Your Shopping Bag is Empty
My granddad was an iron man for most of his life. He took care of my grandmom with the utmost care. He juggled it with a routine that started at 0330 hrs every morning. Boiling water for everyone’s use during the day, exercising for an hour, massaging my arthritic grandmom’s leg, morning prayers, plucking the flowers from the garden and sigh... waking us all up in time for the aarti, all before 0700 hrs in the morning!
The newspaper, coffee and the ritualistic help given to my grandmom in the kitchen comprised his day till 1100 hrs before he went (twice a week) out to the bank or spent it in the garden to weed, fertilise, swap pots, etc. till 1300 hrs.
Lunch and then a siesta in the afternoon till 1600 hrs before he went back to the garden to now water the plants till 1800 before proceeding to walk for an hour before watching TV (DD rocked for them) and crashing out by 2130.
This was the everyday schedule till my grandmom passed away in 1998 at 78 years when he was 88 years. It just took a year for him to pass on. He had apparently survived a tumor the size of a golf ball for a considerable period before it was diagnosed (after she passed on). They were that close. He lived for her.
I remember my dad sitting with him during that period. He was the ideal son to him. Spent all his free time at home with him after office, getting him expert care, a special bed, specialty equipment for his lack of movement, etc. In the age of the joint family, it was accepted that someone would do this familial duty. But in today’s nuclear age, it is more than likely that you are separated from your parents in a different city, sometimes in a different house within the same city. It is more than likely that you have a special SOS ringtone set for your parents calling you so that you never miss out. They surpass the DND set on my phone even during meetings and I NEVER cut the call or not pick up. I know they deserve the best and in spite of my being in another city, I think of them a lot, I visit them a lot, make business meetings in their town, etc. They refuse to shift to my city due to climatic differences that they would rather not face.
But in today’s nuclear age, it is more than likely that you are separated from your parents in a different city, sometimes in a different house within the same city. It is more than likely that you have a special SOS ringtone set for your parents calling you so that you never miss out. They surpass the DND set on my phone even during meetings and I NEVER cut the call or not pick up. I know they deserve the best and in spite of my being in another city, I think of them a lot, I visit them a lot, make business meetings in their town, etc. They refuse to shift to my city due to climatic differences that they would rather not face.
A shoulder joint replacement for my dad and both knee replacements for my mom later, my parents are supposedly freaking out. They go to the movies twice a week at the most convenient of times, 1030 hrs, in the morning on a weekday. My dad has an electric car which my brother and I got them. He ferries my mom around town as required. She has friends visiting them every Friday just like she has a schedule visiting them on every other day. There are products that make them enjoy their lively independence. My mom has other problems with her hearing, ankle, and arthritis that she gets help with. A high-end headset configured to the TV lets her enjoy her SaReGaMaPa and youtube is another discovery that she enjoys a lot. Special bands for her legs help her walk 5 km twice a day. And then there's back pain, so there are a lumbar support belt and a fomentation bag. She has a problem with her heel for which she uses silicon heel cushions. She is hooked to her headset during the walk.
More and more, I suspect my dad loves his car more than my mom, what with all the freedom it has given him. His shoulder is still weak. Try telling a grown man to exercise his shoulder on a daily basis. Especially when he feels that there is no problem if he can drive a car. He even got Mahindra to give his old model electric car a power steering at nominal charges.
They have problems… yes, but they are mobile…they are smiling at life.
By Shankar Sundararaman
Guest Author and Head of Retail Excellence at Royal Enfield
Comments will be approved before showing up.
