking...

And today, I stand by my belief with greater conviction, for I have seen it with my own eyes. I talked about YFO & its mission to a dear friend, someone I trust a lot, Mr. Vineet Nagrath, someone who is a major silent force behind me, though he does'nt like to be the face of things. Though I have named Vineet, it in no way undermines the support that has emerged from so many of my friends & other youngsters, whom you would know about from time to time.

Soon after my first visit, my exams started & I was not able to make my next visit fast. I deliberately did'nt force myself as at no point is it desired, that any individual associated with this mission should get a feeling that they are spending time here that they could have used elsewhere, otherwise the spirit shall die down. What is required that, we be in enough numbers that at no point a void is created in the effort towards the cause.

Now, I have come to know of so many people who have already been involved in community service of one kind or the other. The response I have begun getting from my friends, students from other colleges, seniors (some of whom have even moved into jobs) is simply overwhelming.

Friends, I need your support. Though the blog reads, "Granny, we do listen to what you have to say.....", I truely would from now on try and replace the word "I" with "We". Thanks to all those who have come up for this mission, but the journey has just begun, & loads need to be done. Letus all come forward & do the little we can for our earlier generations, people who worked when they were young to give us what we have today, the way we are working today for our future generations...

Just pay one visit to a home near you & we promise (We are the people who have paid visit) that you would not need any person to ask you to revisit, instead you shall get an army of young men & women to accompany yourself.

In the posts to come, future plans for YFO shall be shared, along with the experiences as always. Your suggestions & support is welcome here through comments, or through
email: youthforold@gmail.com. You can also join the open yahoo group http://in.groups.yahoo.com/group/youthforold . Also is available a community on orkut: Youth for old. But people are requested to join these groups only in case you approve of the philosophy...

But the best way to support is to actually take action & make a visit to your nearest home...

God Bless everyone.

The Story of Swatantrata...

Hello friends, today I have something very special to share with you, something that will be there in my next post but as promised let me first continue with the story of Granny Swatantrata...

When I asked the supervisor at the home so as to what we could do at the home, one of the things he had suggested was to ask the elderly to spend time in the recreation centre at the home, watch television, read a magazine or two, or play carrom ( Do you people remember Munna Bhai MBBS..& Bappa...). Here I was sitting in the gallery with a few grandma's & I just raised the topic of watching television , quoting that my Grandma enjoys watching television & this brought a series of emotional reactions, strongest from granny Swatantrata...

She said that my own grandma enjoyed those because she was living with her family, was receiving all the love & care she deserved, but was not the case with them & to them all these recreational activities appeared to be superficial...

Here I was sitting in front of an 80 + retired gynaecologist, called Swatantrata. All those who are well versed with Hindi language would know that her name means "freedom". Her father was a freedom fighter & had decided that his next child whether a boy or a girl would be named Swatantrata. She talked about how as a young girl it was difficult for her family to make both ends meet as her father spent most of his years in the jail. She was married in a very young age to a person, who did little work on his own & was more of a liability on the family rather than a bread earner. It was here that somehow she studied homeopathy & as she said she was God gifted & many a parents were blessed with children through her hands. All these years she earned quite a praise & money for her good work, gave excellent eduaction to her children, who later excelled in life (her one daughter is a teacher & the other a police officer). She bought quite a property for her family, but when she grew old & was to benefit for all the hard work she had done in her youth, she was blessed with a daughter in law, who threatened her in various ways & forced her to live with her daughter. But even this was'nt to be the end of her woes as her daughter attemped suicide when her inlaws did'nt like her mother to stay with them( This after 3 yrs of staying together). Later Granny's daughter in law even left her husband & 11 yrs old daughter alone....

Here was a self made woman, & she decided to move to this old age home. I call people like her entrepreneurs in themselves, for she is one of those who create things single handedly, but not always does life return rewards in the same manner.

I talked & talked & tried my best to make her feel better, she took me too her room, gave me a banana & Tiger buscuits to eat, not to mention the blessings I received (One of them was a wonderful wife...).

I spent a wonderful time with so many granny's there in the corridor , & what was best was that I could leave so many of them with a smile on their faces & a wish for a revisit. My first visit at the home came to an end & I moved out with a bag of mixed emotions...Emotions I might not be able to express well, so I choose to create a picture from the series of events for all to see & experience themselves.

The story of Ram

He was the first person, I was introduced to. A person in his late seventies or eighties, he sat there on his bed, with a broad welcoming smile on his face. As I entered his room with the security guard, he asked me to sit next to him on his bed, while the guard sat on the chair facing us. He was really old, had no teeth, but had a big grin on his face. It seemed as if he was waiting for someone to be there, & today it was me. The guard introduced him to be as one of the most jovial & energetic of the oldies there & so he was...

The guard left us soon, & the grandpa (something I would prefer to use henceforth instead of the "Old" person) began with his story. He had recently had an operation, which resulted in his one leg being smaller than the other. A retired accountant, he had lost his wife some years back & was now the lone survivor in his family. As he was getting older each day, & found it difficult to take care of himself on his own with increasing physical ailments, he moved to the Kalkaji home, from where he was shifted to this home in Tilak Vihar, as this was a new one (This home was opened in Aug 2005). He had had varied experiences in life & one of them was that he was on Radio for some time too (something he felt too good about). He loved singing & was known in the home for singing on all occasions & festivals. Someone pretty popular among students who had previously visited the home from Delhi University & Jiims, especially for his singing. I spent nearly an hour with him & he had loads to talk about himself, infact he was full of self praise & simply loved it (afterall we humans dont change easily). I was enjoying the conversation without saying anything, just listening to him & felt sooo happy seeing him so happy. It was one great experience & what was to follow was quite mind boggling, the story of a grandma this time, the story of "Swatantrata"......

The first time I visited a home....

I began searching on the Internet, for any old age home in New Delhi, especially in West Delhi, so that it becomes easier for me to regularly pay visit from my college. There it was. I found one in Tilak Vihar on Yellow pages & decided to make the move I had been contemplating for months.

It was a Thursday afternoon of 24th Aug 2006, incidentally the Birthday of a friend of mine, I called at the home & had a word with the Supervisor there, Mr. Saxena. He was very warm & asked me to come over by 4 p.m. so that I could be introduced to some elderly during office hours. Now I had an appointment for a place I wanted to visit for long & at the same time, my friend decided to throw a small party & I had to take a decision of choosing between the two. I am happy that I chose the former & at 2:30 p.m. I set out with the address in my hand, finally able to make the MOVE....

A bus followed by a rickshaw, took me to the Tilak Vihar Old age home, & to no surprise of mine, almost nobody in the locality knew that there existed a home in their surroundings (Something that speaks of the way we care for our seniors). After waiting for a while, I met one of the officials, who asked the security guard to show me the home & introduce me to some elderly & that was when I met Ram.....

What is Youth for Old as on date?

Why this blog? The answer lies in its title & subtitle themselves....
"Youth for Old" & "Granny, we do listen to what you have to say....."

This blog is the first step, towards a small effort, that is proposed to bring life back into the remaining years of some of the elderly, who are not as priveleged as they deserve to be.

Youth for Old is a mission, where people associated with it, share the common feeling of doing something for the elderly, primarily the youth & the best way for achieving this for sure is not just donating money but LISTENING to what they have to say & I promise they have plenty to share with the loads of experience life has provided them over these long years...

Youth for Old is a mission to mobilise youth towards something that is not a favour for others but something that is their responsibility....

How Can U help?

U are young & vibrant, full of energy, U just need to rub off some of this with the people who have lost the shine in their lives...

1) Respect & Love your grand parents.

2) Regularly visit an old age home near you, & listen to the elderly there. You are expected to visit the same home regularly & form a personal relation with those, many of whom have nobody of their own, but faded memories of pain.

What Do U get?

1) Peace... Yes buddy, peace of mind in this extremely stressful & busy life. It is one of the most calming experiences.

2) What you get to learn from the people who have seen it all, their careers, relationships, personal, professional & social lives... the experience in itself is so enriching... you are bound to benefit.

3) The most important & invaluable are the BLESSINGS that you get.... & believe me no treasure in the world can beat this..

So everybody, make the move.... God Bless You!!!