The sweetest
candies, warmest cuddles, smartest advice and the best knowledge will undoubtedly come from the
oldest members of your family. You could search along the farthest places on
earth and yet not find anything as special as them. While they support you and
care for you throughout their lives, they are meant to be taken care of and
respected, especially during their later years.
We celebrate many festivals and days, but there is one day that
needed to be dedicated in their honour, and in 1991, we began celebrating the
elderly. Since then, every year on August 21 the day is recognised as World
Senior Citizen’s Day. The day acknowledges the contributions of older people to
society. It is not just celebrating them, but making people aware of all the
issues that affect older adults. Some of the problems brought to light are age
deterioration and the study of problems that affect their lives, for instance
elder abuse. It is common these days… The terror of abandoning older people,
to live their last days alone is inhuman. This observance acts as a reminder to
the public at large to be kind to the elderly.
The day also holds
many events, especially in Goa. One such event was the Seniors Parade. The
parade was organised by Sevarat Healthcare and Nursing Pvt Ltd, a senior care
service providing home care and home nursing for senior citizens. Seniors from
all ends of Goa attended the parade with a lot of enthusiasm. Last year, the
parade took place from the Miramar Circle towards Caranzalem. This year,
yesterday, on August 21, the parade took place from Odxel crossroad on the
University-Dona Paula road till the International Centre Goa. The parade was
later followed by a short cultural program and high tea at the ICG premises. During
the event, young people too were a part of it to encourage and cheer them and
add to the fervour of the evening.
“It’s the most
important part of our event calendar,” says Rohini Gonsalves from Sevarat
Healthcare and Nursing. “It’s important to use every possible opportunity to
express how important they are to us and that we are grateful to them for the
world we live in today. Loneliness is a pertinent problem in the lives of
elders everywhere in the world. Occasions like these present an opportunity to
elders to get out and interact with others, have fun and enjoy an evening meant
only for them,” she adds. Sampat Manerker, a senior citizen who travelled all
the way from Margao for the parade, was glad to be a participant of such an
event. “It was a very nice activity and good platform to interact with many
other seniors; we came together and shared our problems, talked about different
things on how the world was in those days,” he shares.
He also points out
that a lot of young people also participate in this day’s celebrations. It is
difficult for both the generations to get along and walk through the same lines
of life, which is why the young are necessary for such events in order to build
a connection among both different age groups.
Likewise, other
organisations had several health programs for the seniors. Health is an
important factor for the older age group. Giving them health tips and showing
exercising techniques are some of the activities in many places of Goa.
BoxingVoxing Fitness Studio held a special Restorative Yoga Workshop to help
seniors with issues such as arthritis, stiffness in the spine and joints. With
the aid of yoga props, the seniors learnt pain relieving postures to activate
and strengthen their joints with slow and gentle movements. They also learnt
specific breathing techniques (pranayam) for blood pressure disorders,
digestion problems and sleep related imbalances.
Geetanjali
Lobo, Ashtanga Yoga and Vinyasa Flow Instructor for the program, explains that
a lot of seniors do not have the liberty of travelling on their own to regular
classes, thus the workshop gave them the necessary skills and basics. “There
couldn’t be a better occasion than world Senior Citizen’s Day to embrace good
physical and mental health for the mature citizens of our society and it an
opportunity for us to express our concern and care for them,” she expresses.
