All Saints Home... A jounery to future....

I was on my way to visit a home for the aged during a philanthropy event for my office, wondering how I would feel when I saw them and how they live away from their families. None can deny the parents favor upon their children. The parents are the underlying reason for the existence of the child. They have reared him in his babyhood and experienced painstaking efforts to provide full comfort and sound well-being. Your mother had you in her womb while you were a parasite there sharing her food and whole being for nine months.

We started in the morning at about 7.45 from various places of Mumbai to reach Mazgaon. And this visit to an old age home made my heart heavy that day. I have been to orphanages but never to an old age home until the day, we, a team of employees organized this activity by collecting funds and buying gifts, fruits and visit the ‘All Saints Home’ in Mazgaon. I entered the home and saw many old women seated in a hall. There was this very old grandma who was seated a few meters away from the entrance and when I talked to her, I came to know that she was a teacher.

There was one sweet grand mother in the home whose husband died and she didn’t have married since then. I don’t know what to say but my eyes were not wet but on the verge of flooding. I went to the rooms and met one grandma there; she was in the old home since one year. I told her to come out with us and she just looked in my eyes, held my hand and started crying, I don’t know what to say but she came to the main hall with me and she sat on a sofa there, I sat by her legs and she was just crying. I know it’s hard to believe but there are people who thinks parents are kind of responsibility on their head which they can’t carry. How can they do so?

But there were many good points also to remember, when we were at the old age home, all of us thought it will be a kind of serious activity and they being old not much interested in the physical activities like dance. But to my surprise they had sung the songs very well, two of the grandma's danced and sung at the same time. Wow... can you imagine age 70+ and still the spirit of never say die. When it was time to play some music all the grand moms started to dance and I was just wondering who is old in them. We are old or they are old. Each event, including quiz competition they were on target and all of them were having a smile. But I don’t know I felt though they are smiling but a pain resides somewhere in the heart of them and which will not come out. They have buried it and are enjoying each moment as it comes and that’s what I guess we need to learn from them... Live each moment as it comes.

We parted from there after spending approx 4 hours but those 4 hours have added so much in us that we are not as before. And we are thankful to almighty to give us an opportunity to do this.

Thanks to all the team members we were able to share some of their laughs and tears... Finally when we left, I had one thing in my mind,

Why do some children neglect their old age parents and consider them as a burden? Don’t the parents deserve back the love they gave to their children?