INDIA: Sixty and still going strong

. NEW DELHI (ExpressIndia), September 7, 2008: By Richa Bhatia An association for the retired provides an alternative social space for senior citizens A former driver with the Sports Ministry, 63-year-old Phool Singh retired in 2005 and suddenly found himself doing nothing all day long. A resident of Mandawali, a colony near Mother Dairy in East Delhi, Singh says, “Sometimes my family members got miffed by my idleness.” Bored, Singh began to envision an alternative social space for senior citizens, with recreational facilities, yoga classes, participatory initiatives like teaching homeless children and more. Last year, a Chattarpur-based NGO, Nada India Foundation, visited the locality to impart computer training to senior citizens. “I enlisted for the classes, where people exhorted me to form a society,” says Singh. Luckily, for Singh, the Mandawali community centre set up by the MCD in 2000 was lying vacant—as per Government regulations, any registered charitable society could apply for it. “Nobody ever paid any attention to it. It served as a meeting joint for gamblers,” says Singh. Along with a few others, Singh promptly formed and registered the Senior Citizens Association, of which he is the president. They began with 18 members. In February this year, the 200-sq-ft centre, located in the middle of the Mandawali Subzi Mandi, was opened. Singh, who went from door to door after his daily morning walk to enlist people, is now proud of the 114-member association. For the past six months, opening the doors of the centre at 9 a.m. and closing them at 5.30 p.m. has been a daily ritual for Singh. “I clean the hall every morning,” he says. Singh also actively participates in the upkeep of the colony. Though the centre’s infrastructure needs to be improved, the members are making the most of the available facilities. Every day, about 30 senior citizens gather to share their problems and experiences. “We conduct group counselling sessions for people who suffer ill-treatment at the hands of their children. Most of them are pensioners, but their money is pocketed by their kith and kin,” says Singh. At the monthly meeting, problems regarding pension, ration card, etc., are discussed. The association also holds meetings with other senior citizen organisations. Dr S.C. Gaba, an ayurvedic doctor, receives patients at the centre in the morning. A lanky man, Singh himself has been dabbling in ayurveda since his youth. While he was in the government’s service, he used to help senior bureaucrats deal with their ailments. “We cannot do yoga as we don’t have mats. We pass our time reading, chatting and sometimes doing stretching exercises. It is a breather from post-retirement life at home,” says Bhopal Singh, 60, a former contractor who visits the centre regularly. The centre has a small library—a rack of old books donated to the association. It also issues identity cards to members, with which they can avail concessions on railway and DTC bus journeys. But not everyone is happy with the association occupying the centre. “Besides the local miscreants who used the place for gambling, the local counsellor is also miffed,” says Bhopal. But Phool Singh plans to expand the scope of the activities of the association. He wishes to open a centre for women that would train them in dance and stitching. Helping other senior citizens lead a fulfilling life, Singh himself is living his post-retirement years working for a cause he believes in. © 2008 Indian Express Newspapers (Mumbai) Ltd.