An update on my life at Nana Nani

It has been a month since I moved into Nana Nani (Phase -4) a senior citizen's home in Coimbatore. Many of my friends want to know if I have settled down and if the place meets my expectations. I am more than satisfied with the place and the various services that the Home offers. I am staying in a two-bedroom apartment in one of the six blocks of apartments on the second floor. I was lucky to get a furnished flat including a fridge and washing machine. Even the curtains, bed covers and a few things required for the kitchen like the Induction stove, some utensils, and other essential items were provided by my daughter Sowmya, who is settled in Coimbatore. I must thank her and my son-in-law Sathya, for their help in setting up my new home.

Within a week I got close to a few residents some of whom I knew earlier. A good Samaritan among the new friends gave me his spare Smart T-V at a concessional rate. Another friend not only gave me his set-top box free but offered his car, which was lying idle most of the time, for my use when required. I am overwhelmed by the love and affection shown by many friends here. I don`t feel like a stranger at all. The weather in Coimbatore is so far good. I am comfortable under the fan. Though it is hot in the afternoons, one does not sweat like a pig as you do in Chennai.

My daily routine starts at 4.30 am. After the morning ablutions, I am at my workstation at 5.00 am. pounding on my laptop whatever I have planned for the day. I do my Chair Yoga between 6.30 & 7.15 am. It is followed by a 30-minute walk within the beautiful campus during which I exchange greetings with other walkers. There is no post-walk group meetings like in Chennai. That happens only after each meal session outside the dining hall. Though I am enjoying the walk here, I do miss the walk on the Bessy in Chennai, seeing the sunrise every morning. Needless to say, I also miss the fun time I used to have with friends in the Elliot group or the Elite group , having customized degree coffee served by Velu which would charge my battery for the day!

After the walk I spend 10 minutes reading the morning newspaper in the lobby of the dining hall and then proceed for the breakfast in the first batch starting at 8.00am. I return to my room and have my bath followed by Pooja rituals. I then relax with a book or try to get back to my laptop to continue with whatever I was writing in the morning.

It is now time for lunch. I attend the second batch at 1.00pm. The menu is typically Tam-Brahm fare. I like it. Post lunch I have a siesta for an hour followed by some more reading. Once or twice a week there is a programme arranged at the meditation hall starting at 5.00pm. Every Saturday at 4.30pm there is a Hindi, Tamil or Malayalam movie shown at the state of the art air conditioned film theatre in the complex. I have seen five films so far. I have also been visiting the Shirdi Sai Baba temple in Saibaba colony, every Thursday evening .On days when there are no preplanned activities in the evening, I join a group of residents who assemble in the basement of the adjacent block for a gossip session which lasts till dinner time at 7.30pm. My group, consists of a retired Air Vice Marshal, who is in his nineties, ex bureaucrats and corporate honchos who are in their seventies and eighties. The discussions are more serious than fun. Post dinner I watch the TV for an hour. It is 9.00pm and time for me to call it a day, as I am a strong believer in the `early to bed and early to rise` policy.

I now know the meaning of a life without any responsibilities in a Home away from Home! Am I enjoying it? Well, I am getting used to the idea but apart from reading & writing I am yet to find activities to keep me busy during the day. Is going spiritual an answer? I must find out.

More details about the facilities available in Phase IV in my next posting.

Yoga at 82

 I have always envied people who have been practicing yoga from a young age to keep themselves fit as a fiddle. Though I had attempted practicing yoga many times before, I had to give up unable to withstand the rigorous training. I found my protruding Madhya Pradesh (generous tummy), considered a sign of prosperity by many, was coming in the way of performing many difficult Asanas.  I remember, as a young boy, when I was thin as a stick, I used to perform Sirasasana inspired by the photo of the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru performing this difficult Asana even in his old age. Of course, I was doing it more as a fun activity then, than as a part of any regular Yoga programme.

After coming to CBE I started attending Chair Yoga sessions arranged by the management of Nana Nani Senior Citizens Home where I am staying now.  It is meant for people like me who need a helping hand to get up if they sit or lie  on the floor or after prostrating before their favourite deities in the temples.

Why yoga at this age?

I was influenced by the experiences of some friends. I recently attended a get-together organized by a good friend in CBE, where he demonstrated his proficiency in performing yogic Asanas.  He had learned it in the last three years from a yogic trainer, five days a week at his home. He is only two weeks older than me. I was amazed at the way he was twisting and turning, performing difficult Asanas with ease. A guy who was suffering from acute depression a  few years ago is now bubbling with energy and enthusiasm. What the deadly medicines he was taking for depression could not do, yoga has done it for him.

A couple of other inmates at the Senior Citizen Home who have been attending the Chair Yoga sessions for a few months told me they were never able to sit or lie down on the floor earlier. Now they can do the same with ease. Some of them have even switched over to regular mat (floor)yoga classes for young and old conducted by the Home, free of charge.

This time I am serious as I have plenty of time and inclination. I find the Chair Yoga not difficult to perform as it is specially designed for seniors. There are about 25 seniors who are in their 70s and 80s attending the session for three days a week. Rest of the week I practice yoga looking at the video of the 45-minute programme available to all the participants.  The young trainer demonstrates each asana in such a way that anyone can follow easily.

 It is three weeks since I started attending the programme. Has it had any effect? Yes indeed! For the last 20 years when I go for my morning walks, the pain in the hip & thigh joints on both sides would make me stop for about 30 seconds before I continue with the walk. I would stop at least four or five times during my 30-minute walk.  Now I find that I can complete my walk with just one or two stops. The yoga teacher told me that this is because yoga has helped to relax my muscles.  I am excited. I am determined to continue the classes with the hope that someday I will be able to walk long distances without breaks, also be able to prostrate before my favourite deities in the temples or sit cross-legged on the floor while performing some rituals which necessitate sitting on the floor. It is better late than never. Om Sairam!

Age is only in the mind...Is It?

 Age is only in the mind; Age is only a number; You are as old as or as young as you think. I hear these words whenever I complain that I have become old and can`t handle certain activities. Like I can`t walk distances, I can`t stand in the same place for long. Climbing stairs has become stressful. Without my hearing aids, I am as good as deaf. I cannot bend and pick up any object lying on the floor. The number of discarded items lying around the waste paper baskets in my home is proof of the problem. The quantity of food I consume has come down drastically. In my younger days, I would order at least three items on the menu in restaurants. Today I found a pair of idlis that make me feel full. I can go on. But I am told that if I think I am young I can get over many of these problems.

Many people don`t like to accept that they have become old. And try to behave like youngsters and get into problems. A Septuagenarian friend who wanted to change a fused bulb in his bedroom, instead of calling his son to do the job, got onto a stool, lost his balance, and fell, resulting in a hairline fracture in his hand. Another friend tried to take a brisk walk down from the third floor of a building using the staircase instead of the lift without holding on to handrails, tripped & fell. Fortunately, he survived with minimum collateral damage. I always say, that while walking up the stairs for an old man is stressful, climbing up or down without holding on to handrails is risky. I find it difficult to climb even a few steps in a shop where there are no hand railings for support. I need the helping hand of some other shopper to climb up.

To all those who say that age is only in mind, I would like to reply that it may be true if restricted only to thoughts. Like you can be a very spirited person oozing positivity even when you are in your nineties, it is different when it comes to your body. Nobody can stop the aging process and the natural wear and tear of the body resulting in restricted movements. There may be exceptions. People who have led a disciplined life from a young age practicing yoga and other such practices may be more fit than others in their old age. But the masses have to accept the reality of old age and behave keeping in mind the restrictions it imposes on their movements.

However, there is no restriction for old people to dream & indulge in fantasies. They can imagine climbing Mount Everest, cavorting around pretty damsels, devouring all the delicious sweets they are banned from eating, or doing whatever they cannot do physically. All only in the mind. Like I do whenever I am down in spirits and need something to pep me up. Because age is only in the mind

Moving into Nana Nani with Shirdi Sai Baba`s blessings

 It was Sivasankari, the award-winning writer in Tamil, who told me that Baba decides to enter people`s lives and bless them, whenever he chose. It seems Baba entered her life fifteen years ago. Since then she has become an ardent devotee of Baba. Shirdi Sai Baba entered my life four years ago and has become one of my `Ishta deivams` along with my all-time favourites; Venkachalapathy and Vinayaka. I visit his temple every Thursday, wherever I am. I read one or two chapters from his ``Satcharithra` every day as a part of my daily prayers. These days I can feel his presence whenever I am facing a problem or I am in a dilemma about which way to proceed on issues I face in my life.

When I decided to move to a Senior Citizen Home, I was particular that I rent out an apartment in Phase 4 of Nana Nani in Coimbatore. I found phase 4 was the best of the lot of homes I visited when I was writing an article on Senior Citizen Homes. I was told by some friends who are residents of Phase 4 that the vacancies for rented apartments would be known only in February,24 when some of the tenants get possession of the accommodation they had booked in Phase 6 which was expected to be inaugurated in February. They also told me that there was a big waiting list for rented apartments in Phase 4. I was worried.

In December,23 I decided to attend the Navjyoth ceremony of the grandchildren of my good friend and ex-partner Sam Balsara in Mumbai which was scheduled on 20th December,23. When I rang up my schoolmate Sundaresan about my proposed visit, he not only invited me to stay with him but also informed me about the introduction of the Vandhe Bharath train from Mumbai to Shirdi and back on the same day. I jumped with joy and told him that a visit to Shirdi was very much on my cards. Based on his advice I reached Mumbai on 17th December as the train ticket was booked for the following day. Chatting with him on the 17th evening at his home I casually told him about my desire to get an apartment in Phase 4 and how I will have to wait till February to try to get one. He responded immediately with a call to a close friend who was living in Phase 4. That friend informed me that a tenant in his neighbouring flat was moving to another building in the same complex and that the tenant was authorised to recommend a candidate of his choice to the owner of the flat who was living in Bangalore. The next day while I was in Shirdi there was a constant dialogue between me and the friend, who wanted me to rush to Coimbatore immediately to firm up the deal with the tenant. Because of my prefixed programme in Mumbai I could visit Coimbatore only the following week end.

The tenant looked a pious man. He connected me to the owner of the flat who confirmed that it is okay to deal with the tenant in the matter. I gave a month`s deposit out of the five months deposit required to the tenant and returned with the understanding that I would have to go back to Coimbatore in the middle of February to go through the formalities required by the management of Nana Nani and take possession of the flat. The next month was spent in suspense as I was not sure if I had done the right thing by dealing only with the tenant. Adding fuel to the fire a good friend who had visited Nana Nani the previous month told me that without the permission of the management of Nana Nani, it is not possible to get a rented apartment. I was confused and worried. However, I did not contact the Nana Nani management or the owner again, but surrendered to Sai Ram and prayed for the success of my efforts. He did not let me down. After going through some ups and downs and all the formalities including a medical check up I am now well settled in Room No G 206 in Phase 4 of Nana Nani. I believe that the fast-tracking of the whole process of getting the apartment was made possible by my trust in Sai Ram. Om Sai Ram!

More about my experience in Nana Nani in due course!