The Elders, Pillars of Society

"Aged widow found murdered in her flat." It is a headline of a news article which left me grieving about the state of our elders in our society. The above-mentioned lady used to live alone in her house. It has become commonplace and painfully so, to find the old living alone in the last stage of their lives. Just when they need the support of their children most, their kin leave them to survive on their own. It is the plight of our nation that just when troubles attack a person, help says goodbye and leaves.

Talking of the troubles of old people, the first thing that comes to mind is their physical fragility. But, something more important than bodily weakness is the need for emotional security and support for the aged. As Shakespeare said in the "The Seven Ages", in the last stage of his life a man is "sans everything". When such a condition arises, the youth must be present to support and care for their elders.

Sadly, the youth does not attempt to provide their parents or grandparents with this much needed care. They are shunted away to live in old-age homes or forced to live alone in their own houses. The young attempt to remove the old from their homes in order to enjoy their freedom. But, Alas! They know not that if they will remove the pillars of society, the establishment will crumble.

In such a scenario, the measure that can be taken to give the elders of society, a happy life is to include them in the main strata of society. If we cannot radically change the mindset of people, we can atleast provide the senior citizens with adequate medical facilities, spacious housing facilities where they can live together and interact with each other. Let the NGOs come up, let the government take required measures and let us ensure that no other lady is killed because she was old and lived alone.