SOCIAL WORKERS WITH A MISSION: CARING FOR ELDERLY

Forty years ago, a young man joined the Madras School of Social Work with the idea of working in a company on completion of the social work course :K.R.Gangadharan. He was a talented student and successfully completed the postgraduate programme. On completion, he joined a private company as Industrial Relations Officer. He then worked in two corporate groups before joining Apollo Hospitals as Manager ,where he was promoted as General Manager. He then shifted his base to
Hyderabad and while he was Vice-President of a corporate hospital, he decided to be on his own. At that time I placed before him a vision and a plan to enter the field of ageing, in which I had been modestly active. He was sceptical of my suggestion because he was unfamiliar with the field of elder care. But finally he started the Heritage Institute for the Care of the Elderly at Hyderabad, an exclusive health centre and hospital for the older persons. It was the first venture of its kind in India. Since then Gangadharan has expanded services to the elderly such as nursing care and bedside assistance to bedridden elderly at their homes, training nursing personnel and bedside assistants, apartments for the older persons with support services, and a variety of other innovative elder care measures. He took active interest in the global body International Federation on Ageing (IFA) and visited almost all countries spending his own hard-earned money. Impressed by his enthusiasm Gangadharan was first elected as a Director of IFA and subsequently as its President. He was the first President of IFA below 60 years. He contributed significantly for the expansion of IFA globally.

Gangadharan was awarded PhD for his well-researched dissertation on Care Burden of Care Givers of Bedridden Elderly. Dr. Gangadharan was invited to speak at the White House Conference on Ageing in 2005. He was a member of the Open-ended Working Group on Ageing to facilitate UN efforts. He was invited as a Resource Person by the UN ESCAP and WHO SEAR in many of their regional meetings of experts on ageing. He was appointed by the Government  of India as a member of the five -member committee which drafted the revised National Policy on Senior Citizens in 2011. Earlier he was a member of the National Council of Older Persons from 2006-2011. He was also a member of the Andhra Pradesh State Advisory Council to implement the national policy on older persons. Dr. Gangadharan has been very active in promoting elder care organisations and services in all states in India. He maintains excellent relations with the state , national and international bodies on ageing.

Dr.K.R.Gangadharan is synonymous with elder care movement in India. His wife Nalini has been vibrantly involved in skill development of the youth in Indian States and in African countries .They  both are wonderful parents who have empowered their daughters Pournima and Pavithra as competent professionals capable of carrying on the initiatives of Gangadharan and Nalini. Still younger in age, Dr.Gangadharan has many many more years of active service left in him to enrich the lives of the elderly in India and in other countries.

YOGA INDIA'S GIFT TO GLOBAL WELL-BEING

On  June 21, the first International Yoga Day will be observed in 191 countries of diverse religious faith and political ideology under the auspices of the United Nations .
Yoga, an ancient science, dates back to more than 5,000 years ago, long before the birth of religions.  Yoga  is derived from the Sanskrit word YOG which means "to join " or " to unite ". Yoga is a spiritual discipline,which may not be confused with religion and a subtle science. Yoga brings about harmony between mind and body, between man and nature. Yoga is a holistic science of human well-being  :     Yoga prevents disorders of mind and body.
                 Yoga promotes and maintains health &
                 Yoga helps  manage physical and mental disorders.
At the philosophical level, the practice of Yoga leads to the union of individual consciousness with the universal consciousness indicating harmony between humans and nature.

The great sage Maharishi Patanjali systematised and codified the then existing yoga practices which are known as Pathanjali's  Yoga Sutras. The effectiveness of  Yoga sadhanas or practices is well established even by critical modern researchers..It is a very cheap and easily accessible form of alternative medicine with no side-effects.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi,in his maiden address at the UN General Assembly,made  a passionate appeal to the world forum to declare one day as International Yoga Day. The comity of nations accepted the proposal of the UN Secretary General to declare June 21 as the International Yoga Day. The credit for taking Yoga to the centre stage of  the world definitely goes to Narendra Modi.

Intolerant of the global recognition that Narendra Modi gets, Congress Party and some pseudo-secular formations in India are virtually opposing the International Yoga Day. Let them be victims of their own intolerance.
Meanwhile, let us in India join the entire global society to LIVE LIFE TO ITS FULL POTENTIAL.

YET ANOTHER WORLD ELDER ABUSE AWARENESS DAY

Today marks the Tenth anniversary of the World Elder Abuse Awareness Day ( WEAAD). As each WEAAD moves by the number of old people abused ,neglected and thrown away by their children and close relatives have also been on the increase in India.

Chennai Metropolitan Mofussil Bus Terminus (CMBT) is a spacious and comfortable structure built by the Tamilnadu government for the benefit of the commuters. But this Terminus is also the terminal point of the family life of many aged persons. Children bring the unwanted parents here on the pretext of taking them to some idyllic place, ask them to wait for a few minutes, and go away never to return. The stranded parents are finally taken to some old age homes by the police. Definitely a better abode. The Bus Terminus is a better option for the children than the temples and churches  because their crime is not before the eyes of the God. Recently other bus terminuses are also preferred by the relatives who are in a hurry. Guduvanchery terminus is one such place. Two instances were reported in the media,

Saroja of Sembium was found unconscious near the Guduvanchery bus terminus. She said her son Narendran ( the name of great Swami Vivekananda) brought her there. Eighty year old Saraswathi from Uthiramerur in Kancheepuram district was another victim. The police took both of them back to their families. By this time what would have happened to the two women ? God only knows. These are only examples.

Dr. Jayalalithaa, CM of Tamilnadu, has launched good social security schemes for the aged and other sections. But the implementation is in the hands of insensitive officials ( Not all, but some).A 95 year old from Selur in Madurai had a harrowing experience . After attending a public grievance meeting at the Collectorate he applied for old age pension on May 19,2014. But after a lot of running from post to pillar his application was registered finally on June 28. He is a widower and his children are poor. One son is no more and the other is bedridden. His daughter herself needs financial support. The Village Administrative Officer and Revenue Inspector visited him and declared that he was a destitute. But his world came crashing down on September 4 when the Tahsildar in charge of  social security schemes rejected his pension application on the ground that the man would be able to work for his bread. The nonagenarian takes some minutes to move each step as he uses a walker. But the government officer  was convinced that the old man was healthy enough to work for his living. WHAT AN AWARENESS ?