Geriatric care

Bouncing with boundless energy, unaware of the gradually changing world of toddlers into living with restrictions stipulated by the seniors in the family, the child unwittingly progresses to adulthood encountering more restrictions dictated by the uncaring society. The realisation of the imperatives of preparing in advance to sustain physical fitness, mental stability, disorders, diseases and distress dawns a bit too late in life. The expression that life begins at forty and starts showing acquires its meaning and message mostly towards the closing stages on one’s innings except in cases of those fortunate enough to be groomed well. The fact that the less fortunate are in majority and account for several millions of headcount in the land’s population is no justification to accept slipshod ways, particularly taking liberties with food consumption regimen.

The land’s ancient scripts are a rich source of guidelines on all aspects of living the full span of four scores and twenty by adhering to discipline of eating in moderation, maintaining cleanliness, not yielding to temptations hurting health, reading books authored by reputed scholars and so on. These guidelines seem to be followed more in breach by gen next in our times.

The 2011 census of India has brought out that the proportion of the elderly has risen by 35 per cent in a decade and their number stands estimated at 103 million. The plight of this section of the land’s population living in urban spaces is different from that of their counterparts in the rural parts. Proliferation of nuclear families in the cities, along with a rise in the number of women working outside their homes and grown up children gone abroad have resulted in the elderly getting stranded. The case of affluent sections is a bit more cheerful given the growing number of retirement homes with five-star facilities and assisted living care.

While the State has no wherewithal to create a social security system, the burden of caring for the elderly, bugged by myriad disabilities is already mind-boggling. The able-bodied and well-provided sections in the younger age group have the moral responsibility of geriatric care, not forgetting the Hindi idiom “saas bhi kabhi bahu thi” (mother-in-law was also once a daughter-in-law).