Going for a walk in the swimming pool

 I have started going for a walk in the swimming pool as a part of my effort to reduce my tummy.

 Before I acquired a bulging tummy also known as a `paunch`, I was a thin guy. My waist was so slim that even a baby belt would not hold my pants in position. I used to wrap a piece of cloth around my waist and then pull up my pants to ensure that it did not slip down.

 All that changed during my stay at Murugan Lodge in Calcutta. I had spent three months in Calcutta during April-June,1964, undergoing training in advertising at the second largest advertising agency. During my stay as a trainee, I was also introduced to drinking beer. I was told that as an adman I would have to do a lot of entertaining and drinking alcohol was a prerequisite for a successful adman. My tryst with the bulging `Madhya Pradesh` started in Calcutta which eventually became an integral part of my body. In the early years, girls in my office used to call me `roly-poly`. My efforts to reduce the tummy over the years were not successful because of my inability to control my eating and drinking habits.

 Now that I am settled in a senior citizen home and living a more disciplined life without junk food, going for regular walks, and practicing Chair Yoga, I thought my tummy would start shrinking. No luck so far.

 A couple of months ago I attended a meeting where a Sports Physiotherapist was giving a talk on ` Ideal exercises for senior citizens`. When I asked for tips to reduce the tummy, he advised me to have only vegetable soup every evening with no other solid food for 45 days. He guaranteed me that at the end of the said period, though my weight may not be reduced,  all my pants would become loose, signifying a shrunken tummy that I would have to alter my pants. I always listen to good advice and practiced what the Physio preached. At the end of three months, I find that there is no sign of the tummy shrinking and I still find it difficult to pick up things from the floor.

 While I was feeling dejected another friend suggested that I try walking in the swimming pool and perform specific `aquatic exercises` which would not only relieve me of several age-related pains I suffer below the waist, but  also help me in reducing my tummy. Since a mini swimming pool is a part of the facility available in the senior citizen home where I am staying, I have started going for a walk in  the swimming pool every morning. And practicing the exercises that my friend has taught me. It has been 10 days since I started this routine. I am enjoying the experience. This time will I win my battle with the `Bulge`. Only time can tell.

 

Dignity Foundation- for Elder Care with Dignity

The Chennai Chapter of Dignity Foundation (DF) which celebrated its silver jubilee last year has been winning the Best Chapter award for four  years in a row. I have been a member of DF for over 15 years, and I am very impressed with the dedication and commitment shown by the staff in the Chennai Chapter to elder care which has helped them achieve this feat.

Before I go into the activities of the Chennai Chapter a quick recap of the origin of DF.

Founded in 1995, by Dr. Sheilu Sreenivasan, Dignity Foundation an NGO aims to change the way people look at ageing in India. The story behind what made

Mrs Sreenivasan start DF makes for interesting reading (see the box). It started with Dignity Dialogue, India’s longest-running senior citizen magazine with a circulation of 20,000. Dignity Dialogue magazine gave birth to Dignity Foundation whose aim is for elders to age productively and live their golden years with Dignity. Started in Bombay DF now has chapters in Delhi, Calcutta, Chennai, Bangalore, Pune, Hyderabad. A new chapter was started in Coimbatore recently. Activities of Dignity Foundation are funded by member fees and donations from Corporates through their CSR programs. The Foundation is governed by a Board of Trustees.

 

Dignity Dialogue was followed by Dignity Chai Masti Centers (CMCs)where senior citizens meet, bond and explore their talents. With 30 vibrant centers across 8 cities in India, CMCs offer regular sessions for wellness, entertainment, recreation and hobby cultivation, keeping the members active and engaged. What started as physical activities at offices of the chapters is now available also as online (zoom) sessions to those who prefer virtual participation from the comfort of their homes.

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Dementia Day Care Centre is another important service offered by the Foundation which provides a safe and stimulating environment for people living with Dementia. This service, offered for a fee, offers crucial respite for caregivers, reducing their physical and emotional stress. It is an ideal solution for working couples who have dementia patients at home. This service is available in Mumbai, Pune, Chennai, New Delhi and Kolkata. At the Centers, members receive compassionate care by trained caregivers along with therapies to delay the progression of Dementia.

 

Anand Daan is a service under which DF identifies senior citizens who are genuinely needy in the slums of cities, providing free monthly ration kits to them creating food security.

 

Under Dignity Care, DF runs Day Care centers, Loneliness Mitigation centers and Dementia Care centers as a free service to poor seniors living in slums of cities. Right now, such centers are functioning in Bengaluru, Chennai and Mumbai.

 

DF also runs, under a separate trust, an assisted residential facility at Neral, near Mumbai.

 

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The Chennai Chapter was started in 1998 based on the request of readers of Dignity Dialogue in Chennai. Initially the activities were related to the magazine. Monthly gatherings to celebrate the cover personality were the beginning of Chennai’s initiatives. It gradually grew into other services to senior citizens, like companionship to lonely elders, helpline for rescue of abused senior citizens, and CMC’s (Tehneer Arangams) providing some form of entertainment and opportunities  for daily bonding .

Sheilu Srieeivasan, the founder of DF says, “The year 2016 was a turning point in the growth of the Chennai Chapter when Felista Jose joined as the Chapter Manager. Under her dynamic leadership ably supported by a strong advisory council headed by Mrs.Sundara Gopalan and the philanthropic N C Krishnaswamy, the chapter started flying the Dignity flag high, leading to the grand Silver Jubilee Celebrations of the Chapter last year”

Felista says, “In 2016 and 2017, we launched a project titled Wellbeing Enhancement aimed at improving the lives of underprivileged senior citizens in five slums of Chennai: Kannagi Nagar, Saidapet, Srinivasapuram, Dooming Kuppam, and Nochi Kuppam. This initiative reached approximately 4,500 elders.”

 The Dementia Day care center started in Chennai in 2004 has now 25 members attending the center daily. A trained social worker is responsible for coordinating center`s activities and  its smooth functioning. The services provided at the center are daily bus service to pick up and drop, good nutrition, simple yoga, a range of therapies like: Occupational therapy, Physiotherapy, Recreational therapy and Cognitive therapy conducted by professionals. The center provides a safe secure setting, constantly encouraging members into activities to keep them alert all the time.

According to Mr. Sabarinathan, son of Mrs. Geetha with fronto-temporal dementia, the family was finding it difficult to  handle her behaviour.

“After trying out various options, we were referred to Dignity Dementia Day Care centre. Mother liked the environment very much. Being at the day care centre, participating in various activities, was far more effective than all the medicines she was taking. I have visited many such centres, and I find the dedication of the staff at Chennai DDC to be the best”

At present, the monthly fee charged by DF per patient in Chennai is Rs.15,000, which covers patient pick-up and drop-off services, morning and evening tea accompanied by refreshments, lunch, and all therapy services.

As a part of strengthening the Centre and extending the activities to more people, branches of the Chennai Chapter were started in Mylapore and Tiruvanmiyur in 2018 which has helped in growing the number of members attending the Centre .

A day care centre was started on 20^th January,2020 at Mullaima Nagar, a slum, with ambitious plans. The announcement of the lockdown and the pandemic forced the centre to be closed immediately. But that did not stop the Chennai Team from reaching the beneficiaries. It was during the pandemic that the Chennai team came out with flying colours.

Felista says, “Despite the closure of the Centre we established a group known as the "Corona Safety Senior Citizens Group," Our team consisting of 15 outreach workers with 1 field supervisor conducted 11 IEC awareness programmes  to propagate and strengthen the practices of social distancing, masking and demonstrating the correct hand wash practices through  a range of activities such as Street Play, Mega Signature Campaign, Vehicle Awareness programs, Street painting, Villu paatu (Musical storytelling), Awareness Rally, Kolattam (Traditional folk dance). This initiative was greatly appreciated by the members”

SUPPORT FOR THE HOMELESS SHELTERS FOR THE ELDERLY IN CHENNAI project was launched in  2022 in collaboration with Greater Chennai Corporation to facilitate the improvement of the quality and services provided to about 200 needy senior citizens in their existing old age shelter homes in Vepery, Perambur and Royepettah .

Apart from getting  nutritious food and counselling service the inmates also receive geriatric healthcare  through different  activities like fitness classes, art and craft session, laughing therapy, basic literacy and numeracy classes.Recently the chapter has also added slums in Mannady under this intervention programme.

While the poor people in slums were being looked after the team also kept the activities of the Centre for regular members going through zoom (online) meetings with interesting programmes five days a week, Monday through Friday. The subjects ranged from musical evenings, fitness talks, active aging yoga, and many more which kept the members glued to their mobile or laptop, every evening. Thanks to the zoom facility those members who were unable to come to the centre because of distance and travel constraints were able to participate  in meetings. On October 5^th, 2020, the chapter resumed operations at the Centre, which is open from 9 AM to 5 PM. Thanks to hybrid meetings these days  the average daily attendance has gone up to  75 members.

 

Commenting on the zoom meetings T.C.Ragupathy an active member of the Chennai Chapter says, “Regular contacts through Zoom helped  us bond with each other besides giving  us a chance to show our skills in singing, sharing experiences, etc. It is like ‘meet from home’ on the lines of ‘work from home’. This is one more feather in DF’s cap”.

 

The Chennai Chapter members are also  encouraged to participate in large numbers in the All-India Events organised by the Head Office every year.

 

In the last few years, I have witnessed the dedicated staff of the Chennai Chapter regularly coming with innovative ideas, such as intergenerational programs, to engage the members and help in bringing to limelight their hidden talents, which has resulted in the creation of an extended family of members. The enthusiasm and energy of these members at all events is to be seen to be believed. In old age friends are important and getting new friends through Dignity Foundation, in the absence of other avenues for some members, has made their lives interesting and enjoyable.

 

The Chennai chapter managed by a Chapter Head Felista and Deputy Manager Merita and a staff of 13 trained professionals, richly deserve the recognition they have been getting as the best chapter for the last few years, for not only taking care of the paying members, but also for their dedicated service to underprivileged senior citizens in the community.

Those interested in becoming members of Dignity Tehneer Arangams, subscribe to Dignity Dialogue or support the chapter with donations can contact Felsita – 9840395943 or email -felista.jose@dignityfoundation.com

 

                                                                    In the Box                                  

                              The story behind the origin of Dignity Foundation.

It was July 1994 Dr. Sheilu Sreenivasan the founding President of DF was on her return flight from New York to Mumbai with a stopover at Frankfurt. As she was getting down the aircraft and walking towards the security area, she saw two airport ground staff approaching her. As she was wearing a saree, they had rightly identified her as an Indian. She was requested to accompany them to meet someone who could not speak any language other than ‘Indian’. They took her to a lady clad in a white saree, sitting in a wheelchair, face distraught and blabbering rather loudly. The moment she saw Sheilu she instantly caught hold of her hands and didn’t let go for the next 3 hours. The reality was that she had been abandoned by her family in the airport washroom at Frankfurt. The lady`s handbag had no passport, no ticket, no money – the family did not leave any trace of her identity. The lady must have been talking in Sindhi which Sheilu could not understand but she could make out that it was her son Munna who left her in the lurch. The German ground staff requested Sheilu to go along with them to admit the lady in a shelter home and return on time for her flight to Mumbai.

Sheilu says, “The trauma of leaving her behind, totally distraught, remained etched in my mind.  It was then that the social worker in me decided: I will work and live for the elderly for the rest of my life. I started the Dignity Foundation in 1995 in Mumbai to enable senior citizens get rid of these insecurities and lead a life of dignity, security, fulfilment and filled with joy”

(Dr. Sheilu Sreenivasan holds an MA in Psychiatric Social Work from Madras University and a Ph.D. in Sociology from Mumbai University. After giving years to research and publishing, she has dedicated the past 29 years to the relentless delivery of elder care services at the grassroot level across India for which she won the Amazing Indian Award 2022 for the Slum Care Category from Times Now, one of the many recognitions she has got over the years.).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

MY FIRST (THALA) DEEPAVALI IN NANA NANI

 Many people get up very early on the day of Diwali to go through the morning rituals and have `ganga snanam`  before sunrise. Every day is  Diwali for me as I get up at 4 am and go through my morning rituals ending up with Chair Yoga between 6.00 and 6.45 am and a walk afterward.  I don`t have my daily `snanam` before  9 am.  Yesterday I skipped my morning walk, had my `Ganga snanam` before 7.am, wore a new veshti and a shirt presented to me by my Sambandhi on my birthday,  finished my puja rituals and had a  sumptuous breakfast in the first batch, meeting and greeting friends. The chole bhature was so heavy that I didn’t feel hungry the whole day despite having the legiyam served at the BF. Then I visited the temple to attend the special Diwali pooja. After a long time, I was visiting a temple on the Diwali day and staying till the Deeparadhanai.  It was a very soul satisfying experience.

Then came lunchtime. I went for the second batch. The first time I saw the dining hall was more than full to capacity that the kitchen staff had to have a third batch to accommodate the residents who could not find a place in the second batch. An unusual number of guests present could be the reason, I thought. Since the management had already served a Diwali special meal earlier, the menu was nothing special, except the addition of a sweet.

But the surprise was the free-wheeling dance to recorded music by the ever-enthusiastic and energetic ladies,  both young and old.  Led by the `mover and shaker team` of  Phase 4, Vidya  Venkatachalam and Meera Kumar , performed in front of the dining hall.  It was an interesting way to celebrate Diwali. I enjoyed watching the spirited show put by the ladies.

After some rest, I visited the Shirdi Saibaba ( Naga Sai ) temple at Saibaba Colony, as I normally do every Thursday. After a good darshan and visiting some friends, I returned in time to watch the fireworks organized by the management outside the entrance gate in the company of many residents seated in chairs or standing.  The prevalent festival spirit was palpable.

I returned home to watch the TV to see how Diwali was celebrated in the rest of the country when around 8.30 pm Tata Sky failed. Within a few minutes, I found the cracker noise completely stopped.  When I went to my veranda to check the reason, I found it was raining heavily. Obviously, the rain god had decided to restrict the noise and smoke pollution, even before the deadline imposed by the authorities

On the whole, it was an action-packed Diwali in Phase 4 - a `happening  place` where some activity or the other keeps happening to keep the residents engaged. I was happy that my `Thala Diwali`in my new home was a memorable event thanks to the friendly residents who ensured that I did not miss my family back home in Chennai.

 

Hearing Aids or Diamond Earrings?

Hearing aids are becoming necessary for senior citizens who continue leading active lives as I discovered two decades ago when I was in my early sixties. My association with Wan -IFRA, a

newspaper body with headquarters in Germany used to take me to Frankfurt every year to attend the Annual meeting of all the Country Heads for a review meeting. Thirty managers from different parts of the world would be seated around a rectangular conference table in the conference hall. There would be no public address system. While I could hear speakers with

loud and clear voices, I found it extremely difficult to hear anyone with a soft voice. Sometimes during a discussion, the Chairman of the meeting would ask me about my opinion on issues raised by some speakers whom I could not hear. It was embarrassing to tell the chair that I had no opinion as I could not hear the speaker.

I had no problem in India, as we use the public address system for meetings with less than 25 people. After I faced the problem in Germany on a couple of occasions I decided to go to an ENT specialist who referred me to an audiologist who recommended Siemens hearing aid. Those days expensive hearing aids using high-end digital technology were yet to make an appearance. I went for an inexpensive set which was not very effective. As soon as I wore the hearing aids the first sound I would hear would be the `Caw.. Caw` of the crows followed by other noises drowning the voices of the people I was conversing with. For this very reason many senior citizens do not wear hearing aids and continue to live with the hearing problem much to the annoyance of the near and dear ones. I have seen several movies in which the scriptwriters have exploited this problem to provide some fun moments. Let me tell you that it is no fun being hard of hearing.

Research has shown that one of the causes of depression in senior citizens is the hearing problem. When they find that they are hard of hearing and hearing aids are not giving them the expected solution, they tend to withdraw themselves and avoid socializing for fear of making fools of themselves. Idle mind is the devil`s workshop and such people lapse into self-pity and depression.

Today hearing aids using high-end digital technology are available which not only eliminate unnecessary sounds but give precise tuning of the system to suit every user. I found this out

seven years ago when someone recommended me an American brand of hearing aid called `Starkey`. When I wear this brand of hearing aids not only am I able to hear people talking to me but also can hear the voices of people talking away from me. I feel very confident in engaging in any conversation individually or at meetings. This has improved my confidence level. Without hearing aids I am as good as deaf.

Such hearing aids, however, are expensive. They cost a bomb. Each piece can cost anywhere from Rs.50,000 to a few lakhs. Mine cost me Rs.1,00,000 each. I tell people in jest that I am

wearing `Vaira Thodu` (diamond earrings). If you want to lead a quality life and if you can afford it, do not hesitate to go for such hearing aids.

One warning. If your hearing faculty is very low, even the most expensive hearing aids will not

be of any use.

A postponed Trip

 I had planned this short trip from 9^th to 14^th October to Chennai, primarily to attend my late mother`s 24<sup>th</sup> anniversary (shrardham) and the marriage reception of a friend`s son. My return flight was booked for Monday 14^th October afternoon.  A friend suggested that I postpone my return by a day so that I could attend an important event hosted by the well-known writer Sivasankari in Chennai.  It was being held to confer the Surya Award to a socially conscious and award-winning writer Ambai and the Akshara Award to another writer Nagarathinam  Krishna under the auspices of  Sivasankari Chandrasekaran  Charities.  Sivasankari, in her welcome address, called it a dream come true project for her. The Award consisted of a substantial cash prize, a memento, and a citation.

 Since I have great regard for both Sivsanakari and Amabai who are also my well-wishers I postponed my return trip by a day without losing any money as Indigo does not charge anything for one postponement. However, as there was repeated news from the authorities about  Chennai getting heavy rains between the 14^th and 16^th of October, I was worried about its likely impact on my return trip. Though there was no rain during the day on the 14^th, as I was nearing the hotel where the function was being held it started pouring and I became anxious about the possibility of my home being surrounded by water. So while I attended the well-organised function,  with the Governor of Tamil Nadu as the Chief guest, and met a lot of friends from the Tamil literary world, I decided to return home without attending the dinner following the meeting. To my surprise the rain had stopped and I had no problem reaching home. Until 9.30 am the following day (15^th) it was raining in fits and bursts without any water logging in front of my home. I booked a taxi at 11 am to take me to the airport.

Around 9.30 am the Varuna Bhagwan decided to prove the weathermen right by coming down heavily accompanied by lightning and thunder.  Within one hour my home was surrounded by water. The water level started rising and I shuddered at the possibility of the water entering my home. as it usually happens every year. One of the reasons I had decided to move to Coimbatore was that I did not want to face another flooding of my home.

In the meanwhile the taxi driver called to say that though the roads were flooded, he would `somehow` take me to the airport provided I agreed to pay him three times the normal fare.   Since there was the possibility of the flight being canceled or postponed indefinitely because of bad weather and on the advice of the family I decided to cancel the trip. My travel agent informed me that the cancellation at the last minute would mean that I would not get any refund.  I said my safety and security were more important than the monetary loss. I also have no regrets about postponing my trip and the loss of money as I got the opportunity to greet both Sivasankari and Ambai in person.

As I have always believed in the saying that `everything happens for the good `I am waiting for some good reason why the lord above made me postpone my trip. Om Sairam

PS. Though the water around my home has receded completely overnight, the possibility of more heavy rains from this afternoon is keeping me on tenterhooks. However, the Tamil Nadu weatherman`s forecast that the cyclonic depression has moved away from Chennai and is on its way to AP, gives me some hope. God willing, I plan to be back in Coimbatore this Saturday.

Nostalgia- Navarathri Golu

My daughter Kavitha`s recent post on her FB page showing pictures of the grand Golu she has arranged this year with the Ramayana theme triggered memories of the simple Golu that my mother used to arrange in the small one-room tenement (250 sq.ft) at the Chawl in Bombay where we were living.

 A few weeks before the start of the Navarathri celebrations she would pull out all empty tins and other containers stored in a small loft above the `Mori` (washroom)in the house. The day before the start of the Kolu she would clear half of the front portion of the house which was both the drawing room cum bedroom. She would start placing the empty containers and other items which could help her assemble a five steps `Golu padi`. This would be covered with a white cloth and some colourful festoons to make the arrangement attractive. Then she would pull out the boxes containing different kinds of dolls, mostly featuring different idols of popular gods, and arrange them neatly on the steps ensuring that dolls conveying a particular theme were displayed in the same padi (step). Dolls featuring different characters in Ramayana would occupy one step and another would feature a potbellied trader, popular as Chettiar, with all his wares. She would make a special effort to dress two -one-foot-high `Marapachi` dolls of a man and woman made in rosewood, appropriately attired to occupy either end of the top step, displaying all the comparatively bigger dolls. The dolls would become smaller as she came down the steps.

 One of the important items on display in front of the steps would be a small pond assembled using a round plate with water. She would pack the sides with mud and sow some `Nava dhanyam` on the first day. These would start sprouting leaves that would grow bigger every day of the nine days of the Golu. As a teenager and eldest in the family, I would assist my mother in making the arrangements. My main contribution was to make a small garden in a corner featuring small dolls of trees, birds and animals. At the centre would be a small hut made of cardboard and paper. One particular year I managed to light up the hut with a battery operated bulb, which became a hit among the visitors, consisting mainly of ladies in the chawl complex.

Since the room was small my mother would invite a fixed number of ladies for receiving the `vethalai pakku` ( Haldi -Kumkum )and prasadam. The children in the community would visit our home every day to get the different tasty prasadams mother would prepare. On the ninth day, the Saraswathi puja would be celebrated with the display of some of our school books and a few other items to represent ayudha pooja. On the tenth day ( Vijaya Dasami) after the puja, the books would be removed and we would be asked to read something to denote `Vidyarambam`.

 On the whole, while it was backbreaking work for my mother managing the house and taking care of the festivities related to the Navarathri celebrations, it was a fun time for the children, although there was no place for grown-up children like me to sleep inside the house, on those ten days. I had to find a suitable place, along with children with similar space problems, in the common passage or the terrace of the building to sleep.

Considering the kind of high-tech grand Golus that are arranged these days, it was a simple Golu which brought great joy to all those participating in the festivities.

 

The wheelchair and me

 In the last couple of years, I don't feel confident traveling alone when I go out of the station.  The reason -the anxiety syndrome that I have developed because of tripping and falling a couple of times. Fortunately,  so far I have survived with minimum or no collateral damage.

While I don`t mind traveling long distances by cars driven by call drivers,  train journeys are definitely a `no.. no` for me because of the long distances one has to walk with baggage in hand, climb steep stairs sometimes,  and the nightmare of using the toilets in a moving & undulating train. Even for travel by air, I used to prefer a friend or a family member to accompany me as it happened a couple of times last year. Besides, I also find it difficult to stand in one place ( like in queuing ) for a long time

In December last year when I was visiting Coimbatore to follow up on a lead I got about getting an apartment in Nana Nani, I found that there was no one to accompany me on the flight to Coimbatore.  So, reluctantly I decided to use the wheelchair service offered by Indigo. Since It was the first time I was using the wheelchair I was self-conscious and imagined that every other guy was staring at me. I went through the check-in and security process, physically helped by the Indigo staff, and reached the Departure gate within 15 minutes of arriving at the airport. I decided that henceforth  I will opt for the wheelchair service whenever  I travel by air.

Every time I am checked in, the girl at the check-in counter personally brings the boarding pass, and gently enquires about the reason why I was opting for a wheelchair before handing over the same to me.  I felt cared for and secure,  traveling alone. I know most of the seniors who travel abroad use this service during their international travels.

 A few days ago when  I was traveling by Indigo from Coimbatore to Chennai,  when the girl asked me the usual question, I decided, in keeping with my policy of making at least one person happy every day,  to be generous with my praise of the wheelchair service of Indigo and how it has made me travel alone with confidence.  The girl requested me to record my comments on their feedback app and opened the app for me.  Suddenly I found myself surrounded by all the check-in counter staff, as they did not have a long line of passengers waiting to check-in. After I finished recording I found a senior staff member presenting me with a  thank you note which contained the following line: `When you bring joy to others, you receive more joy in return`. I was pleasantly surprised that this is what I tell people all the time and recorded it in detail in my article titled `Joy of Giving`. The staff insisted on taking a group photo with me (attached)

 I was delighted that I had made more than one person happy that day. My day was Made!.