INDIA: Second innings at Silver Hostel!

AHMEDABAD, Gujarat (The Times of India), September 1, 2008: By Vijaysinh Parmar, Times News Network Bachna Ae Haseeno, lo ye aa gaye! With their nests empty, they are ready to have fun. A group of 200 senior citizens in the city whose children have settled abroad got together and watched the newest blockbuster starring Ranbir Kapoor and three leggy lasses Bipasha Basu, Deepika Padukone and Minissha Lamba at a multiplex on Friday! “We had a roaring time. It was fun watching Ranbir woo three sexy ladies. We may be old but have adapted well to the times you see,” said Hemant Shah of Non-Resident Indians Parents’ Association, Ahmedabad (NRIPAA), which is planning to set up ‘Silver Hostel’ in the city. Sailesh Sheth, another parent whose children are settled abroad, said that they had all listened to Mukesh’s songs till late into the night and still managed to watch the film at 8 in the morning. “With all of us together, age is no bar to have some good time,” said Sheth. Such is the bonding between them that they are planning to provide comfortable and safe accommodation for elderly people with NRG children at the ‘Silver Hostel’ where they can live the second innings of their life sans their children but not without love and caring people around them. “We are contacting prominent builders who can partner us in this project. The hostel will cater to the needs of parents of NRIs and we want it to have a live, vibrant atmosphere,” Hemant Shah told TOI. The idea is that people from similar backgrounds get together under one roof. These senior citizens usually don’t have financial problems. Hostel staff will take care of bank transactions, phone bill payments, medical needs, and others. “For elderly, security and health care are the main anxieties. There are more than 250 members in NRIPAA. Whoever wishes to stay at the Silver Hostel will need to pay monthly or annual charges. Most of our members’ sons or daughters live in US, UK, Australia and New Zealand,” adds Shah. Copyright © 2008 Bennett Coleman & Co. Ltd.