Page 23 - Seniorstoday September 2022 Issue
P. 23
Homes over the years? Obviously a lot. The next visit was to another facility, which
The modern-day homes located in gated has both villas and flats. I met the wife of a
communities have all basic facilities that friend, in her early seventies, who had moved
senior citizens need and much more for those into a villa just six months ago. A woman
who can afford the price. full of energy and cheer, she was living alone
During my recent visit to Coimbatore, I in her own independent home for over a
visited a few friends staying in popular decade after her husband passed away. Both
Senior Citizens Home to get feedback on their her children live abroad. After surviving a
experiences in the gated communities where cancer attack, she found it difficult to manage
they were staying. the independent home by herself and hence
The first was a retired bureaucrat, aged 93 decided to shift to the new community.
years, who was a public sector honcho in his The enthusiasm with which she received
time and a recipient of the Padma Shri from me and showed me around her new abode
the government. He was staying alone in a reflected her happiness. “You know within
villa set among picturesque surroundings. a few days of moving here I became friendly
Though he had booked the villa a decade with my neighbours, an old couple in their late
earlier and used to visit the home with his eighties. They have adopted me as their own
wife for brief stays, he decided to shift to the daughter, and I enjoy offering them any help
home permanently after his wife passed away they need. Besides my relations and friends
a couple of years ago-much against the wishes keep visiting me regularly. I am thoroughly
of his two children. enjoying my stay here.”
His response in his own words, “I am very As we stepped out to see the surroundings,
happy here. Whenever I go to stay with we bumped into not only the old couple but
my daughter in Chennai, I find that I miss also a few other residents who were on their
the company of friends I have made in this evening stroll. It was clear my friend`s wife
facility. Besides, this place is beautiful, the was already a popular lady in the facility.
service is excellent and the weather also Proving my age-old theory that `You
is pleasant for 10 months in a year. I am extend your friendly hand first and people
happy with the food they serve and enjoy reciprocate spontaneously with love and
the regular interactions I have with other affection.
residents during my morning walks and in The following day, I met two sisters, both
the evenings. In case of medical emergencies, spinsters in their seventies, who were living
the management is ready with help. I don`t in an independent house before moving into
feel lonely at all here” a flat in one of the phases of a complex for
seniors. They had also moved into their flat
just a few months earlier. This facility has no
villas and only flats in seven blocks of several
flats with a central courtyard. There was
hardly any greenery around.
Their spontaneous response even before I
asked them about their experience: “We are
so happy here that we don`t have to worry
about the day-to-day problems we used to face
SENIORS TODAY | ISSUE #39 | SEPTEMBER 2022 23
