INDIA: Never Too Old To Put Up A 'Pandal'

A group of senior citizens organises its own Durga puja KOLKATA, West Bengal (DNA), October 20, 2007: The crimson decorations around this pandal is tinged with silver and grey. Tucked away in a residential neighbourhood in south Kolkata, Dr Sisir Datta, a 70-year-old physician, gives last-minute directions to his workers as they scurry about, hanging the lights and setting up the chairs in the courtyard, where Durga has already arrived in all her divine splendour. This puja is a bit different. It is being organised by a set of senior citizens, mostly for themselves, though all are welcome. Perhaps the only one of its kind in India, it is being organised by Dr Datta, a gynaecologist by profession and the founder president of the Indian Association of Retired Persons, an organisation modelled on the American Association of Retired Persons. However, the Indian organisation’s 4,000-strong membership from across the country is minuscule against the whopping 35 million on the US body’s rolls. “In the US, this organisation has a lot of political clout, unlike in India, where, senior citizens often have no place in most mainstream activities,” rues Dr Datta. “We want to tell the younger generation that we have lived 50 years longer than you and want to share our knowledge and experience with you… we want a bit of respect from our children and grandchildren,” says Datta. For the nation, Dr Datta makes it clear, the message is, “We have a vote and our voice needs to be heard.” Datta, a gynaecologist by profession and who served the better part of his practising years in the US, lives alone in India at present, with his wife and four children settled in US. By Madhumita Mookerji © 2005-2007 Diligent Media Corporation Ltd.