INDIA: Lala Is A Young Man of 82

EVERYDAY HEROES: Serving Seniors With Dignity MUMBAI (The Indian Express), October 29, 2007: What happens when a young boy, born and bred in Karachi, is thrown out of his country during the riots due to cruelty beyond his understanding? He comes to Dehradoon, becomes a scientific officer with the Ministry of Agriculture and Forest… retires, then comes to Mumbai just to face a fresh flurry of bloodbath again. So, finally, he decides to give up his business to his brother, and devote his time towards making the city a better place to live in. That, in short, is the history of octogenarian M K Lala, currently living in Yari Road, Andheri, and actively involved in a host of social service activities. Be it helping the aged through Dignity Foundation (he is joint chief dignitarian in the foundation), promoting communal harmony through mohalla committees, or cleaning up the city through the Bruhan Mumbai Municipal Corporations’s civic service wings, Lala is always leading from the forefront. “I am a young man of 82, you see,” he says, adding that members of the Dignity Foundation are forbidden to think of themselves as aged. Not that age really shows on him. Currently, Lala is working towards attending calls on the foundation helpline, where senior citizens from all over the city call for myriad reasons. “Their issues are numerous: like wanting someone to take them to the doctor, or a torturous daughter-in-law, we attend to all of them,” he says. The issuing of senior citizens’ identity cards, approved by the Government of Maharashtra has been another move of the foundation that he has been associated with. As a civic service member, Lala has led numerous drives to clean the city. He has often prodded the BMC for better roads and essential services. “In 1994, after the riots, I decided to give up my business (that he joined after retiring as scientific officer), and do something for the betterment of everybody. After all, money is not everything. There’s something called peace of mind, and that is very important to me. So I decided, enough is enough. My pension is enough to sustain me,” says the effervescent “young man”. Lala considers himself an optimist, and sees a lot of promise in the young India . However, just before signing off, he says, “Everybody lives for oneself, but the youth should think of helping others. This gives enormous peace of mind, and will definitely lead to a prosperous life. Hankering after money is not the solution.” © 2007 Indian Express Newspapers (Mumbai) Ltd.