Permanent Address – Old Age Home by Ms. Ankana Maitra

Tears rolled down their eyes as they thought about their families. It was a day of great remembrances and also one for rejoicing for the residents of the Home for the Aged at Andheri (E) on February 14, 2007.

“What is this life, if full of care –
We have no time to stand and stare”.

The students of Russell Square International College took out time to care and share and celebrated Valentine’s Day with the aged who had cared for their loved ones throughout their lives and have now found their love and solace among those who are not their own by blood, but have a common thread of being unwanted among their own kin.

Their children might have grown up and are well-established living in large mansions. But they are not able to spare a little space in their houses for their old parents whose permanent as well as residential address has been converted to an old age home. The décor and other accessories in their children’s houses are expensive and so they thought of discarding the least expensive from the household which was, maybe their parents. When the child was young he could not feed himself and used to cry out in his sleep. It is then that his parents used to hold him tightly in their arms and showered on him their love. The arms of the parents are still there but the child does not have time to hold his parents’ arm when the time has come. They are too busy to be a part of the rat race where the competition does not allow one to gift the most expensive gift to the aged which is “Time”.

I thought of taking out this time for them to write this article as who knows what will happen when I grow old. Will someone have time for me then? It is said that one grows wiser with age. My only wish to God is therefore – Let my deed make me never lonely as it is not riches but someone to care and share that I would like to be with in my old age.

So to those who are still contemplating as to what is the theme or purpose of this article it is very clear- Be respectful to the aged and never consider your parents as a commodity to discard off. Remember you will also have grey hairs one day. Do unto others as you wish them to do unto you.

I would like to end my article with a poem from Rabindranath Tagore’s Gitanjali -

Closed Path

I thought that my voyage had come to its end
at the last limit of my power, ---that the path before me was closed,
that provisions were exhausted
and the time come to take shelter in a silent obscurity.

But I find that thy will knows no end in me.
And when old words die out on the tongue,
new melodies break forth from the heart;
and where the old tracks are lost,
new country is revealed with its wonders