An interactive programme, ‘San Thoralepanacha (celebrating seniority): interaction with the seniors’ was held at the Cummins auditorium, Dr Bhanuben Nanavati College of Architecture for Women, Cummins Engineering College, Karvenagar, on Sunday.
Dr Anil Awachat, social worker and author; Pratibha Ranade, senior author; Dr Mohan Agashe, senior psychologist and actor; Arvind Vaidya, retired principal and education activist; Nirmala Kandlgaonkar, entrepreneur were present during the programme. The event was compered by Anand Nadkarni, psychologist.
The programme was part of the celebration of the anniversary of Tapas, an organisation dedicated to the care and nursing of senior citizens.
The programme began with a short film introducing the elder care home and was followed by an enriching interactive discussion.
“You accept the age and it has its own benefits which can teach you several life lessons,” said Agashe.”I was already playing old characters at a young age, but I really found my calling in the past ten years, where each role defined my age and proved my acting prowess,” he added.
Ranade regaled the audience with several of her journeys which in turn became the premise of her novels. “I love travelling and despite old age I find it benefiting as several people rush to your help while crossing the street or even sightseeing.”
{{/usCountry}}Ranade regaled the audience with several of her journeys which in turn became the premise of her novels. “I love travelling and despite old age I find it benefiting as several people rush to your help while crossing the street or even sightseeing.”
{{/usCountry}}Kandlgaonkar said she started working for the society at the age of 50. “I did not delegate my duties as a wife, mother, but I managed them all together and then stepped into what I always wanted to do, serve the society. Now, when I look back, age did not matter and one must enjoy every minute of your life.”
Meanwhile, for Vaidya, the biggest lesson learnt, when age catches up is the distance between his son living in America and them here. “Although technology has made it easy to keep in touch, my only wish for my son is to take care of his son and not worry too much about his parents, he should not have any guilty feeling towards his parents.”
“In today’s day and age, nuclear family system has created many problems for the senior citizens. In addition, physical and psychological dependency has contributed to their issues. Even though the number of old age homes is increasing, the medical deficiencies in the system makes life of senior citizens tough,” said Tushar Wadhavkar, Prajakta Wadhavkar, directors of Tapas.
The programme ended on a poetic note with Dr Nadkarni reciting a poem written by Dr Awchat.