The hallmark of Indian culture is our respectful attitude towards our parents and elders, and the practice of more than one generation living together. But in reality, today countless old people are shunned by their children, left penniless and homeless and have to depend on charity.
Shailesh Misra of Silver Innings says that he has seen men and women of all ages, from 40 to 70, determined not to lead a sedentary life.
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Journalist Pramila Krishnan was shocked when she heard about the practice called thalaikoothal in Tamil Nadu, in which family members do away with elderly relatives whom they can no longer look after. Called thalaikoothal, it involves giving the person an oil bath early in the morning and making them drink a lot of tender coconut water, which results in renal failure, high fever and death in a day or two.
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Leina and Jaywant Joshi decided not to let loneliness get the upper hand, and through a newspaper advertisement, met each other and have been happily married for several years now. In order to combat loneliness, older people have also started to enter into live-in relationships. Mothers who have no money or property to their name find there is no place for them in their children’s home, says Winnie Singh of Maitri India.
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Shailesh Misra of Silver Innings says that he has seen men and women of all ages, from 40 to 70, determined not to be sedentary. They adopt the slogan of ‘Rewired, Not Retired” and set out to prove it. Ashok Devre Patil who runs an old age home says children literally abandon their parents in public places, and won’t even turn up for their last rites. Her bag is packed and ready to go when her son comes to fetch her — but he is in the US and he never turns up, says Mangesh Abhang, who works at an old age home in Gorai, Mumbai.
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It is tragic that children, once grown up and having been taken care of and brought up by their parents, turn on those same parents and treat them like less than human beings. The fact is that old people are not a liability but an asset; old age is not the end of life but the beginning of a new phase for them
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Now the Episode Song, Bahut Yaad Aate Ho Tum, an ode to the parents who have given so much to us, written by Munna Dhiman, set to music by Ram Sampath and sung by Jaswinder Singh.
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want to meet Aamir Khan