We are all aware of the first part of this definition, which is to be thankful, but what about the latter part? Do we show appreciation and kindness where it is richly deserved? Or are we so self-engrossed in ourselves that we have no time to thank those who serve us in any way?

Let’s take the most common example here — our house help. Do we thank them or show an appreciation for what they do for us regularly? Or do we think that just because we pay them, we don’t need to thank them? After all, what they do for us enriches our lives by giving us the time and opportunity to do what gives us joy and takes the drudgery away from our lives. That calls for gratefulness!

What about our spouses and family members? If they do something for us do we show them any appreciation? Or do we just take them for granted? We need to stop, reflect and correct our attitude if we want to spread joy around us.

As we reflect on our lives gone by, we realise that we are truly not in a bad space. Life has, in some ways given us what we thought we deserve.

Let me clarify the word ‘deserved’. Think about this carefully and deeply! If you look at yourself and your situation today, you will realise that you are exactly in the place you imagined yourself to be, based on what you thought you were entitled to and taking into account your own true feelings of your capabilities and limitations! Don’t for a moment, believe that you haven’t got what you wanted or felt you deserved. Reflect on this deeply and you’ll realise the truth of this statement. You are the creator of your life. So shouldn’t you be grateful?

Psychological evidence has shown that grateful people are more attentive, determined, energetic, enthusiastic, helpful, interested, joyful, and optimistic than those who aren’t. I’m sure we’d all like to be in this category! The important mind shift that happens through being grateful is that we slowly start thinking about the positives in our life, instead of dwelling on the negatives!

My own personal experience has been that when I practise gratitude, I raise my happiness quotient immediately! I’m happy and feel an immense sense of privilege to be where I am! To be surrounded by a loving and supportive family, caring friends and doing what I love to do! Look at your own lives and dwell on the positives. They are aplenty!

Here’s a beautiful quote by Marcus Aurelius who was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 and a Stoic* philosopher….

So how do we practice this virtue of Gratefulness?

Here’s a simple exercise that I do every morning, I fold my hands in prayer and thank the universe for any three happy gifts I experienced the previous day. You can do the same! Anything small or big. A smile, a hug, appreciation in any form, or maybe something bigger like your family, your living circumstances, your work, your comforts that maybe you are fortunate to have?

It’s your mind and your choices, so be grateful for whatever you think matters to you.

Alternatively, keep a gratitude journal, and write in it every single day – Messages of Gratefulness.

Thank the people around you. Those who stood by you through the highs and lows in your life. They may be family, friends, colleagues, bosses, gurus, anyone that pointed you in the right direction for your growth — physical, emotional, mental or spiritual!

It’s never too late to thank them, in any way that works for you and them. It’s a great exercise to do at a later age when you have the time to reflect and review the years gone by!

So whip out the ‘thank you’ notes or message them immediately! Better still, call them. You are doubling happiness, yours and theirs!

A short note on abundance!

Abundance is a state of mind, and it is not something you strive for. If you feel or act with abundance, the universe senses it and returns it to you multifold! It is the Karmic law of giving and receiving! So, learn to be grateful and abundance will flow automatically because you have shifted your mindset to one of ‘Having’ and not ‘Wanting’.

I’ll end with this beautiful quote from Ekhart Tolle, a famous author and philosopher. He says “Acknowledging the good that you have in your life, is the foundation of all abundance.”

All it requires is awareness and a shift in your thinking!

*An ancient Greek school of philosophy founded at Athens by Zeno of Citium. The school taught that virtue, the highest good, is based on knowledge; the wise live in harmony with the divine Reason (also identified with Fate and Providence) that governs nature and are indifferent to the vicissitudes of fortune and to pleasure and pain.

Aloe Vera: Known for a host of properties beneficial to the skin, aloe vera happens to significantly reduce the appearance of wrinkles, adding collagen, the main structural protein found in skin and other connective tissues and keeping the skin hydrated. Daily application of aloe vera gel can do wonders.

Banana mask: A powerhouse of natural oils and vitamins, bananas are considered to boost skin health and improve the appearance of wrinkles. All you need to do is mash a quarter of a banana, make a smooth paste, apply a thin layer of the paste on your skin, allow it to sit and dry for 15 to 20 minutes and rinse it off with warm water.

Egg whites: The thin egg membrane separating the egg white from the eggshell helps effectively in reducing wrinkles. It has been found to increase collagen production, thereby making the skin smoother and stretchy. However, those who are allergic to eggs must avoid this method.

Essential oils: Putting a small amount of essential oils mixed with a carrier oil on wrinkles may help in reducing them. Diluting it with a carrier oil helps to avoid irritation on the skin. Some effective essential oils for wrinkles are frankincense, jojoba, lavender, pomegranate, rose and sandalwood.

Olive oil, veggies and legumes: Consuming olive oil protects the skin from developing wrinkles. The stems and leaves of olive and the extracted oil contain compounds that increase the skin’s collagen levels. Also, vegetables like tomatoes, broccoli and legumes like lentils and beans have protective properties against wrinkles.

Vitamin C: Rich in antioxidants, Vitamin C helps create collagen in the skin and improves the appearance of wrinkles and any form of sun damage to the skin. Vitamin C is found naturally in chilli peppers, guava, lemons, oranges and kale. You can also apply a topical gel containing Vitamin C that hydrates the skin, increases collagen and decreases inflammation.

Applying moisturizer to the skin daily, keeping it hydrated, keeping away from smoking and sticking to a healthy diet rich in fresh fruits and vegetables and low in processed foods goes a long way in keeping your skin looking smooth and shining.

• In order to get yourself vaccinated, prior registration is mandatory. You can register on https://www.aarogyasetu.gov.in/ or https://www.cowin.gov.in/home using a government recognised identity card.
• Please take the help of a family member or friend for scheduling an appointment if you are not comfortable with online processes.
• You will have to take two doses of the vaccine. Make sure to take the second dose after 28 days of the first.
• Vaccination at the government centre is free. If you choose a private hospital, you will be charged Rs 250.
• Do not forget to take your Registration Number/Beneficiaries Number ( the number you receive on your phone once you have registered) when you visit the vaccination centre.
• Please do wear a mask and go. Before vaccinating, they will check your temperature, oxygen and will sanitise your hands at the centre.
• Keep any health or co-morbidity details ready.
• You might be given a token at the vaccination centre. Although the vaccination process takes only five minutes, prior and post-vaccination time is required.
• Be prepared for a long queue. Please carry a water bottle, biscuits, personal medicines, hand towel, tissue paper as it may be time-consuming. Please do maintain social distancing.
• There is no need to hurry or rush. Everyone will get vaccinated when their turn comes. Remain calm and relaxed. It is good to take a family member or a caregiver along for any kind of support.
• When you enter the vaccination room or just before it they will register you. You will have to fill in your details online and take a photo and your government id card will be asked for.
• At the time of vaccination, the nurse will tell you about the vaccine, why it is given, its uses and its name. If not, please do ask for these details and name.
• After vaccination, you will be asked to sit under observation for 30 minutes. That is because if you show up signs of any after effects, you will be treated there.
• After mandatory 30 minutes observation, you will be given medicines in case of any side effects like fever, pain and more.
• You may get the vaccination certificate there or you can download the same from the aforementioned websites.
• When you leave the vaccination centre, make sure to take the contact of the in-charge or someone whom you can reach in case you develop any symptoms of side effects at home.

For those with some specific conditions

• For a person with Dementia or Mental health, do take along medical papers, inform the health officers regarding same, do not hide mental health issue, a family member or caregiver should not leave them alone anytime.
• In case a person has allergies to medication or drugs, it is important to inform the same to the health officer at the centre or take clearance from your doctor to get an all-clear from a medical practitioner.
• For a person between 45 years to 59 age group with co-morbidity, remember to take a certificate from an approved doctor and reference medical report.
• Dementia and mental illness can be covered in co-morbidity with a letter from the doctor.

“While it takes hardly a few minutes to get vaccinated, the whole procedure may require around 5 to 6 hours. Also, I did not experience any pain or any side effects immediately after the vaccination but after around 10 to 12 hours, I developed a painful lump around the site of the injection, had a mild temperature, felt a little dizzy and very weak which lasted for the next two days. Overall it went well and I am all set for my second dose after 28 days,” says 53-year-old Mousumi Chatterjee from Bengal who has recently taken her first jab.

Common side-effects that you may develop after the first jab include injection site pain, injection site swelling, injection site redness, injection site itching, stiffness in the upper arm, weakness in the injection arm, body ache, headache, fever, malaise, weakness, rashes, nausea, and vomiting.

Difficulty in breathing, swelling of your face and throat, a fast heartbeat, rash all over your body, and dizziness and weakness could be some of the severe allergies post-vaccination, but the chances are very rare for these.

Red: Red hibiscus flowers are widely found in Indian home gardens. Dry some of them until crisp and use a grinder to make a fine powder out of the petals. You can also use red sandalwood to get red dry colour. Add rice flour in equal quantities to increase the volume of the powder. For the wet red colour, boil peels of pomegranate in water.

Yellow: For bright yellow herbal gulal, blend turmeric powder with gram flour in a 1:2 ratio. Or you may try hand mixing 200gm arrowroot powder, 100gm haldi, 50gm marigold flowers, 20gm orange peel powder (finely powdered) and 20 drops of essential oil of lemon or sandalwood by gently rubbing them together. Your organic and fragrant yellow gulal will be ready in no time. For wet yellow colour, crush yellow marigold or yellow chrysanthemums and mix them with water.

Green: Green-coloured gulal could be obtained from henna or Mehendi powder. For wet green colour, spinach and coriander leaves are popular choices. All you need to do is make a paste using spinach or coriander leaves, mix that with water and play. Henna powder could also be mixed with water or oil for liquid green colour but it may leave a stain on the skin.

Magenta: For wet magenta colour, soak sliced beetroots in water, boil the mixture and leave it overnight. For a darker pinkish shade, you may dilute the concoction slightly more. Red onions could also be used for the same purpose. For dry powder, you may grind beetroot to make a paste and then dry it in sun. Mix the dried paste with besan and wheat flour and use.

Blue: For blue coloured gulal, you can use powdered blue hibiscus flower petals mixed with rice flour. For wet colours, mix crushed and dried jacaranda flowers with water and spray.

Why should you use organic home-made colours?

Organic colours protect the skin from acute nail fold inflammation, aggravation of pre-existing dermatoses, abrasion, discoloration, and contact dermatitis caused by synthetic Holi colours. Homemade colours prevent excessive hair fall and drying. Organic colours are easy on clothes and will disappear after a few washing, thereby saving you from the trouble of having stained clothes. Apart from these, they are eco-friendly and do not cause any harm to the environment.

Follow these tips, make your own colours and immerse yourself in the vibrant festivities with grandchildren and family.

It is perhaps fitting that Mrs Pollifax entered my life quite by chance. My eyesight having weakened, I now ‘read’ by listening to audiobooks. In my search for another, totally different book, I happened to click, in error, on ‘Mrs. Pollifax on Safari’ by Dorothy Gilman. Instead of my usual reaction of clicking back out and continuing my search for the book I wanted, I stopped and listened. The narrator, Barbara Rosenblat, is superb with her voice modulation and held my attention.

Within minutes, I was completely hooked to the tale that was unfolding.

Mrs Pollifax, it turned out, is a spy for the CIA – having become a spy quite by chance in her sixties. She is a delightful character with her penchant for crazy hats and her fondness for writing and receiving snail-mail. Maybe that’s why I love her – I’m known for my collection of hats myself, and I send out snail-mail letters by the dozen each month. But those characteristics aside, Mrs Pollifax possesses an uncanny ability to perceive things others miss out on. She also happens to have a brown belt in karate. Some tell me she sounds a bit like Jane Marple. So – it’s confession time. I don’t know anything about Jane Marple, not having read the books by Agatha Christie. Somehow, mysteries haven’t been my cup of tea thus far and it’s intriguing to me that I should love the Mrs Pollifax books so much. I’m trying to figure out why.

It’s because of Mrs Pollifax herself, mainly. Her charm, her innocent appearance, her absolute integrity, loyalty and courage. And her incredible sense of humour. Returning from an adventure with her arm in a sling, she responds to her husband’s anxious ‘Not a broken arm?’ with a dismissive ‘No, no, darling, just a bullet.’ She is also well versed in human nature, observing people’s reactions, their gestures, their eyes, and picking up clues where none exist for her fellow agents. She forms deep friendships and shares her wisdom with new-found friends, in pithy and profound one-liners like ‘There are no happy endings, Jenny, only happy people.’ A completely lovable character who is well up to the larger-than-life situations that face her.

Image courtesy: Amazon.com

What faces her is travel. The books, set in various countries across the globe, give a rich understanding of local people and customs and an idea of the history and politics of the region. The terrain and architecture are vividly described. The plot is usually woven in with the politics, and a series of events leading to a breathtaking climax. Though I am new to spy/detective fiction, I think I can say that the author, Dorothy Gilman, is completely fair to her readers. All the pieces of the jigsaw are provided, and I have never felt that the solution was unfair. There are always hints to point the reader in the right direction, should the reader be inclined to solve the mystery along with the protagonist.

The protagonist, who points out that language isn’t a barrier to ferreting out information because human beings are the same the world over, with their hopes and aspirations, greed and hatred, all of which are mirrored by the eyes and need verbal utterance.

To those readers for whom the plot is important and spoilers are not welcome, I’d advise you to read the books in reading order. Characters often refer to earlier adventures (‘they had first met each other when they were tied back-to-back by hoodlums’), and in a few cases, the same character appears in a subsequent book with a new agenda. A villain sometimes re-appears as a sympathizer or vice-versa. I’m listening to the books in random order and enjoying them.

Being, on the whole, averse to the bloodshed that is common in mystery novels, I was happy to find it confined in the Mrs Pollifax books only to scenes in which it was really required. Only one book of the eight I’ve heard so far, “Mrs Pollifax and the Lion Killer” has sinister undertones throughout and creeped me out a bit. Regular readers of mystery novels might also be able to discern the hint of a formula in the writing (two sub-plots converging; the first arrest being incorrect and so on) but this in no way detracts from the enjoyment of the book.

What may detract younger readers is the dated technology. The fourteen books span two-and-a-half decades, from the sixties to the eighties, and such dilemmas as how to send a cable without the switchboard operator knowing the contents would not be relatable to nowadays.

I hope some readers do actually click on the free audiobooks and allow Dorothy Gilman and Barbara Rosenblat to carry them into the delightful world of Mrs Pollifax. She is the one who has made me appreciate the genre, and I’m grateful.

Cover image courtesy: Pixabay

Sonali Bhatia is an avid reader.  She is also a dedicated post-mark collector and has written about this rare and interesting hobby for us. Read about her quest for Post Cancellation Marks here.

Bhavani Swaminathan

When there is an unexplained joint pain and stiffness, which does not have any apparent cause, this can be a symptom of the onset of arthritis causing inflammation of joints, pain, stiffness & disability. There are more than 100 forms of arthritis. Let us understand the main reason behind this problem. The issue of arthritis does not develop in a day or within a short period. It starts with a minor health issue initially, which is when the food is left undigested.

Food is fuel, and the food we eat supplies nutrients to each cell of our body. The digestion process starts from our mouth when we start chewing the food. If we consciously chew each piece of food at least 15-20 times, then half the digestion happens in the mouth itself. Now the partially digested food travels through the oesophagus and enters the small intestine and gets digested completely. The remaining undigested food moves down through large intestine and is thrown out of the body. The digested food gets assimilated and supplies nutrients to every cell of the body. If the digestion does not happen properly, then the undigested food remains inside and starts spreading toxins in the body. These toxins called ‘ama’ obstruct the joints and their movements.

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The common forms of arthritis are:

Osteoarthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis

Gout

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According to Ayurveda, the two main types are :

Amvata

Sandhivata

Amvata or rheumatoid arthritis is a consequence of the formation of ama (metabolic waste) due to improper digestion, lack of movement, emotional stress and wrong lifestyle.

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Here are some golden rules to prevent arthritis

• Strictly follow regular meals.
• Include alkaline-rich diet, which means many fresh and seasonal fruits and vegetables, nuts and seeds. Fifty per cent of the diet should consist of raw/uncooked food.
• Your diet must include unpolished rice, red rice, barley and other millets. Avoid white rice altogether.
• Green leafy vegetables, bottle gourd, bitter gourd, drumsticks have to compulsorily included in the diet.
• Avoid lady’s finger, cauliflower, tomatoes, jackfruit.
• Fresh fruit is a must in everyday diet, especially apple, guava, papaya.
• Soak raisins & figs overnight and consume it empty stomach in the morning.
• 
  
• 
• Consume soaked raisins and figs every morning
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• Ginger, turmeric and garlic are also a must in daily diet as they are rich in antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties.
• Dry ginger powder and cumin seeds should also be a part of the daily diet.
• Avoid sour curd. Crush garlic and add it to a glass of buttermilk.

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Apart from the dietary modifications following points should also be taken into consideration:

• Healthy lifestyle
• Fomentation (moist heat application)
• Intermittent Fasting under supervision
• Yogasanas
• Meditation

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• Featured image courtesy: Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash 

The Past And The Present: Being on AIR for 20 years

Chhabra’s love for radio goes back to her childhood in Bhilai, a small but cosmopolitan steel township in Chhattisgarh. “A native of Odisha, my father was an engineer in the Bhilai Steel Plant and I grew up there. My parents were extremely liberal and being the eldest daughter, their expectation of me was tremendous. My father was an avid radio listener and very particular that I was getting the best of education and honing my language skills well. He insisted I listened to radio for the same.”

Radio, in those days, happened to be the sole source of not just entertainment, but also knowledge on current affairs, international relations, classical music, arts and culture and more. We had a Bush Radio and it was considered to be one of the prized possessions we had and was kept on the topmost shelf,” recollects Chhabra.

Chhabra got hooked on to radio and could not imagine her life without it. “My craze for radio was such that my father made me two speakers with long wires that could be carried from the drawing-room to my own room. On the days we would have guests at home, I would listen to the radio from my room without any interruption,” she recalls. Apart from listening to news and documentaries, Chhabra loved listening to dramas and the National Program of Drama was her favourite show on AIR.

Golden memories at All India Radio, Mumbai

Her father wished that she join the civil service but Chhabra wanted to become a radio broadcaster, working on youth programs on AIR and DD during college. She joined All India Radio in 1980 through Indian Broadcasting Service (IBS) which was a public service and required her to clear the UPSC exam. She topped the list.

“Radio broadcasting has been through a significant evolution over the last few years,” says Chhabra. She believes the job is tougher today. “Earlier, AIR used to be the only broadcasting platform covering education, entertainment, news and everything all by itself. Now we have multiple private channels which are very contemporary. It has become fiercely competitive and the commercial aspect has become more important than content. The challenges of today are different with not only competition with private TV channels but also from OTT platforms. I really can’t compare today’s radio with our times. Their jobs have become more challenging.”

“The primary difference that I observe is that the job of today’s announcers is only to entertain and their language is so different. In our time it was not so and the announcers had to be impeccable in everything, especially the language, and they needed to speak really well. Content certainly keeps changing with time but the language should not be diluted. Also, all the channels of recent times sound so alike. Planning should be made to bring in variety so that every channel would have different flavours and each station would have its niche audience,” she says.

Chhabra doesn’t think radio will die. “Digital radio is such a big thing today and anybody can start a podcast. Radio is a very personal space, refuels your imagination and is a dynamic medium. With the help of technology and social media, radio will certainly go a long way and create more magic with the voice,” says Chhabra.

For Rini Simon Khanna, joining All India Radio was quite a story

In 1979 Rini Simon Khanna was a schoolgirl when her career with radio broadcasting began. She was in standard 11 and at the prestigious Shankar competition’s prize distribution ceremony when the then Minister of Information and Broadcasting, Vasant Sathe heard her voice and told her she should be on the radio. He connected her with the reporters from All India Radio covering that event and soon Khanna received an audition call from AIR, cracked it and started working in Yuva Vani.

The job taught her scriptwriting, the art of speaking and the grammar of it all. She worked with Delhi B, General Overseas Service and more as an announcer, voiced for documentaries and feature films on AIR, read news and did live commentary on the radio for several events while still a student! Khanna has been attached with radio news reading until 2007 and even now goes back to the station to select and train radio newsreaders and for voicing and commentary.

Rini Simon Khanna at work in the radio station

“BBC radio was a huge part of my growing up and learning. I loved listening to Radio Moscow, the signature tunes and Srilankan broadcasters. Binaca Geetmala by Amin Sayani is till now a fabulous time capsule. My fascination with listening to new voices, their choice of words, way of handling a topic still remains. For me, radio is the easiest and cost-effective way of travelling the world,” she says.

There’s a lot that can be learnt and done on radio today, believes Khanna.

“Although a lot of things can be explored via radio broadcasting, sadly, all private channels are catering to only music, that too just the Bollywood industry. There are no news, documentaries and features. Only AIR offers a complete package – news, weather, natural disasters, knowledge about certain festivals. Western music is also limited,” she rues.

Radio is the quietest space without any chaos in today’s mass communication, says RJ Kay

Karan Edward Machado aka RJ Kay is a young jockey in radio broadcasting and joined Radio One as an intern in 2013. After finishing his college, he joined the same radio network in 2015 as a digital producer. He is currently the youngest morning show (Good Morning Bangalore) host on India’s only international radio network.

“In a largely digital age, only the radio has the power to personally connect with its listeners. I try to make myself relatable and approachable by consciously being on the same level as my listeners. While many perceive radio from the context of only speaking, I think it is also very much about patient listening which is rare these days. Today’s radio broadcasting is more about giving that quiet and chaos-free state to the listeners, one-on-one, to listen and feel good.

According to RJ Kay, in the world of mass communication that’s too noisy, radio provides the solace. “However, when things like radio live streaming start, radio will have a further huge scope to explore. There’s much more that radio can do by imbibing more digitalisation and it could be a combination of honesty and credibility. Radio symbolises innovation through audio and being an integral part of someone’s routine and that will never fade,” he says, signing off.

If you choose the new tax regime, you needn’t worry about making specific investments or expenses.

Investment Options Under The Old Tax Regime

ELSS

In the past, seniors have often stayed away from equity mutual funds deeming them too risky for their retirement corpus. However, the ELSS (Equity Linked Savings Scheme) is a special category of tax saving mutual funds. Investors can save up to Rs. 1.5 Lakhs in an ELSS fund and claim the deduction under Section 80C. What makes ELSS funds particularly attractive for seniors is the low lock-in period. Amongst all tax-saving investments, ELSS has the lowest lock-in of 3 years. Once the lock-in period expires, you can choose to remain invested or redeem your investment.

Returns in ELSS funds are not guaranteed, they are market-linked. Equity returns have the potential to beat inflation in the long run. The capital gains made on an ELSS fund are taxable at 10%.

Investing in ELSS funds is flexible – you can make one-time, ad-hoc, or systematic investments. You can invest with as little as Rs. 1,000. And you can invest in multiple ELSS funds to claim the benefit.

PPF

The Public Provident Fund is an investor favourite. It’s one of the few investments that fall into the EEE category. This means that the investment made is eligible for tax benefits, the income earned is exempt from tax, and the maturity proceeds are also exempt from tax. To keep your PPF account active you must contribute at least Rs. 500 every year for 15 years. You can renew your PPF account for a block of five years on maturity. The maximum contribution in a financial year is Rs. 1.5 Lakhs. Each person can have only one PPF account. The current PPF rate is 7.1%.

SCSS

The Senior Citizens Savings Scheme as the name suggests is an investment exclusively for seniors. It functions like a fixed deposit, where interest is paid out every quarter to the deposit holder. The current interest rate on SCSS is 7.4%. This income is taxable. Seniors can invest between Rs. 1,000 and Rs. 15 Lakhs in the scheme. However, only up to Rs. 1.5 Lakhs is eligible for deduction under Section 80 C. The scheme has a lock-in period of 5 years and can be extended for another 3 years. Compared to other FD rates, the SCSS is quite attractive.

Life Insurance

It is still common for people to choose life insurance policies to claim tax benefits. However, this strategy is completely avoidable for seniors. Post-retirement, the need for life insurance is limited and premiums increase sharply with age. In general, investors should avoid life insurance policies that combine investments and insurance. These products provide inadequate insurance and offer modest returns.

The patients in the above cases suffer from geriatric cancer. By 2026, geriatric cancer is projected to be as much as 20 per cent and is anticipated to be one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in India, reveals the latest population-based survey. A report brought out by the University College of Medical Sciences, New Delhi has highlighted that caregivers for a majority of older adults suffering from cancer are their family members, trying hard day and night to take care of their elderly loved ones until their last day, often with very little help and support. On World Cancer Day, experts and caregivers of geriatric cancer patients share their challenges and coping advice with us.

Challenges faced by geriatric cancer caregivers

Basu who is now a volunteer certified counsellor for geriatric cancer caregivers and is associated with Eastern India Palliative Care Kolkata and various other caregiver support groups says: “Geriatric cancer or cancer at 60 plus by its nature is extremely challenging as it comes with a number of co-morbidities like Diabetes, Hypertension, Thyroid and more that makes the condition more complicated and caregiving tougher. It is as challenging as being forced to manage not one but many conditions at the same time. It leads to confusion and helplessness among caregivers, stress, anxiety, worries, frustration and a constant feeling of guilt about not being able to make the appropriate decision or take the best care of the elderly loved one. Above all, the lack of courage to see your loved one writhe in pain and yet not being able to help them much.”

Apart from emotional burnout, the other major barrier that hits most geriatric cancer caregivers is the burden of long-term expenses. “Taking care of the finances is no less tough compared to taking care of the loved one with cancer. Cancer treatment is not short spanned but extends until the last day of the one fighting it. Also, very few medical insurances are designed for supporting cancer treatments and in this area, there are lots to be done to make cancer treatment affordable for the middle class,” adds Rajendra.

Things a geriatric cancer caregiver must keep in mind

Bhavana Issar, CEO and founder of Caregiver Saathi, an organisation that creates an ecosystem of well-being and healing for a primary caregiver, enlists the top things that a geriatric cancer caregiver must be aware of.

Keep in mind the dignity and independence of your loved one: It is a must for a caregiver to connect with their loved ones and include their opinion in the care decisions on a regular basis, lend an ear to their wishes, unfulfilled desires and more.

Become their support system: One of the primary responsibilities of the caregiver is to build a physical and emotional infrastructure so that they feel supported and encouraged. Also, recognizing the emotional needs of the loved ones, as each person is unique.

Be mindful of your own wellbeing: Unless the caregivers remain healthy, both physically and mentally, they will not be able to carry on their role adequately. Caregivers are often seen to experience compassion fatigue, impatience or frustration. Being in touch with other caregivers, getting guidance on caregiving, learning how to be a caregiver and practicing how to process one’s emotions are critical for any caregiver.

Maintain effective communication with your loved one: One of the most significant residues of caregiving is regret or the feeling that one hasn’t done enough. So, making sure that the caregiver and the loved one who is being looked after are in regular authentic communication with each other and other family members is essential.

Seek help when required: Caregivers need to remember that it’s okay to take help. Caregiving does not need to be endured alone. Sometimes the help comes from extended family, sometimes from professionals and sometimes from others who have walked similar journeys.

Some tips that will make life easy for geriatric caregivers

• Be mindful of your overall well-being, daily routines and rituals. Take help from other family members, friends, professionals and experienced caregivers.
• Join support groups. Learn what it takes to be a skillful and compassionate caregiver. You may join group learning sessions or take individual coaching.
• “Make sure you know of advanced directives, living will of your loved one and you have clear instructions on how they wish to be treated, cared for. Some of these conversations are difficult and may need planning,” says Issar.
• Seeking palliative care support from the very beginning of the geriatric cancer treatment improves the quality of life of those suffering from geriatric cancer believes Basu who says, “While palliative care comes as a great relief for caregivers and good quality of life to the ones with geriatric cancer, it is unfortunate that only about 2 per cent of geriatric cancer patients have access to palliative care in our country. Above all, a caregiver must realise that love and compassion can heal pain and that physical presence and the touch of affection can pacify the elderly one suffering from cancer.”

Varde has a unique style of her own that she carries off with panache. She’s often dressed in sarees and scarves designed with the artistic font she devised, called AumAkshar, which showcases shlokas, mantras and poems. It reads in English but has the appearance of the Devnagri script. Varde uses it across her art – from the canvas to the saree.

Family has always been Varde’s support system. Her art is probably in the genes — her father was famous Gujarati theatre person Vijay Bhat. ‘He encouraged me to do applied arts at a time when many parents wouldn’t have,” she adds.

Today her creative cheerleaders are the younger people in her family. Now with her daughter-in-law, Varde, a self-confessed introvert, is discovering her performer in her.

“I’m 65. For 60 years we have done what it expected of us. You have to be fearless at some point. Because you have lived your life. And you’re leaving a legacy for the younger girls who are coming. So if you’re not going to stand up for yourself (to age stereotyping), and for them, then I think your life is wasted.”

We couldn’t have done better straight-talking than that!

Photographs courtesy: Manjri Varde

On Republic Day every year, the PM’s address focuses on the revival of the ancient art forms of India which are gradually getting lost in the digital age. Veteran actor Arundhati Nag once told Silver Talkies that today’s parents and grandparents must make sure that the children get to know about India’s ancient art forms as these create lasting impressions in one’s life and will help them grow well.

“We are making a huge mistake by just going the Disney way when we have our own Pattachitra or Phad painting which will just disappear if we do not collect them. If people don’t buy a Phad painting or a Pichwai, they will become extinct. Each of these arts is infused with meaning and our next generation must be able to understand the meaning,” Nag highlighted. There’s a treasure trove in Indian art if you were only to look. Here’s a 72nd Republic Day special on some of India’s unique folk art forms.

Madhubani: Also known as Mithila art, Madhubani dates back 2500 years ago to the time of Ramayana and emerged from the Mithila region of Bihar. It portrays the grand wedding of Princess Sita, daughter of King Janaka to Prince Rama, the son of Dasrath, the king of Ayodhya. It is assumed that King Janak had entrusted an artist to capture the moments of his precious daughter’s wedding and that’s how Madhubani took its form. Through generations, Madhubani has been used mostly by women to create awareness on social issues like education and empowerment. It is painted using fingers, twigs, brushes, nib-pens and matchsticks and natural dyes and pigments.

Indian Miniature Paintings: The tradition of Indian miniature painting can be traced to the 9th-10th century though it truly came into its own in the Mughal period in the 16th century. Inspired by the Persian art styles, Indian miniature paintings boast of the intricate handmade details and unique illustrations of humans within a small frame. Men in turbans, women in traditional clothes with large eyes, a pointed nose and a slim waist are the signature style of miniature paintings from the Mughal era.

Phad: Originated in Rajasthan and painted on a canvas or cloth either 15 feet or 30 feet in length, Phad paintings are mainly scroll painting and depict the narratives of folk deities Pabuji or Devnarayan. These are traditionally painted using vegetable colours capturing the heroic tales of deities.

Warli: Another ancient Indian art form, Warli dates back to 2,500 BC and emerged from the Western Ghats. It’s a tribal art form using geometrical shapes – circles, triangles and squares to depict day-to-day life activities like fishing, hunting, festivals and dance. White shapes on dark backgrounds are the signature of this traditional art form.

Kalamkari: There are two varieties of this ancient Indian art form based on the places of their origin in Andhra Pradesh – Machilipatnam style based out of Machilipatnam and Srikalahasti based out of Chittoor. Its name is Persian derived from two words – Kalam meaning pen and Kari meaning craftsmanship indicating that the painting is done using a pen. It is widely seen on sarees depicting flowers, nature as well as the Indian Epics – the Mahabharata and the Ramayana.

Tanjore: A native of the Tanjore town in Tamil Nadu, this painting belongs to the period of Cholas – one of the longest-ruling dynasties in South Indian history. Gold foil and metallic colours are used extensively in this art form. A piece of wood is also used as a canvas to give a 3D effect.

Batik: In India, the roots of Batik run back to the 1st century AD, traditionally among the Khatri community in Gujarat. Its resurgence began after it was introduced as a part of the syllabus in Rabindranath Tagore’s Viswa-Bharati in Birbhum, West Bengal. This ancient art form includes three steps – waxing, dyeing and scraping where the wax is used to create designs on pre-defined areas on cotton and silk fabric. It is then dyed and then the wax is removed either by scraping or boiling the cloth to peel off the wax, resulting in a rich, colourful design.

Image Courtesy: Pinterest

Dr Arvind Kasthuri

Q. At present, how many Covid-19 vaccines are available in India? What do we need to know about them? Are there any other upcoming vaccines?

Dr Arvind: At the moment we have two vaccines in India – COVISHIELD and COVAXIN. There are 7 other vaccines in various stages of development, but these will take time to get approval for general use.

COVISHIELD is based on the Oxford University/Astra Zeneca vaccine and is built on a weakened version of a similar virus which causes the body to provoke an immune response. COVAXIN uses an unactivated version of the COVID-19 virus, which will provoke the body to mount an immune response.

Both the vaccines are considered to be safe, and they produce an immune response when given to people. COVAXIN has yet to publish the efficacy data, which means the data on how many people got COVID infection after getting the vaccine compared to how many got it when they were not given the vaccine. The Government, therefore, is releasing COVAXIN on a “trial” mode, where those who get it will be monitored actively for a few weeks after they get the vaccine. COVISHIELD is considered to be about 70% efficacious in this context.

Q. What is the rollout plan for the Covid-19 vaccine in India?

Dr Arvind: The rollout plan is to first target healthcare workers, followed by those above 50 years of age and those below 50 with chronic disease. The healthcare worker rollout began on January 16 and is expected to take a month or so. In this time, the vaccine will be made available to healthcare workers who register with the government health authority. Both vaccines are available, with COVISHIELD being supplied to some districts and COVAXIN to others.

In a given location, the healthcare workers cannot choose which vaccine they receive and the vaccine that is supplied to them will be offered free of cost. If a healthcare worker opts not to receive the vaccine, he or she will have to wait till the vaccines are available in the open market, when they can buy them.

Q. How many vaccination centres will be put up across the country?

Dr Arvind: Vaccines will be offered through both government and private hospitals. For instance, 273 such vaccination centres have been identified in Karnataka, including 6 in Bengaluru on Day 1 and this is likely to increase in the weeks ahead.

Speaking of Karnataka, at the moment, the centres are largely government hospitals (with the exception of St John’s hospital, the only private hospital to be identified on Day 1), but large private hospitals and medical colleges are likely to be identified as vaccination centres in the days ahead. Each centre has been given a clear guideline as to how their infrastructure and logistics must be handled. Each centre will have one or more vaccination booths, with each booth vaccinating a maximum of 100 individuals in a day.

Q. Where do senior citizens stand in terms of priority? Could you please give us a rough estimate of the different criteria that should decide on the priority among older adults to get vaccinated?

Dr Arvind: As stated earlier, the first phase is targeting healthcare workers and frontline workers. Those above 50 years of age including seniors, will be targeted next. At the moment, there is no guideline developed as to who within the group of seniors will receive higher priority – older adults, those with comorbidities or other considerations. We anticipate clarity on this in the weeks ahead. It is better to wait and watch what the government plans.

Q. Please throw some light on the dosage of the vaccination. Will it be different for senior citizens compared to the children and the youth?

Dr Arvind: The dose of the vaccine is 0.5 ml given intramuscular, on the left shoulder. It is given in two doses, 4-8 weeks apart. It is currently not recommended for those below 18 years of age, but the dose will not be different for those who are above 50 years.

Q. Will there be any side-effects of this vaccination among older adults? If yes, what are they?

Dr Arvind: The common side effects of both the vaccines are as with any other – injection site pain, headache, fatigue, muscle pain, discomfort, mild fever, chills and nausea. These are reported to happen in about 1 out of 10 people who get the vaccine. In general, any side effect that is disturbing must be reported to the site where the vaccine was received, or to a family doctor who will advise appropriate medication, usually mild anti-inflammatory drugs like Paracetamol.

A lot of us took the vaccine in the last few days, including myself. We’re doing fine, so far so good.

Q How do senior citizens register to get vaccinated?

Dr Arvind: Frankly speaking we still do not have the registration plan for the senior citizens as it will take some time to finish vaccinating the first two target priorities- the health workers and the frontline workers and then move on to the senior citizens.

At present, for the institutional health workers, the institution submits a list of their employees to the municipal health authority (E.g., BBMP for Bengaluru) and registers them. The health authority informs each health worker about the date, time and site of the vaccination via a text message. The non-institutional health workers have been asked to get registered by themselves with the local health authority. By the time we move on to the general public and begin with senior citizens, I am sure we will have some means of online registration as we cannot expect seniors to register themselves on their own.

Q. Are there any precautions that need to be taken before or after getting the vaccine?

Dr Arvind: There are no specific precautions to be taken before or after getting the vaccine. The conditions which are important considerations to decide if vaccination should not be taken/should be taken with precaution include the following:

– Known allergy to the vaccine or any of the components of the vaccine

– Pregnant women and those who are nursing their infants

– People who are severely ill at the time of vaccination should wait till they are well

– Immuno-compromised individuals, that is individuals who are taking any drug or suffering from any condition which makes their immune system weak may not get the same immune response as others. The family doctor should be able to advise on this.

– People with bleeding disorders or those taking aspirin. The vaccine is given into the muscle and this may cause bruising or bleeding in such individuals.

– People who have had COVID 19 infection can take the vaccine 4-8 weeks after testing negative.

India has begun its second phase of Covid-19 vaccination rollout from March 1 for regular citizens targeting the senior citizens and those in the middle age bracket with comorbidities.

Want to know about the registration process for the vaccine? Below is the guideline.

User Guide – Citizen registration Ver 1.1 (1)

Here’s a state-wise list of both government and private hospitals offering Covid-19 vaccination. The cost of the vaccination at private hospitals will be up to Rs 250 per person per dose, while this is free of cost at government health facilities.

BENGALURU

Government centres

KC General Hospital, Jayanagar

General Hospital, Bangalore

Medical College and Hospital

Bowring Medical College Hospital

CV Raman General Hospital

Private centres

Vikram Hospital

Manipal Hospital, Old Airport Road

Raghavendra People Tree Hospital

Sapthagiri Institute of Medical Sciences

Columbia Asia Hospital, Yeshwanthpur

Apollo Hospital, Sheshadripuram

Columbia Asia Hospital, Sarjapur

Columbia Asia Hospital, Whitefield

Fortis Hospital, Bannerghatta Road

Apollo Hospital, Bannerghatta Road

Sparsh Hospital

Rajarajeswari Medical College & Hospital

BGS Global Institute of Medical Sciences

Columbia Asia Hospital, Hebbal

Aster CMI Hospital, Hebbal

Apollo Speciality Hospital, Jayanagar

Dayanand Sagar Hospital, Kumaraswamy Layout;

Mallige Hospital

Sushrusha Hospital

MS Ramaiah Medical College and Hospital.

All rural centres in Karnataka will have both online and walk-in registration and vaccination, according to the health department.

DELHI

Government hospitals

Aruna Asaf Ali Govt. Hospital

Balak Ram Hospital

GB Pant Hospital

Hindu Rao Hospital

Kasturba Hospital

Lok Nayak Hospital

Maulana Azad Medical College

Lal Bahadur Shastri Hospital

ESI Hospital Rohini DH

Deep Chand Bandhu Hospital DH

Dr Baba Saheb Ambedkar Hospital Rohini DH

CRPF Composite Hospital, Jharoda Kalan

RHTC Najafgarh

Private hospitals

Delhi Heart and lung hospital

Jeevan Mala Hospital

Sir Ganga Ram City Hospital, Pusa Road

St. Stephens Hospital

Indian Spinal Injuries Centre

Metro Hospital and Cancer Institute

Saroj Medical Institute, Jail Road, Rohini

Sunrise Hospital, Rohini

Mool Chand Kharaiti Ram Hospital

National Heart Institute

VIMHANS Hospital

Maharaja Agrasen Hospital, Punjabi Bagh

Sanjeevan Hospital, Daryaganj

CHANDIGARH

Government Hospitals

GMCH-32 CHD B Block 5th Floor Site 1

GMCH-32 CHD B Block 5th Floor Site 2

GMSH-16 CHD OPD Block 5th Floor Site 1

GMSH-16 CHD OPD Block 3rd Floor Site 2

Police Hospital, Sector 26, Chandigarh

Police Hospital, Sector 26 Chandigarh Site 2

Civil Hospital, Sector 45, Chandigarh

Civil Hospital, Manimajra, Chandigarh

HWC (Dispensary), Sector 49, Chandigarh

PGIMER Lecture Theatre Complex, Chandigarh

Advance Pediatric Centre PGI, Chandigarh

Community Centre, Sector 23, Chandigarh

ESI Hospital, Ramdarbar, Chandigarh

Sites for online registration

GMSH 16 CHD OPD Block

GMCH 32 CHD B Block

Civil Hospital Sector 45 CHD

Civil Hospital Manimajra CHD

HWC, Sector 49

Private centres

Santokh Hospital, House Number 846, Sector 38-A

Chaitanya Hospital, Site No. 1 and 2, Sector, 44-C

Healing Hospital and Institute of Paramedical Sciences, SCO 18-19, Sector 34-A

Landmark Hospital, House Number 846, Sector 38-A

Dharam Hospital, House Number 2040, Sector 15-C

The Government COVID Vaccination Centres (CVC) will provide free vaccinations to age-appropriate groups, However, private hospitals will charge Rs 250 per person per dose.

PUNE

Currently, Pune has 14 Covid vaccination centres.

Kamla Nehru Hospital in Mangalwar Peth

Jayabhai Sutar Hospital in Kothrud

Rajiv Gandhi Hospital in Yerawada

Sassoon General Hospital

Ganagaram Karne hospital on Nagar road

Kalas Hospital in Yerawada

Malti Kachi Hospital in Bhavani Peth

Babasaheb Ambedkar Hospital in Dias Plot

Bindu Madhav Thackeray Hospital in Warje

Bartakke Hospital in Warje

Bhangire Hospital in Mohammadwadi

Pote Hospital in Sahakarnagar

Aundh Institute of Medical Science in Aundh

Inlaks and Budhrani Hospital in Koregaon Park

HYDERABAD

Gandhi Hospital

Osmania General hospital

Fever Hospital

ENT Hospital

SD EYE Hospital

DH King Koti

AH Malakpet

AH Golconda

AH Nampally

Paldar UPHC

Nizamia TIBI Hospital

ESIC Medical College Hospital

KERALA

Government centres

TSC Hospital Private Limited, N.H By pass road, S N Nagar, Kulathoor, Thiruvananthapuram

Attukal Devi Institute of Medical Sciences Ltd., Attukal, Manacaud Po., Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala 695009

India Hospitals, Gandhari Amman Kovil Rd, Santhi Nagar, Thampanoor, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala 695001

Goutham Hospital, PB No. 868, Panayappilly, Kochi – 682 005

Silverline Hospital # 53/307 A, K P Vallon Road, Kadavanthara P O., Kochi: 682020

Lakshmi Hospital, Diwan’s Road, Ernakulam: 682016

ASSAM

Government centres

Guwahati Medical College & Hospital, Guwahati

Assam Medical College & Hospital, Dibrugarh

Silchar Medical College & Hospital, Silchar

Jorhat Medical College & Hospital, Jorhat

Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed Medical College & Hospital, Barpeta

Tezpur Medical College & Hospital, Tezpur

Diphu Medical College & Hospital, Diphu

Private centres (All in Guwahati)

Apollo Hospital

Downtown Hospital

GNRC Hospital

Healthcity Hospital

Nemcare Hospital

Marwari Nursing Home

CHENNAI

Public Health And Welfare Society, Ramakrishnapuram, West Mambalam

Appasamy Hospitals, Arumbakkam

Sampat Nursing Home, Mylapore

Faith Multispecialty Hospital, Konnur, Villivakkam

Soorya Hospital Saligramam, Saligramam

Xcellent Care Super Speciality, Velachery

Thalessemia Welfare Hospital, Taramani

Prashanth Hospital Velachery, Velachery

Adyar PM Hospital, Adyar

Bloom Health Care, Velachery

Abhijay Hospital Perambur, Venkatesan, Perambur, Chennai

Hycare Super Speciality Hospital, Arumbakkam

MUMBAI

CAMA Hospital

Jaslok Hospital

HN Reliance Hospital

Saiefee Hospital

Breach Candy Hospital

Bhatiya Hospital

Kasturba Hospital

TNMC & BYL Nair Ch. Hospital

JJ Hospital

Wockhardt Hospital

Prince Aly Khan

KEM Hospital

Global Hospital

LTMC & GH Sion Hospital

K J Somaya Hospital

Hinduja Hospital

SL Raheja Hospital

SRRC Children Hospital

BKC Jumbo Hospital

K B Bhabha Hospital, Bandra

Lilavati Hospital

Holy Family Hospital

Seven Hills Hospital

Cooper Hospital

Nanavati Hospital

Kokilaben Hospital

Nesco

SK Patil Hospital

MW Desai Hospital

BDBA Hospital

Dahisar Hospital

Bhagvati Hospital

Kurla Bhaba Hospital

Centennary Govandi Hospital

Barc Hospital

MAA Hospital

Rajawadi Hospital

Hindu Mahasabha Hospital

LH Hiranandani Hospital

Veer Savarkar Hospital

Mulund Jumbo

Sushrusha Hospital & Research Centre, Vikhroli

KJ Somaiya Hospital & Research Centre

PD Hinduja Hospital & MRC

Kaushalya Medical Foundation Trust

Masina Hospital

Holy Family Hospital

S L Raheja Hospital

Guru Nanak Hospital

Bombay Hospital

Fortis, Mulund

Conwest & Manjula S Badani Jain Hospital

Holy Spirit Hospital

Surana Sethia Hospital

Tata Hospital

Be sure to take along a burkha, my friend had advised me as I prepared to leave for Riyadh. I need not have worried; the hotel we stayed in, had spare burkhas for visitors and lent me one—quite a fancy one too, in rich satiny silk lavishly decorated with sequins and embroidery.

Like all visitors, we set out for sightseeing. The opulence of this oil-rich middle eastern country was awe-inspiring. The row of jewellery shops alone was enough to dazzle the eye, especially the gold artifacts, from necklaces to bangles to fancy ear ornaments, each costing a fortune and displayed with lavish abandon. As I was looking around, the call for midday prayers sounded, and immediately, the shop staff left their counters and headed for the nearest mosque. They did not even bother to pull down the shutters while leaving the shop and its valuable goods.

The place where the burglars were beheaded

I was taken aback. Couldn’t someone steal all the expensive stuff, I wondered, and asked our local guide. “No way,” he answered, placidly, before adding, “Come here, I’ll show you why.” He led us to an open space close by, with coconut palms growing around.” That’s where burglars are beheaded” he said, pointing to a tree. The punishment is so summary that no one dares to attempt any burglary or stealing. Apparently, it works.

With strict segregation of the sexes, plus all women in burkhas, the adolescents still find innovative means of circumventing the taboos and having fun. The ubiquitous mobile phone facilitates interactions without personal physical proximity. A boy on a bike sees a teenage girl in a car and dials her number (he probably knows her?) and she promptly answers; they have a long conversation, laughing and joking. Long-distance wooing? Looks like it. I have seen girls even blow kisses over the phone. Sometimes you can have fun without holding hands too….

One evening I was at a formal banquet hosted by the royal family; at the table, I had been assigned, there were three others –all women in burkhas of course, but as we sat one of them lifted her burkha to uncover her face, and I saw a heavily made up, pretty face, with bright lipstick and eye shadow, the works. She turned out to be a very rich entrepreneur, running an export business and owning an apartment in New York. What was the point, I wonder, in putting on makeup if the face is to be covered from view? She answered, “I don’t put on makeup for others to see. I do it for my own pleasure, I like putting on cosmetics and looking at myself in the mirror.” It was an answer I had not thought of earlier.

During the dinner, television cameras focused on the guests and one of them swiveled his camera towards our table. Quickly the woman covered her face and turned away. “I don’t want strangers to look at my face,” she declared. Why not? After all, she is well travelled and spends a lot of her time overseas. She gave me a long look and said, “Madam, will you lift up your sari to show your leg on camera? Of course not. Similarly, I don’t like to expose my face, it is also a part of my body.” Her reply was an education to me, about a different female perspective.

Decorum is defined in different ways in different cultures. The American woman in short, tight hot pants thinks it is okay to reveal her physical attributes. Asians differ; our cultural norms are different. Similarly, Arabian norms are different. “No, I don’t feel oppressed,” my new friend said. “It is the American woman who is oppressed by the need to dress in a particular way.”

Covering and baring are personal decisions, and what counts is the freedom to be comfortable with whatever one chooses.

Bad breath, bad taste or bitterness due to indigestion, bloating, gastric problem, a white coating in the tongue are signs of our liver getting overloaded. If you are facing any of these, take a handful of black raisins in 400 ml of water, soak it overnight, heat the water soaking the raisins and drink the same water as well as the raisins.

You could also take one and half teaspoon of Triphala powder and add it to 400 ml of water along with one-fourth teaspoon of ginger and turmeric powder. All these have to be soaked overnight and heated the next morning before drinking them. You may continue having both of these natural detox agents for 12 to 15 days to ensure proper detoxing of the liver.

Lungs

It is essential for us to take care of our lungs, especially during a pandemic like this. Anulom Vilom, an exercise that involves breathing in from one nostril and breathing out of the other nostril and repeating the same cycle 20 times every day is a great exercise to keep your lungs fit naturally. It could be done at any time during the day.

Digestive system and oral hygiene

Oil pulling which is known as Gundusha in Ayurveda helps a lot in detoxification of our digestive system and maintain our oral hygiene. All you need to do is take one tablespoon of either coconut or gingerly oil. Every morning before you brush your teeth, put the tablespoon of oil inside your mouth and rotate it from one side to the other. However, make sure the oil does not enter the throat.

This exercise not only enhances your facial muscles but also takes care of your oral hygiene and digestive health. This has to be done for five to seven minutes and once done, you can throw the oil and brush your teeth and take your morning beverage within fifteen minutes of oil pulling. It kills bacteria, reduces bad breath, inflammation and improves gum health.

Kidneys

Water is the best natural detox for kidneys. However, anything too less or too much is not good for your health. Hence, do not drink excessive water just because you have read it in some health magazine or a relative of yours does the same. Drink it as per your comfort level. The amount of water one must drink varies from person to person.

Another easy and very useful way to detox the kidney is to mix half a glass of cucumber juice and half glass orange juice with a pinch of turmeric powder (Haldi) and having it on an empty stomach. These juices have to be fresh. Also, avoiding non-veg foods and dairy products may help in cleansing your kidneys.

Garlic tea is another great detoxing agent for kidneys. All you need to do is crush two garlic cloves and leave it for 10 minutes so that the components in the garlic get mixed with the atmospheric oxygen. You can then boil them in a glass of water and drink.

Gastrointestinal tract

Dry ginger powder mixed with honey and carrom seeds (ajwain) mixed with jaggery are excellent for detoxing your gastrointestinal tract. However, if you are diabetic, you must avoid honey and jaggery. In that case, you may take dry ginger along with water or chew ajwain.

Skin

For glowing and healthy skin you must have good digestion and your blood has to be pure. For blood purification, you must go for fresh carrot juice, especially in the winters. Put a few pieces of carrots in the blender, add some water, blend it, strain it and drink. It is also an antioxidant. You can also use neem tablets which are easily available in the market.

These simple natural techniques can help your body organs to detox themselves and function more efficiently, thereby keeping you healthy and strong.

The Making Of An Unforgettable Lexicographer

Born in Thalassery, Kerala in 1938, Sreedharan dropped out of school after the fourth standard and started working at a Beedi factory. Life was certainly not a bed of roses but nothing could deter him from gaining knowledge. “While working in the factory I would read extensively whenever I could manage to get some time out and passed the Elementary School Living Certificate (ESLC) examination privately. During my younger years, I devoted most of my time to studies and to teach others as part of literacy programs,” he says.

Sreedharan had a fondness for language and while studying it he focused on different scripts, writing manners, grammar, colloquial usages of words and more. In the articles he had written for several Malayalam dailies and magazines, he suggested corrections in popular linguistic norms in Malayalam. “I was greatly inspired by the books of A. R. Raja Raja Varma, Sheshagiri Prabhu, Campbell and I learnt Tamil while working at a Beedi factory in Palakkad,” he recalls.

His Extraordinary Language Learning Skills Leave Us In Awe

Sreedharan had a remarkable quality of sharpening his language skills from wherever he could. Getting a job to blueprint in Kerala Public Works Department helped him immensely in this. . “During this time, Dr TP Sukumaran, a professor at Nirmalagiri College, Kerala suggested to me the idea of compiling a dictionary of colloquial usages of words in Malayalam. I loved the idea and as I was already familiar with Malayalam and Tamil, I thought of learning the other two major Dravidian languages – Kannada and Telugu and compiling a dictionary connecting all four languages.” says Sreedharan.

He picked up languages from acquaintances and travelled across Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh several times. Interacting with the locals there helped him in learning the nuances of these languages.

The unique, multilingual dictionary by Sreedharan

A Multilingual Dictionary: Sreedharan’s Second Innings Goal

In 1994, Sreedharan retired from his service at the age of 55, devoted all his energy and resources to creating the multilingual dictionary, became a lexicographer and created history. He also corrected the errors in other commonly used dictionaries and included colloquial meanings of words.

Braving All Odds The Dictionary Is Now Available For All

Although he could complete the dictionary after years of hard work when he was 74, Sreedharan faced a lot of difficulties in publishing it because of economic viability and his own lack of formal academic qualifications.

The dictionary was submitted to the Kerala Bhasha Institute eventually. “However, due to a lack of experts to evaluate the work and difficulties in proofreading, only the Malayalam to Tamil dictionary was published in 2012 instead of all the four languages. Sometime later, the handwritten manuscript went missing from Kerala Bhasha Institute and after filing a legal notice, I got it back in 2014. Another copy of the manuscript is with Kerala Sahitya Academy under consideration,” he says.

It was in November 2020 that the entire dictionary was finally published and launched, thanks to the collaborative efforts from the Senior Citizens Forum in Kerala. It has been a dream come true for the octogenarian lexicographer who is blessed with the gift of languages and the final crowning of his second innings goal.

Let’s take a closer look at each of these options.

SBI We Care or SBI Special FD For Senior Citizens

This is a scheme launched by SBI for resident senior citizens only. On regular Fixed Deposits, seniors are eligible for an additional interest rate of 0.5 per cent. With the SBI We Care deposits, seniors get an additional 0.3 per cent interest. The deposits under this scheme range from 5-10 years. A senior can start a fresh deposit or renew an old one. The window of opportunity for this scheme is open until March 31st 2021. Seniors can open We Care deposits through the SBI Yono App or at the bank. If the deposit is withdrawn before it matures, then they lose the additional interest of 0.3 per cent.

Karan and Neha liked this option because they received a 6.2 per cent return from a Public Sector Bank like SBI on a 5-year FD. More importantly, unlike the other savings schemes, the cap on investments was at 2 Crores and not a few lakhs. They had to reach out to SBI to understand their interest payment options (i.e. half-yearly/yearly).

Senior Citizens Savings Scheme (SCSS)

The Senior Citizens Saving Scheme is a popular choice amongst retirees. Investors can start with a minimum of Rs. 1,000 and go up to a maximum of Rs. 15 lakhs. Interest from these deposits is paid out every quarter. The SCSS is offering an attractive interest rate of 7.4 per cent. After the initial period of five years, the account can be extended for another 3 years. Neha was an advocate for the SCSS because it was a post office scheme with tax benefits under Section 80 C. In a market where they were hunting for returns, the SCSS offered the best of both worlds. She went in with her eyes open knowing that she’d lose 1-1.5 per cent of her interest if she withdrew the deposit before it matured.

5 Year Post Office Time Deposit

As the name suggests, this is also a post office scheme and it’s a five-year FD. With post-office time deposits (fixed deposits) there is a lock-in of six months. After six months, the investment can be prematurely withdrawn by paying a penalty of 1 per cent. The interest on the 5 Year FD is at 6.7 per cent. Interestingly, the five-year FD is eligible for deduction under Section 80 C.

Pradhan Vaya Vandhana Yojana (PMVVY)

The PMVVY scheme was launched as a pension scheme for senior citizens. You can purchase it through LIC. The investor can choose to receive a monthly, quarterly, half-yearly, or annual pension. The minimum monthly pension is Rs. 1,000 and the maximum is Rs. 9,500. Senior citizens can invest between Rs. 1.5 Lakhs to Rs. 15 Lakhs in the scheme. Upon maturity, the initial investment is returned to the investor. The scheme is open for investments until March 31st, 2023. Karan liked this scheme because it ensured regular income at a reasonable rate for the next ten years. The policy allowed exit only under certain extreme circumstances, so he was mentally prepared to stay invested for a decade. Karan understood that he’d get 98 per cent of his purchase price (initial investment) back if he exited the policy early.

RBI Floating Interest Bonds

An interesting investment Karan and Neha came across was the RBI Floating Interest Bond. These 7-year bonds were issued by the RBI on behalf of the government. The interest offered on these bonds was 0.35 per cent more than that of the National Savings Certificate. This interest would be reset every six months. So, this meant that there was no “guaranteed” or fixed return. Floating rate instruments deliver more returns in an upward cycle and less in a downward cycle. As senior citizens, they had the option of withdrawing investments before they matured. They wouldn’t be able to sell or trade these bonds. There was no maximum investment limit, and they could easily buy these bonds at their bank. Karan and Neha were ready to try a new safe investment in bonds that were guaranteed by the RBI.

Karan and Neha found a few safe and interesting investment options. Although they hadn’t reached their 8 per cent dream, things were looking up for them. Consult a financial planner or investment adviser before making any investment decisions.

Here’s an expert guide from ithought Financial Consulting on all that you need to know about the Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) and how it offers the best opportunity for a career shift.

Retirement is closer than we think. Especially for those opting for the Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS). VRS is a scheme offered by employers to incentivise long-term employees to retire early. Normally, employees stay in the workforce until they attain superannuation (i.e. turn 60). Through the voluntary retirement scheme, employees who are as young as forty years may also retire. Here’s everything that you need to know about VRS.

Who can opt for VRS?

An employee is eligible for VRS if he/ she:

Is more than 40 years of age

Has completed at least 10 years of service with the current employer.

Has not opted for VRS before

Is not re-employed in a sister concern of the current employer.

Details and eligibility criteria for VRS can vary according to the organisation’s policy.

Benefits of VRS

For an employer, the VRS is a way to optimize its workforce and improve profitability. For employees, the advantages are different. VRS is an option for employees. It is an opportunity for them to assess how ready they are for retirement. Opting for VRS doesn’t necessarily mean retirement. VRS creates the perfect opportunity for a career shift. By cashing in the retirement benefits through VRS, an employee could do more with them.

Voluntary Retirement Scheme Calculation

Let’s assume Sathya, aged 55 has been working with his current employer for the last 15 years and has 5 years of service left before retirement. He is eligible for VRS as he has never opted for VRS before and fulfills the other criteria. His employer is offering him a VRS benefit of Rs. 32 Lakhs. If his current salary is Rs. 60,000 per month, what is the tax-free VRS?

There are three components to determining the tax-free component of VRS.

So, in Sathya’s case, his tax-free VRS is Rs. 5 Lakhs and he must pay tax on the balance Rs. 27 Lakhs. The amount of VRS someone is eligible for is dependent on the employer’s VRS policy, the number of years in service, the number of years to retirement and their current income.

An employee who has claimed exemption under Section 10 (10C) of up to ?5 lakh in an assessment year, will not be allowed to claim it in any other assessment year.

Tax Planning

Regardless of whether one is planning their retirement or opting for VRS, a smart way to build the retirement corpus would be through tax planning. Proper tax planning could build a nest egg. The three investments that should form the core retirement portfolio are:

National Pension Scheme (NPS):

NPS is an essential component of the retirement corpus. Up to 10 per cent of the employee’s wages can be contributed by the employer to a corporate NPS. This amount is eligible as a deduction from the employee’s income. Over and above this, a benefit of Rs. 50,000 as a deduction is available under Section 80 CCD.

NPS investments are a defined contribution scheme. Since this is a retirement investment, an investor is encouraged to withdraw investments from the NPS upon superannuation (turning 60 years old). At this point, the investor may withdraw up to 60 per cent of the accumulated corpus without any tax. The balance 40 per cent should be used to purchase an annuity. The income received from the annuity is taxable.

An investor who opts for premature withdrawal of NPS must convert at least 80 per cent of the accumulated corpus into an annuity and can commute the balance as a lump sum. Premature withdrawal can be done only if the subscriber has completed 10 years with the NPS.

NPS is a perfect retirement instrument as the investor could choose their asset allocation across equities, government bonds, and corporate bonds every year. Alternatively, they could choose an automatic asset allocation product that will adjust the weights according to the investor’s age. After retirement, the annuity portion of the NPS investments would provide a regular stream of income.

Equity Linked Savings Scheme (ELSS):

ELSS is a special category of Mutual Funds with tax benefits. ELSS funds offer market-linked returns and have the lowest lock-in period (3 years) for tax-saving investments under section 80 C. Apart from NPS, ELSS is the only other tax saving instrument to offers exposure to equity instruments.

Provident Funds:

Provident funds through the EPF or PPF are a good way to build long-term debt portfolio. The interest earned on provident funds and maturity proceeds is tax-free. Contributions to these provident funds are eligible for deduction under Section 80 C for up to Rs. 1.5 Lakhs.

A combination of these investments builds a well-balanced nest egg.

Retirement Strategies

Someone opting for VRS with the intent of retiring needs an early retirement plan. Ideally, for retirement planning a runway of at least 15 years is required. So, for those thinking about early retirement, it helps to start planning from today. For early retirement, the key is to manage the retirement corpus well. This means identifying a sustainable amount that can be withdrawn from the corpus. In Sathya’s case, he might need to draw down from the retirement corpus for the next 25-30 years.

Essential to every retirement strategy is to play it safe. Your retirement corpus is your life’s savings. The aim is to beat inflation and live well off the accumulated assets. It’s no longer to generate the highest returns. For those who have more than they require, they could follow a conservative strategy with the portion dedicated to retirement and adopt an aggressive approach with the excess.

Retirement Checklist

Prior to retirement, one must review the retirement checklist and ensure that they are ready to retire.

Retirement Investment Plan

Once you know what you own and how much you want from your retirement corpus it’s time to structure a retirement investment plan that can generate regular income.

Pension Plans:

Those with NPS investments can rely on a pension. Alternatively, retirees can purchase pension plans that provide a regular source of income through their retirement years.

Fixed Deposits & Bonds:

Retirees often prefer fixed deposits for regular income. With bank and corporate fixed deposits, quality matters more than returns. Investors should focus on the safety of capital rather than higher interest rates. They should also be aware of interest rate cycles and select an appropriate term for their deposits so that they avoid reinvestment risk.

Bonds require a significantly higher investment than deposits. They typically pay interest on an annual basis. Usually, investors should select bonds that they would be comfortable holding to maturity as the retail participation in bond markets is low.

Debt Mutual Funds:

Debt Mutual Funds are a newer investment option. They are fixed-income investments that offer better liquidity, tax efficiency, and returns. Unlike fixed deposits, the value of investments in a debt fund could change every day as the portfolio is marked to market. The two main risks in a debt fund are duration risk and credit risk.

Equity Investments:

Equity investments will help beat inflation in the long run even if they are volatile in the short-term. Through the mutual fund route, an investor gets the benefits of diversification, liquidity, and professional management. With individual shares, one must focus on high-quality long-term investments. For retirees, companies with a strong track record of dividends could supplement post-retirement income.

Get started on your retirement plan by talking to one of our financial planners.

Acting was something Rao wanted to get into right from childhood. “At the age of 16 when I approached my mom and told her I want to do acting, I got the standard response that girls from respectable households do not do things like acting and those days we did not get to revolt against our parents the way it happens now,” says Rao. However, she did not give up and today, when she stands in front of the camera, her magnetic personality, confidence and young-at-heart attitude inspire everyone.

Facing the camera was not a cake-walk for this braveheart

It may seem like a fairytale but the back story that made Rao what she is today is indeed inspiring. In 2008, Rao, then 44, got detected with a condition called sciatica due to cysts in her lower spine that made her severely obese. She was unable to do daily activities due to excruciating pain and could not walk straight and had to slouch. “The pain stopped me from reducing weight and I started wearing baggy clothes to hide up how I look. I used to feel very ugly and this added to my list of insecurities. I felt miserable but could not afford to become bedridden as I had a business, two children and my mother-in-law to take care of,” says Rao who continued struggling for six long years. Despite her painful condition, Rao joined the ballroom dance workshop organised by Silver Talkies and danced her way through and made new silver friends.

The turning point in her life came in 2014 when she visited England for her daughter’s graduation. “There I saw women of different shapes and sizes wearing all kinds of clothes and looking and feeling nice in them. I felt why should I not feel good about myself when women who are actually larger in size than me are feeling good about themselves. After I came back to India, I changed my wardrobe. I stopped colouring my hair black, I used to stoop a lot, that’s why I made an effort to stop slouching and stood in front of the mirror giving myself positive affirmations. I had completely lost any kind of self-worth in myself. I would face my mirror, look into my own eyes and say ‘I love you’ and make myself realise that I am worthy enough to be loved and to live,” says Rao.

Believe in yourself and not what people say is Rao’s secret to active ageing

Rao believes that expecting support from people around them is not wise. When she began the battle of loving herself once more and working on feeling good about herself, not everyone around her was happy. “I believed in something called mind over matter and sought the help of the inner powers and healed myself so that I could move on. I slowly got back on my feet and I was mentally very strong. I was given a whole list of don’ts but today there’s hardly anything that I don’t do. However, I could do nothing about losing weight. When I stopped coloring my hair or started making efforts to walk straight and wearing my size dresses, derogatory comments flooded in. Most people were like you are past 50 and how does it matter now how you look.” Rao didn’t let them cow her down. “I said this is my life and I will have to love myself which I haven’t for many years.”

In 2015 just after her 51st birthday she got a call and was offered an ad. For her, it was a dream coming true and with support from her two children, she plunged into the world of advertisement. She continued doing ads in Bangalore for the next four years, went through ups and downs in business and finally decided to draw the finishing line to her role as an entrepreneur in 2018. Rao believes that the silver years of an individual need not get restricted to only helping kids raise their kids but can actually become a second chance to explore one’s unfulfilled dream. And that is exactly what she did. At 55, she moved to Mumbai to start a brand-new career as an actor and success just followed. Today she visits places as a motivational speaker and inspires young students to live and love life to the fullest.

“It is very easy to give a talk but practicing something that you believe in and then inspiring others to do the same is what I learned when I started loving myself the way I am. I don’t behave my age and I am not sorry for that at all,” she giggles.

The couple honeymooning in Andaman and Nicobar Islands

It all started after Seshadri lost his wife in 2018 and his son and daughter-in-law, now settled in Canada, did not want their dad to lead his silver years all alone. His Hyderabad-based daughter also welcomed the idea and his children’s encouragement made him open an account on an online matrimonial platform.

“Suma too was listed there but she was not active. In fact, she had deleted her account long back but luckily it still remained and by fluke, I got a chance to get in touch with her and what began between us was friendship and a journey to understand each other. We used to talk to each other over the phone and had met thrice. Her daughter accompanied us during our third meet and we had a great dinner together,” says Seshadri.

Seshadri and Suma with their children

Suma, who lost her husband 5 years back was initially a little hesitant to take their friendship to the next level. “I was shy at first but with my daughter’s support, I finally decided to get married. During silver years everyone needs a partner and a friend to be with to keep loneliness at bay and to stand by each other during any kind of emergency. Our children are all settled in their own lives and we too are happily enjoying our post-retirement days together. It feels wonderful to have a bigger family now. While earlier I had only one daughter, right now I am a proud mother of two daughters and a loving son,” says Suma.

This inspiring couple went to Andaman and Nicobar Islands on their honeymoon and had a lovely trip in October 2019. And guess what, they tied the knot only two weeks after Suma’s daughter got married to the love of her life.

Adda celebrated their wedding with grandeur

Seshadri is a member of Adda, one of Silver Talkies’ social engagement clubs in association with Rotary Cantonment and the wedding was celebrated with all grandeur at Adda. All like-minded and young-at-heart friends came together to gift a bouquet of flowers to the newlyweds and cut a special cake wishing them a blissful life.

Isn’t it awesome to see children realizing the need for companionship for their parents and encouraging them to start afresh during their silver years? It indeed is and may we have more such inspiring seniors embracing aging the coolest way. Love has no age and these super silvers have proven that.

A doting grandmom to a toddler, an awesome cook and an epitome of charisma and humbleness, Nag shared with Silver Talkies how theatre has been her all-time anchor and the key to healthy, active and fulfilling ageing.

What does theatre mean for you? What has it been to you during your silver years?

Theatre is my lifeline. I would suggest everyone to find out what is that main artery that keeps you ticking in your life. Whether it is watching a sunset or cleaning your toilet or planting a tree or watching a play. There has to be the one something in your life that makes you tick. Theatre has been my survival kit.

It is the only thing I wanted to do and want to do now. It started when I was 16 and is still going strong. I have given it all of myself very truthfully and it has given back to me 100 times more. I really believe if one is able to unconditionally shower attention to one thing in life, other than what one does to earn money and live, that thing will define one in his or her sunset years. Once everything is done like raising children, losing spouses or getting a new one, there should be one thing that needs to be your anchor. Your children or your partner or any other human being shouldn’t be your only anchor. It has to be an activity, an idea and a thought and for me, theatre is that anchor.

Can you recall your first on-stage performance?

My first onstage performance happened in a government colony in Delhi. My father was working for the government and I remember doing a Rajasthani dance where I was playing a boy. My first exposure to drama was seeing Ramleela in the backyard of my father’s government housing colony where a Sardarji was playing Sita. These are the lasting impressions in one’s life and that’s why parents must make it a point for their children to watch real-life art like theatre, jatra, folk theatre, dance, folk dance, not just the classical form.

We are making a huge mistake by just going the Disney way when we have our own Pattachitra or Phad painting which will just disappear if we do not collect them. If we do not watch theatre, it will fade away. If people don’t buy a Phad painting or a Pichwai, they will become extinct. Each of these arts are infused with meaning and our next generation must be able to understand the meaning.

How did Rangashankara begin? What have you learnt from its 15-year-long journey?

I have worked in Marathi and Gujrati commercial theatres, IPTA, Hindi theatres and doing Kannada theatre in Karnataka for 40 years. Rangashankara is the crystallisation of a life well led and it is a logical end to a very good life lived in theatre. It has taught me how does one bring the essence of everything that one has learned and tries to put it in a space and make it available for generations to come. I do not see myself as the owner but am just serving the space.

Rangashankara happened because there was a need. At that time there was no small theatre in Bangalore apart from Ravindra Kalakshetra and one Chowdiah Memorial Hall which were 1000 seat auditoriums and not dedicated only to theatre. Also, I had come fresh from the experience of having watched Jennifer Kapoor build Prithvi Theatre, so the conviction was there. It was not all encouragement and a lot of discouragement as well. Moreover, it was the time of recession in the world and nobody was giving money. But I kept singing the same song again and again and the last year we completed 15 years. And celebrating Rangashankara’s 15 years we will bring you one good piece of theatre every month in whichever language that the audiences and theatre lovers can enjoy.

Do you love living all by yourself? How do you spend your day?

I was telling my daughter the other day I will never be alone anywhere in the world. I will find a theatre group and tell them allow me to clean your costumes or dust your shoes. I don’t have to act. You can be the most important person by just ushering, helping backstage, by offering chai to the actor, by allowing a quiet moment to the actor. Everything goes into the performance.

I love to cook, I love to listen to music, I love my garden, flowers, the bees and the birds, I live on a small farm that keeps me busy. I have 75 coconut trees, mango, jack fruit and papaya trees, dogs, and a granddaughter. They live in Singapore and visit me every two months. That gives me space to be on my own and not make anyone a crutch as that I feel is most important for your silver years.

Staying occupied is the trick

Narmatha Murty, 66, has been living alone for the past 13 years since she lost her spouse. While it had been initially difficult for her to cope, support from her sisters and courage made her completely self-dependent. She may have taken five long years to accept the reality and move on, but trying out ways to make herself busy and occupied gave her a meaningful second inning of life.

“I took up interior designing as a passion and started doing it for my close friends. Also, I kept attending life insurance and travel insurance courses though I have not done a single insurance till now. It was just for the sake of gaining more knowledge and keeping myself busy. Now I take care of everything all by myself,” says Murty.

In order to ensure she is not alone in the case of any kind of emergency, she has rented out some parts of her residential building and has three tenants. Also, she is part of Silver Talkies, an engagement community for seniors in Bangalore that keeps her active and going. She had recently been to Benaras with a group of like-minded seniors organised by Silver Talkies in collaboration with Unhotel, a tourism company that curates senior-friendly travels.

Safety is one’s own responsibility

For Sandhya Kunjur, 63, a bold and self-dependent woman throughout her life, living alone has been smooth. She has lived through a broken relationship, ruled her advertising career, established her own craft business, succeeded in her marketing career and has fulfilled her dreams of developing a non-profit organisation to help girl children and women single-handedly. And while doing all these she had moved to her own place during her 30s. With her relatives living close by, Kunjur does not have to worry when she faces a health emergency now. However, she is very particular about her own safety and has taken some wise steps towards it.

“I have put CCTV camera outside my main door, and check it before opening the door. I have put a list of names of doctors, immediate neighbours and family in my priority list on my phone and on my soft board at home. If I am travelling I let them know I am off and inform them when I am back. After 7.30 pm, I avoid opening the front door if I am not expecting anyone. I have asked my building security to come along with my visitor if he looks unknown,” she says.

According to her, a helpline for senior citizens, trained full-time maids, priority ambulances for senior citizens and wheelchair facilities in the buildings where they live are some of the infrastructural and civic helps that can make the life of a senior citizen living alone smooth and hassle-free. “I am young and happy with my independence. But once I grow a little older, I may look at a senior citizen home,” she says.

Being able to man the home makes it smooth

For Shiv Kumar, 71, a senior advocate, the art of living alone well has been equivalent to be able to manage all household chores alone. A widower for the last 15 years, Kumar has still not been able to cope with the emotional vacuum but has become a master of managing his home.

“The fact of not having another human face in the living space has been extremely daunting. The coping began with learning to fend for oneself in terms of running the household—maid, cook, groceries, vegetables, etc. Buying of vegetables and groceries became an outdoor activity that transformed a chore into an enjoyable experience. As I started learning to use the washing machine, the pressure cooker and managing the kitchen, I began treating them as an enjoyable experience. I think coping was possible because of accepting the situation and not mixing the emotional loss with practical day to day needs of living,” says Kumar who recently shifted to an apartment from an independent home. Now infrastructure requirements like security, plumbers, electricians, etc, are no more his concern and are taken care of.

Long walks, visiting friends and relatives, listening to music and reading became other coping mechanisms for him. “In spite of being laughed at and being made fun of I made physical visits to the Bank instead of using net banking which became another activity,” says Kumar who is currently running a full services law firm.

Every person has their own coping mechanism and ways to deal with living on their own. We hope the advice above from these three active, young at heart seniors will give you not just ideas but also inspiration if you are contemplating living alone.

How and when is it done?

The five essential principles of Qigong include relaxation, concentration, meditation, harmony and breathing.

RELAXATION – Be soft and yielding. Exert no strength.

CONCENTRATION- Let the mind direct the movement.

MEDITATION – Balance the movements of the mind, the body and Chi

HARMONY – When thoughts and movements are in accord, you gain the power to feel.

BREATHING – Breathe naturally through the nose into the abdomen. With the abdomen relaxed, tranquility will prevail.

According to Mundle, significant improvements to health and well-being can be achieved after practicing Qigong for just a short time. During the meditative exercises, the energy flowing inside the body is felt. When all the channels are clear the energy will be very strong. Outside the body will feel soft, all the muscles and joints are relaxed, and this means that the inside is strong.

Mundle says: “Qigong is best practiced early in the morning or at sunset, preferably in the open, in a park where air and earth chi (energy) is abundant. There are no dietary restrictions though Qigong trains in balance and harmony in all aspects of life. Eating in moderation and mindfully and practicing on an empty stomach is good.”

Why Qigong is beneficial for seniors?

Here is why every individual above 60 must practice Qigong.

Qigong can heal and prevent a large number of age-related conditions: Be it Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, cataracts, stroke, diabetes, osteoporosis, asthma and even cancer, Qigong is known to act as a healer and reduce suffering along with saving your pocket and cutting down on medical expenses. Being a holistic theory, Qigong can improve breathing, blood sugar levels, cholesterol levels and aiding in stroke recovery simultaneously. Not just treating them, Qigong can prevent ailments as well. Studies have found that those doing Qigong have been able to maintain their body weight, bone density, blood pressure, eyesight, hearing, flexibility, cholesterol levels thereby keeping several diseases at bay, having perfect eyesight and hearing, maintaining their natural hair colour without having to apply dyes, firm and lustrous skin and looking much younger.

Qigong can improve the quality of life: Not being sick or disabled due to practicing Qigong is itself bliss. Additionally, the lives of older adults improve with Qigong as they are able to feel hungry and enjoy yummy foods, stop feeling lethargic, have better concentration, better memory, become stress-free, happy and more alive. These ways, Qigong can provide the perfect dose of active and happy ageing.

Qigong can prevent accidents: The older population is more vulnerable to falls and accidents. Qigong can help prevent accidents in several ways. Starting from making an individual stronger, healthier and more alert, it can improve his or her balance, eyesight, coordination, hearing and make him or her more flexible. Thus, one will be at a lesser risk of falls and he or she will have better visibility, will be more alert, will have a stronger grip and much better control of the body.

Mundle in her Qigong learning sessions in Lodhi Gardens, Delhi

Experiencing Qigong and observing the difference

Mundle’s engagement with Qigong began 13 years back when her Master, an American living much of his time in China got in touch with her. At that time she was working in a hospice as a psychologist for cancer patients in terminal stages. He wanted to do Qigong healing with these patients and teach the movements to those who could.

“This started a journey into a form which was akin to slow dance. At the time I was in the 5th year learning and performing with a dance group and was looking for a new form of activity that would not be as fast-paced as I had a degenerative lower back problem. Yoga did not appeal nor did the gym. Additionally, I found myself unable to meditate in the traditional way because of a chattering mind and discomfort in the sitting position. Meditative Qigong ticked all the boxes. It gave me dance-like movements, greatly improved my breathing and focus as I learnt to balance the breath and the movement to achieve a rhythm conducive to being meditative,” says Mundle.

For the next three years she continued to learn with the master at Delhi, Dharamshala and Bangalore and due course, she utilised this form with psychiatric patients that she found to be immensely beneficial. “I consider myself a Qigong practitioner of a life-enhancing practice which I have shared with groups in workshops over the years. I found my ideal form of meditation and movement. This is an individual choice for both seniors and others. Yoga and dance suit some, the gym or walking and stretching suit others. For older people like me, this form is easy as it does not put a strain on joints and muscles and once grasped is gentle and soothing and rejuvenating,” she says.

Did you know that sound therapy could be an amazing non-invasive way of tackling many age-related health and mind conditions, that too without any side-effects? Find out more about sound healing here.

Education and learning are assumed to be important factors in facilitating participation in society, allowing adults to enjoy a positive quality of life and adapt to changes within the environment in areas such as technology, lifestyle, finances, and health which are strong predictors of longevity and active ageing.

Benefits of Learning at an older age

It keeps one healthier and active: As we get older we must keep our brain active. Learning new skills or new subjects helps in keeping the mind sharp. Continued learning helps in improving memory by maintaining the brain.

It gives an emotional boost: Learning new things boosts self-esteem. On learning a new skill, one feels stronger and more confident. New skills, when acquired, give a sense of independence which ensures being healthy and happy. Learning provides older adults with the skills and confidence they need to participate effectively in decision-making processes, increasing their self-efficacy. This form of self-esteem leads to improved performance in solving not only cognitive problems but daily life challenges. Learning a new language, developing an understanding of different religions, and mastering new technologies provide examples of challenging problems that are useful in enhancing the belief in one’s ability to handle new tasks—the “Can-do Factor”.

It enables meeting new people: When one attends a class or lecture among multiple participants one gets an opportunity to meet people with similar interests. It paves the way to have great acquaintances.

It positively impacts mental health: It helps in having a sense of identity, ability to cope and a feeling of purpose in life. It also gives a greater level of wellbeing, especially in older adults, an increase in life satisfaction and positive changes in mental wellbeing.

It enhances cognitive health: Learning has a positive and lasting impact on cognition. Everyday activities can to an extent help in stimulating the brain. But active learning is a complex process and can be considered an ideal mean of cognitive stimulation. It need not always be some courses, but it can simply be learning something new and stimulating, such as gardening or being involved in a group discussion on a current topic. Learning something completely new, unfamiliar and mentally challenging provides more stimulation mentally and socially. Hence it is better for cognitive health.

Learning a new skill, and then mindfully applying what you learn will improve cognitive functions but can also provide years of future enjoyment.

Consider taking classes in:

Photography

Flower arranging

Drawing

Scrapbooking

Cooking classes – maybe something specific like cooking for someone with diabetes, or low-cholesterol cooking

Learning how to use a smartphone, and using social media such as Facebook or Instagram

U3A – University of Third Age

U3A, L’Universite du Troisieme Age or University of the Third Age, was founded in

Toulouse, France in 1972 where universities began to provide educational opportunities for older adults. The experiment met with almost immediate success and soon spread to other European countries. Every member of the educational group was encouraged to contribute voluntarily to the running of their U3A organization in some way. Now it has spread to various countries and has different models of functioning.

The motto among older adults should be ‘What classes are coming up?’ instead of ‘ My life is over’. As the baby boomer generation ages, they will continue to actively seek out creative and innovative lifelong learning opportunities to integrate with their life. This is an interesting way to encourage older adults of our society to maximize the many benefits of lifelong learning.

Why should one learn

To give back

To teach, use new skills

To constantly learn never stop

To keep the mind active, use the brain, stay mentally stimulated

To obtain goals

Understanding of the meaning of life

Understanding self better

To focus on positives and not negatives

Extend thinking and learning capacity

Actively participating in life, giving it a new meaning

To develop new friendships

What should one learn

About other cultures

New talents

New skills, vocation(counselling, gardening, etc)

Craft, painting, drawing

Driving a car

Learning languages

Technology usage

Spiritual aspects of life

Hobbies

Current affairs

New subjects

Music

Family History

How should one learn

Travel

New activities

Reading

New experiences

New challenges

Cultural activities

Seeking opportunities

Moving out of Comfort zone

Mentoring

Where should one learn

New places

At work

From others young and old

Support groups

Groups for art, dance, language, drama

At home

Formal courses

Volunteer organizations

E-Learning online

Learning is very important at any age and among older adults, it helps in improving physical and mental health.

Lifelong learning is the secret to happiness in older age, benefiting both the body and mind. Meet the seniors for whom learning has never stopped. Click here to read about the seniors for whom learning never stopped. 

This octogenarian plastic surgeon has been conducting free surgeries for poor patients since 2006

Meet the 82-year-old plastic surgeon from Malsi, Dehradun who has been awarded the Padma Shri this year for treating poor people with burnt and disfigured faces for free for the last 25 years. Dr Yogi Aeron has been conducting a 2-week camp twice a year since 2006 to reach out to patients below the poverty line with disfigured lips, cheeks, nose and other parts of the face and treat them for free. Dr Aeron, along with the help of 15 other US-based doctors, has been conducting 500 such surgeries every year. Nearly 10,000 patients are enlisted in his waiting list. He seeks help from NGOs and his friends from India and the US to fund the cost of these plastic surgeries.

53-year-old manual scavenger turned social worker now voices for cleanliness, against manual scavenging

Usha Chaumar, 53, from Alwar has won the Padma Shri award this year and her story is no less than a fairytale. Once a manual scavenger, she now works as the president of the Sulabh International Social Service Organisation after a heroic journey full of adversities. Chaumar is known for her outstanding contribution to raising awareness about cleanliness and against manual scavenging. “I never thought that I would ever be able to leave the work of manual scavenging, but Dr Bindeshwar Pathak, founder of Sulabh International made that happen for me. I left manual scavenging in 2003. No one should do the work of manual scavenging, because it leads to untouchability and those who do this job are looked down by society,” Chaumar has been quoted saying. She has made her family as well as entire Alwar proud by receiving the fourth highest civilian awards in the country.

This 68-year-old fruitseller from Karnataka runs a school to educate poor children

A chance encounter and difficulty in communication with some foreign tourists led to 68-year-old fruitseller Harekala Hajabba’s initiative to educate poor children in his village in 2000. According to newspaper reports, the Mangalore based orange seller uses the proceeds of his earnings for the maintenance and upkeep of a school to educate the children because he himself had never received an education. He convinced locals and well-wishers to help him to set up a school at the local mosque. Gradually with the help of the District Administration, the Dakshina Kannada Zilla Panchayat Higher Primary School was set up, as well as an organisation to streamline the effort and funding of the school.

Hajappa is dedicated to his school. “Even after the new school was built, he continued to wake up early in the morning, sweep the campus, boil drinking water and saw to it that both the faculty and the students didn’t have anything to complain about. He treated the campus as though it were his own home,” his nephew told reporters. Despite his achievement and popularity, Hajappa remains humble and determined as ever.

This septuagenarian from Karnataka has planted more than one lakh trees all alone

Tulasi Gowda, 72, from the Halakki tribe in Honalli village has committed her life towards raising awareness about forest conversation and has single-handedly planted more than one lakh trees in the state. Although she has not received any formal education, Gowda is known as the ‘Encyclopedia of forest’ due to her vast knowledge of herbs and plants and has been awarded the Padma Shri this year. Gowda is also actively involved in afforestation programs conducted by the forest department and nurtures the saplings until they grow strong enough to stand on their own.

84-year-old Langar Baba from Punjab has served free food to the needy for 15 years

Jagdish Lal Ahuja, 84, also known as Langar Baba has been serving free food and providing financial assistance, blankets and clothes to hundreds of poor patients and attendants outside the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh. Since 2000, he has been serving food to more than 2000 people daily. He sold off properties worth crores to support his mission and continues to serve to date despite suffering from stomach cancer.

We salute the undaunted spirit of these inspiring senior citizens.

Start with protein and end with carbs: This is a trick to reduce carbs intake which ultimately ends up adding your body fat if you do not limit. Make protein your priority by choosing daals/peas/sprouts/paneer/fish/nuts/chicken/egg first on your plate. Following that, pick the next non-starchy vegetables and by then your craving for carbs will subside which will definitely force you to limit your favourite carb dish such as biryani/pasta served at parties.

Get crazy about veggies: The more colours (vegetables) you add on your plate the more will you be able to stay on track. However, vegetables of different kinds are the most unpopular dish at restaurants and parties. We mostly get potato-based preparation which is served and preferred. Look for vegetable-based preparations that are loaded with vitamins, minerals and fiber. They are low in calories and helps to manage your weight, constipation and diabetes.

Watch out for disguised sodium: Just by shooing away the salt shaker on your table will not help. Rather, ask for dishes prepared without Ajinomoto/tastemaker and avoid papads, salted red chillies, dried fish, fries, readymade sauce, cookies, puffs, cakes as these are hidden sources of sodium which tend to increase your blood pressure.

Learn to pack leftovers: Do not stick to your rigid principle of ‘clean plates’. Extra rice/rotis or rich gravies can be packed and stored for the next meal rather than forcing yourself to eat just to prevent wasting food.

Let them know your needs: Talk to someone and let them understand your requirements as per your health concerns and try to stick to the regime provided by your nutritionist. The medicines that you take should taper down instead of resulting in an increased dosage due to unhealthy eating.

“You have to raise your own internal war-cry and decide to win. Very often, the people around you get so overwhelmed that they do not know what words to speak. Ultimately, you have to be your own cheerleader,” says Kumar. 

She believes that the support of a calm, caring family and caregivers is very precious as cancer is a testing time for caregivers too. They need to be strong and always positive.

How To Write 9 Books While battling Cancer?

When Kumar was struck with Cancer the second time, all she could hear were doomsday predictions from friends and relatives. “I was looking for courage and all I got was Bon Voyage confetti. So I picked up some best –selling classics to cheer myself up. To my horror, in ‘The Last Lecture’ by Randy Pausch, the hero dies; in ‘Tuesdays with Morrie’ by Mitch Albom, the hero dies; After reading all this, I thought there is too much grimness associated with Cancer. Surprisingly, in India, there were no happy books on cancer. I was determined to live. So, to inspire myself, I wrote, ‘To Cancer, With Love-My Journey of Joy’. This quirky subject was picked up delightfully by one literary agent and several publishers.

The success of her book inspired her to write India’s first graphic novel on cancer. Kumar says: “Mystically, two Indian legends — Mr Ratan Tata and Mr Amitabh Bachchan stepped forward to praise my writing, fund it and ensure that I wrote my comic book for these grim times when India is sitting on a cancer time bomb. The funds were so generous that I wrote not one but three books on cancer. I am a Sea of Possibilities—A Personal Growth Coloring Workbook’ aimed at anyone—caregivers, people with anxieties, who wish to journal and color their stress away. Cancer involves long hours of waiting for the stricken as well as caregivers. My book is a life skills toolbox to deal with any adversity life throws at you.”

With the success of these books came the magical offer from Penguin to write actor Manisha Koirala’s book ‘Healed—How cancer gave me a new life’. The book became a bestseller within two weeks of its launch.

After beating cancer this septuagenarian is now inspiring others to fight cancer like a warrior

Meera Raj, 70, who was diagnosed with early 2nd stage breast cancer in April 2009, has not only survived the condition but is now serving as a counsellor in Cytecare Cancer Hospital, lending out her compassionate ear to those suffering from cancer. Her first phase of treatment included a mastectomy (total removal of the right breast) that was done within a week of diagnosis as per the surgeon’s advice.

She believes that the role of family members, friends and other caregivers is immense in terms of helping a cancer patient survive this journey. She says: “I was fortunate enough to have the support of my family and friends at every stage of treatment who were positive and very encouraging. Most of all they made me laugh about my beautiful bald head and my strange-looking appearance with a wig. They were a cheering, admiring and adorable lot and I am also like that, generally going with the flow not complaining much.” 

Speaking about her present role in Cytecare Cancer Hospital, Raj says: “I am an empathetic co- traveller in their journey, attentively listening to their queries with total understanding and empathy, giving them a few suggestions as one who has already gone through the treatment and come out successfully. I don’t stray into the specific medical treatment, which is done only by doctors and other professionals. It is mainly caring through sharing. My primary role is to build a rapport with the cancer patients so that they have a friend in the hospital with whom they can share their small and big concerns. Yes, it is an amazing, mutually enriching and rewarding journey for me.”

Raj has always got enough encouragement from her friends, relatives and her treating doctor that helped her to take the situation in her stride. She was never made to feel frightened about the situation and was made to realise that it was just a bad day and that she should take one day at a time as it comes.

Her message for other cancer fighters

You must try and come out of the ‘why me’ denial stage by giving it a good thought and come to terms with the ‘why not me’ acceptance stage to give the treatment your best shot. any fighters have succeeded by the sheer strength of spirit, mind and the amazing grace of whoever or whatever you believe in as your God or creator. To caregivers, you are doing an amazing job, be patient, encouraging and take time off to refuel yourself you need as well.

Here’s what happened on our honeymoon: I was ‘phoren return’ groom, after a 5 years stint in Los Angeles California (UCLA) and was yet to get back my taste for and tolerance of mirch masala spicy food. We were in the honeymoon suite of a star hotel in Nuwar Eliya, at quite a height in Sri Lanka (then Ceylon) that jewel of a nation down south. Under gleaming chandeliers in the dining hall, a specially prepared ‘honeymooners dinner’ was served to us.

Ceylon is known for their mirchi – a notch above what the Andhra chaps eat – and we stared at an angry-looking red gravy dish that arrived at the table. Gita immediately said, “That curry looks like dynamite. I am not going to touch it. I think you should avoid it as well.”

Now, who was the macho male in this partnership? Who was the hero and the boss? How dare anyone try to tell the new husband what to do? In my own defense, I did account for my ‘American palate’ and I took one teaspoonful of the curry in six tablespoonfuls of plain rice. I mixed it well and took a tiny nibble and all hell broke loose.

Never had a ‘hero’ gone to ‘zero’ with such rapidity. The whole world exploded. I stuck my tongue out and breathed through my mouth. Beads of perspiration appeared along my temples in that cold mountain air. I downed my glass of water, and Gita’s, and followed it up with the mug of beer that was sitting near my plate.

Gorgeous Gita Bhatia from the album

These palliatives were nowhere near enough. To Gita’s shriek of ‘I told you so’, I gulped down a few spoonfuls of just the rice, in an effort to douse the fire in my mouth. My eyes were watery. Then, I made the biggest mistake of all. I reached for Gita’s handbag extracted the box of Toblerone chocolates I had given her and proceeded to gnaw at each bar in my search for succour. Able to see clearly after five agonising minutes, I found Gita was not at our table. Two commiserating waiters were standing there informing me that madam is asking the manager for the phone number of a good divorce lawyer. “Madam says you ate all her Toblerone” one of the waiters sighed.

Shaking my head and wiping the sweat that was forming rivulets on my face, I located the manager’s office and found Gita happily sipping from a huge red Ceylonese coconut. The manager, realizing it would be a bad precedent for a honeymoon suite pair to split up in his hotel, had persuaded her to ‘cool it’. “Keep your foolish husband and work on reforming him,” he had said.

Thank you, Gita, for keeping me and reforming me! Thirteen years since you succumbed to a cardiac arrest. I love you.

Signs to watch out for

Highlighting the symptoms of coronavirus, Dr Naganath Narasimhan Prem, chief consultant geriatric medicine /elderly care specialist, Department of Geriatric Medicine, Jaslok Hospital, Mumbai, says: “The older adults should be specifically cautious and reach out to a doctor in case they suffer from fever, cough and shortness of breath. The symptoms may show up within two to 14 days after exposure. Severe cases can have pneumonia.”

Coronavirus is a communicable disease and can spread from an infected person’s coughs, sneezes, droplets of saliva or discharge from the nose.

Prevention is better than cure: Here’s what one must do

Wash hands frequently with soap and water or use alcohol-based hand rub.

Always cover the mouth and nose while sneezing.

Maintain social distancing

Avoid touching eyes, nose and mouth.

If you have fever, cough and difficulty in breathing, seek medical care

Avoid contact with stray animals

Avoid consumption of raw or undercooked animal products

Wear protective masks.

Take care of the co-morbid medical conditions like diabetes, hypertension and update on the flu and pneumonia vaccines in general.

Go for a healthy and balanced diet with lots of vitamins and minerals and plenty of water that may help recover with any viral illness including coronavirus.

Avoid any non-essential travel to China or other parts that are already infected with the coronavirus. Follow health advisories issued by the embassies.

Sandesh and Ganesh Poojari who have been fulfilling their father’s dream after his untimely demise

Ramakrishna Holla established CTR in 1952 and handed it over to Sanjeeva Poojari about 40 years back. “During the 70s when my dad took over, we started selling Dosas at just one rupee fifty paise, and a cup of coffee would cost around 50 paise. Over the next few decades, CTR stood the test of time, has evolved to be one of the best brands for Benne Dosas, has made some amazing friendships, both with the staff and the customers and is continuing to win hearts of many,” says Sandesh Poojari who had been visiting the restaurant with his father since he was in Grade VII.

What began as a tiny one-storied eating space has now expanded into two spacious floors with the majority of staff working there for more than 45 years. The magic butter that makes the Dosa crackle from outside and melts inside your mouth comes from a secret village in Karnataka which has been supplying butter for CTR since its inception. The Poojari brothers have maintained the old tradition of no holidays and serving their customers on all days. It is open 365 days, right from 7 AM till 12:30 PM at the noon and from 4 PM till 9:15 PM in the evening with a few hours’ breaks in between.

The mouth-watering Benne Dosas from CTR

“My dad spent around two and a half years to master the art of making the perfect Dosas that you see today. It was my dad’s own recipe that has given Benne Dosa the perfect size, the right amount of butter, the perfect thickness and the perfect crackle that melts in one’s mouth. My dad used to travel every day to this secret village which shall remain a secret obviously to get the butter for the Dosas till he was alive. The chef who had assisted dad during the initial years is now the chief chef. He is 55-years-old and has been with us for more than four decades now,” says Poojari whose day begins with visiting the shop to make sure the quality of the food, hygiene, cleanliness is all maintained well.

The best lesson the Poojari brothers got from their late father? it was the art of making the staff and the customers their own family. Going down memory lane, Sandesh Poojari says: “My dad would never consider the staff as his employees. He would always behave with them like his own brother. We have learnt how to make the staff feel like our family members and that’s how we continue to present the tasty Dosas together. For dad, his customers were above everything. This is how our loyal customers have become our family friends.”

This is how the CTR looked 14 years back

CTR boasts of septuagenarian and octogenarian customers who travel to Bangalore from the USA and come straight to the restaurant from the airport to dig into the dreamy Dosas. There are others who make sure to pack these Dosas for their wives and family members and fly with them overseas. “While we have received offers to open our outlets in London, Germany, Auckland and more, we have never shown much interest. We believe that CTR is Bangalore’s wonder and one has to fly down to the garden city to taste our Dosas,” says Sandesh Poojari who is firm about maintaining the golden legacy of Bengaluru’s favourite CTR.

Silver Talkies Social member, (Click here to know how to become a social member) Uma Kasturi, 72, was part of this specially curated silver holiday and shares her enthralling experience in the city of ghats with us.

From the first group selfie at the departure lounge at Karnataka International Airport (KIA) to the last ‘bye-byes’ and ‘we should do it again’, the Banaras trip organised by Silver Talkies in association with Unhotel was a blast. On reaching the heritage city of Banaras, we got a lovely welcome at Granny’s Inn with friendly warmth, steaming cups of fragrant tea and jasmine garlands. Right from the beginning, we felt at home and this augured well for the rest of our stay.

By then the group of like-minded young-at-heart seniors had got along well and we were on a roll. The rooms were comfortable and the home-cooked food, the chaats and the sweets were delectable. The taste of Makkhan Malais still lingers.

All about finding wonders in the narrow alleys

We felt absolutely safe wherever we went, thanks to our escorts, Nidhi, Shilpi, Mayur and Rohit. The temple trips and aartis were a great spiritual experience, especially the morning aarti. The music performance after the aarti was a bonus for all of us.

The trip to the weaver’s colony raised a lot of questions in my mind. Their living and working conditions are really bad, totally in contrast to the beautiful creations that they produce. The shopping was great, from the laid-back saree shopping to hopping from shop to shop for bangles, bags and curios in the maze of narrow, old lanes.

The choice of lassis at the Blue Lassi was wide. However, the ambience was a little uncomfortable. Though we were warned about it from before, the continuous passage of funeral processions past the doorstep of the lassi maker was a little off-putting. It could have been nicer if we all could have gone for a city tour for a couple of hours to be able to see more of Banaras apart from the older parts of the city and the ghats.

The trip made for an amazing bonding time among the seniors

The sessions we had during the early morning tea and after dinner were fun. The girls literally let their hair down. There were lots of gup-shup and banter. The granny, Asha, at the Granny’s Inn was a really warm and friendly person and she made us feel very welcome and at home – mi casa su casa. We look forward to more such senior-friendly trips with Silver Talkies. The Banaras trip got of us a lot of colours, smiles, music and fun amid the humdrum affairs of life.

Growing up with grandparents is a special gift. Image courtesy: Ramesh Sood

Ramesh Sood, 59, lives with his wife, son, daughter-in-law and a grandson he and his wife dote on in Pune. The popular coach and mentor thinks it’s a give and take. “Gap between older and younger generation at home can be overcome by realizing just this one thing — If earlier a generation gap meant 1x then due to the speed of change and emergence of a world of accelerated digital flows, this gap has increased to 4x or more in present times. Therefore, the older generation needs to shun judgment and be quietly present if the young ones ever need the support of experience. Oh yes, it would need a tremendously conscious effort that’s difficult but not impossible. The external environment is completely different today than it was 20 years ago and our young ones are required to sustain themselves in that environment. Let us accept this one fact,” says Mr Sood.

Have Your Own Life

Narang believes it’s important for elders to have their own life, especially when living with the younger generation in the same home. “Otherwise you will be lonely as they are busy with their own lives and feel bad about it.”

Narang says elders often impose their ideas and way of doing things when they move in to live with their children. She believes you need to put boundaries in your thinking and judgement whether living with a daughter or daughter-in-law.

“When it comes to home management and children, be clear who has the prime responsibility, if it’s your daughter-in-law and son, try to understand why they are doing things in a certain way, instead of interfering.”

Talk It Out

What helped Narang in understanding these things were frank conversations with her daughter-in-law. “Instead of judging her or commenting on things I found hard to understand, I asked her the reason behind it and she explained,” Narang says. Sharma on her part expresses gratitude. “I know that many wouldn’t have taken the trouble to ask like ma did and may have formed their judgement. I appreciated that she asked and it has helped our bond!”

Sharma suggests intergenerational families that live together should talk things out with each other if they find something amiss instead of forming judgements in their minds that may lead to a future clash. “It applies to everyone, old and young.”

The Young Need To Respect Experience

While the world has rapidly changed, experience has a lot of value and younger people need to understand that. “I expect them to know that ‘Experience’ is a truth that can’t be denied. And therefore needs to be respected. The gap can be reduced by creating opportunities for happy meaningful conversations between generations,” Mr Sood advises.

“It’s important to teach that to the younger people at home, especially children and teenagers,” says Arushi Khandekar from Mumbai. “Today’s children dismiss the elderly often as they are not tech-savvy or as up to date with the latest things as they are. It’s our job as parents to point out how much the elders’ experience counts.” Khandekar lives with her husband, teenage son and father in law. “My FIL is a math whiz who can still do complex sums in his head. Now that my son has realised that he has a newfound respect for dada and the realisation that there is merit in hard work and regular practice!”

Understand Needs From Their Point of View, Not Yours

Shashank Agarwal, 71, from Navi Mumbai, also thinks it’s easier for diverse generations to live together if they respect and trust each others’ abilities. “I drive everywhere and though my son expresses concern, he trusts my judgement on this and doesn’t interfere. I, on the other hand, don’t drive at night as I know it worries them. I’d request children living with elderly to not limit their activities because they are worried. We appreciate the concern but wouldn’t like to be limited until the time our limbs allow us.”

Patience & Empathy

Sasmita Das* lives with her in-laws, husband and children. Das thinks looking at intergenerational relationships with patience and empathy can go a long way towards improving things. “Don’t jump to conclusions if something is said. Instead, put yourself in the person’s shoes and try to understand the context. Age can be unkind sometimes, limiting mobility, life-choices, etc. A bit of understanding from the young in the family towards that would go a long way in creating a healthy atmosphere at home.”

* Some names have been changed on request 

Cover image used for representation purposes only. Courtesy: Pranav Kumar Jain/ https://unsplash.com/

Daisy’s secret sauce to starting a venture post 50:

• Keep in mind one’s retirement plans, health insurance and other financial obligations.
• Make sure one has enough savings to plunge into something new at 50 as savings is the only thing one may have to depend on.

Shaila Pandey, 70, has been running Opto Opticians, one of Bangalore’s first optical outlets single-handedly since the demise of her spouse (WHICH YEAR). Alongside, she had taken up the franchisee for Just Bake, a well known baking enterprise, running it for seven years until ill health led her to close it down.

Shaila’s secret sauce to running a venture post 50:

• Take on a franchise that is well established and invest a part of profit so that one has something to fall back on
• Take inputs from those who are already in similar business
• Avoid unnecessary splurges
• Develop a good rapport with customers
• Allocate a fixed fund for rent and staff salaries beforehand
• Use own investment as much as possible

A financial expert talks about things to be kept in mind when you start afresh at 50

Samyuktha Vibhu from ithought Financial Consulting believes that the most important thing in a new business is sustaining healthy cashflow and having enough visibility into how they will grow. Thorough market research before embarking on the venture is necessary. An entrepreneur must know the market, model, competitors, competitive advantage and audience.

“Business comes with uncertainty, so every entrepreneur must create enough financial security to outlast lean periods. One must be willing to cut back on their lifestyle to support the business during the early stages. Being prepared for uncertainty entails knowing that some months will be worse than others. One must also keep an eye out for disruption, competitors with deep pockets, and regulations. The easiest way to do this is through an enterprise plan. The enterprise planning exercise reviews your business model, studies your competitors, sets growth targets, and evaluates funding options. Starting with a plan will give you clarity on when you need to hit certain milestones and how you can get there,” says Vibhu.

According to her, shifting from a salaried job to an entrepreneurial role requires both planning and a leap of faith. “When you are an employee, you have a support system at work. When you are the employer, you must create a support system. Partnering with someone is necessary. Prepare for the long hours and the passion it takes for a business to flourish,” she says.

All about the fund allocation and fall back plan

It is important to be free of personal debt when one starts own venture. The fund allocation should then go towards emergency funds – one for the business and one for personal needs. The emergency funds must always be segregated. A corpus for expenses must be constructed as it will ensure that one’s needs are provided for even if the business is unable to support them. Remaining funds should go towards the business. It’s always best to have a qualified professional manage the family’s finances.

“One way to ease into it would be to explore part-time work, a sabbatical, freelancing/consulting, parallelly. This ensures a certain level of job/financial security as the business grows. It’s equally important to maintain a strong professional network and be updated on industry trends after the shift,” explains Vibhu.

Prevention is always better than a cure

One way to limit the downside is to scale the business only based on merit believes Vibhu. “Continuously monitoring the model provides timely feedback. This allows you to plug leaks before they become unmanageable. When the business does well, it is crucial to take money out and diversify it into other avenues. It might be tempting to plow everything back in the business, but liquid wealth averts financial crises,” says Vibhu.

Selecting the right source of funding is crucial. Debt allows one to make business choices freely but binds one to regular repayments. Equity has limited liability and limits one’s ability to make unilateral decisions. It’s important to select a company structure without personal liabilities. This ensures that one’s assets are safeguarded even if the business doesn’t do well.

Here are some further expert guidelines:

Vaibhav Tewari on the importance of home healthcare

For seniors living independently and alone, it is essential to make sure that they can avail healthcare facilities and services right at the doorstep starting from diagnostic services, regular check-up services, preventive healthcare services and palliative healthcare services for those who are suffering from any kind of chronic conditions. Home healthcare makes life easier and stress-free for senior citizens,”

Naresh V Narasimhan on the necessity to make homes convenient for senior living

While building a new home or making renovations, everyone must realise the need to make arrangements for senior citizens to reside safely at home. Instead of using Italian marble flooring and slippery tiles in the bathrooms, make sure you have textured vinyl on the floor to make the floor surface rough to prevent an accidental fall, use adequate lighting to ensure a senior citizen gets proper light to move about without any hassle, keep provision and enough area (5 feet turning radius) to accommodate a wheelchair and smoothly turn it around as per necessity, make use of chair lifts along the railings of the staircase and 3M stickers on bathroom floors to alert seniors about slippery floors.

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Sohail Khan on why senior citizens living alone need daily assistance

As of today, 1 out of every 5 parents in India lives alone. Almost 80% of all senior citizens in India feel isolated and depressed in some phase of their life after 50. They not only suffer from chronic loneliness but also need assistance in small chores for which they have to rely on strangers that may lead to safety issues. Technology also acts as a deterrent as they are not abreast with the new platforms. Instead of making their lives easier, it becomes an additional hassle to use technology.

Madhusudhan Gad on post-retirement finance

Senior citizens face a wide range of issues in terms of finance, especially post-retirement. They are not aware of the appropriate investments that can generate maximum revenue, neither are they pro in managing their budgetary concerns or their assets. Nor are they in the habit of consulting a professional for the same. All they do is worry about money during old age. It is essential for them to be completely aware of the finance-related issues as money is all that they need to have active, healthy ageing at home.

The three-hour-long session left a group of over 100 senior citizens satisfied who went back home with ideas of making their ageing at home more convenient.

Image captured by Anand Raj BSN, Saroja Velan’s son

Are you aware of India’s first zero-waste juice bar- Eat Raja in the heart of Malleswaram, one of Bengaluru’s oldest places? Did you know that the driving force behind this novel juice bar that has achieved zero waste generation by completely banning the usage of plastic and paper cups, straws and pet bottles and making use of fruit peel cups to serve fresh juice to its customers, is none other than 72-year-old Saroja Velan? This septuagenarian had stepped into the shoes of an entrepreneur just two years back in 2018 and with her son’s support, has become the talk of the country today for her noble initiative towards making her business zero-waste. She has been invited by the International Institute of Waste Management to be a part of the Women’s Day special Wave Conclave in Jaipur that aims to celebrate women entrepreneurs in the country on March 31 this year. As a part of its Culture Trail Series, Silver Talkies recently visited the juice counter of Eat Raja to get to know about the inspiring journey of this 72-year-old.

Image Courtesy: Silver Talkies

Velan was clueless about running a business and was a homemaker until September 2017 when she lost her spouse. Her husband ran a juice shop for 50 years until his demise and never wanted Velan to step out of the house and join the business. “After his death, we had to shut the shop for about six months when I expressed my desire to start something new as I felt lonely at home. All I knew was cooking as that is what I have been doing all my life. My son suggested turning my cooking skills into a business. That’s how Eat Raja was conceptualised in March 2018,” says Velan who has never been absent for work for a single day in the last two years despite failing health.

Velan’s entrepreneurial journey is a story of how the young and old joining hands could do things in a fresher and greener way. Anand Raj BSN, Velan’s son who quit a 13-year-long career as a radio jockey to help his mom do well in her new venture was all in to support Velan but had one condition. “I told Mom that we won’t do the business the way my dad did. This time we won‘t use any paper or plastic cups, straws and pet bottles. Instead, we will use fruit peel cups to serve juice to our customers. While initially, she said it won’t work, she now explains to her customers why we use fruit peel cups and convince them,” says Raj.

The 72-year-old faced all odds that came her way

While grit and determination made Velan start it off all alone as a café in 2018, it was not easy. Initially, she started making some roti-sabji and juice for her customers and found it difficult to get trustworthy helping hands at the shop. Also, she had never run a business before and knew nothing about how to do a business transaction. After her husband’s death, she had also lost a number of loyal customers. In order to make it a zero-waste business, she had stopped parcelling juice and customers were initially not used to drinking juice from fruit peel cups at the counter. That cut down many of her customers. But she never gave up.

Image Courtesy: Silver Talkies

“My son explained to me how excessive use of plastic and wastage of water are ruining the environment and I made my customers realise the same. Using fruit peel cups prevents me from wasting water to wash the glasses. My customers have gradually embraced the new concept and now they visit my shop only to enjoy fresh juices in fruit peel cups,” says Velan.

Zero-waste business strategy is what made her juice bar famous

Image Courtesy: Silver Talkies

While the mother-son duo started with watermelon shells and gradually moved on to using muskmelon and sun melon shells as juice cups, they now serve juices only in several fruit cups including cucumber shells and coconut shells, going completely waste-free. “Our juice bar has no disposable waste at all, be it paper cups, plastic glasses, straws or pet bottles and we don’t use them. Thus, there’s hardly any dry waste generation. Wet waste includes fruit cups, citrus peels, pulp and seed filters. My mom uses seed filters to do some artwork like rangoli and more. We make bio-enzymes from the citrus peels and 80 per cent of the fruit waste is consumed by our cow. Thus, we make sure nothing goes to the landfill,” says Raj.

As an entrepreneur, Velan makes sure all her staff get their salary on the same day without any delay. She is a firm believer in zero-waste and is a multitasker and a true example of active ageing. Even at 72, she manages everything efficiently, be it the shop, the household chores, her finances or business planning and is very strict about the quality of juices being served at her shop. She’s shown us that age is never a bar when it comes to learning something new and trying it out — be it business or going green.

Non-veg source of Vitamin B12: Vitamin B12 is mostly found in animal products. Healthy dietary sources include shellfish, fish, shellfish, crab, egg yolk, smaller amounts in milk or dairy.

The vegetarian or vegan source of Vitamin B12: It is notoriously hard to source natural B12 for vegans. A recent analysis revealed that some plant-sourced foods, such as certain fermented foods, edible algae, kefir and mushrooms, contain substantial amounts of bioactive vitamin B12.

The consequences of Vitamin B12 deficiency

In a study conducted by the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS), Bangalore, it has been found that among 259 patients aged 60 years and above who had neuropsychiatric manifestations, 16 per cent had Vitamin B12 deficiency. The study also revealed that Vitamin B12 deficiency was more prevalent in elderly males and was associated with increased severity of behavioural disturbances. Vitamin B12 deficiency has been linked with behavioural disturbances, memory loss and sensorimotor or movement disorders along with cognitive decline. It has been observed that older adults with neurodegenerative dementias are more likely to get affected due to Vitamin B12 deficiency. Interestingly, senior citizens with dyslipidemia in addition to B12 deficiency are prone to suffer from increased cognitive decline. Early detection and management of Vitamin B12 deficiency can thus lessen the cognitive burden in elderly patients.

Stay sanitised

Precautions for senior citizens against Coronavirus

1) Wash your hands frequently with soap and water or alcohol-based sanitiser

2) Maintain at least one metre (three feet) distance between yourself and anyone who is coughing or sneezing.

3) Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue or your bent elbow when you cough or sneeze.

4)Throw the used tissue into a closed dustbin immediately.

5) Avoid close contact with anyone if you have a cough or fever.

6) Avoid touching eyes, nose and mouth.

7) Avoid gatherings with a large number of people.

8) Do not spit in public

( Information courtesy: HelpAge India) 

Where can you get tested?

The health government has pointed out 64 centres across the country for Coronavirus testing. As of now, no private hospitals have the authority to conduct Coronavirus screening. Only the following government hospitals across the various states can conduct Coronavirus screening for you.

Andhra Pradesh

1) Sri Venkateswara Institute of Medical Sciences, Tirupati

2) Rangaraya Medical College, Kakinada

3) Siddhartha Medical College, Vijayawada

4) GMC, Anantapur, AP

Andaman and Nicobar Islands

5) Regional Medical Research Centre, Port Blair, Andaman and Nicobar

Assam

6) Gauhati Medical College, Guwahati

7) Regional Medical Research Center, Dibrugarh

8) Silchar Medical College, Silchar

9) Jorhat Medical College, Jorhat

Bihar

10) Rajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical Sciences, Patna

Chandigarh

11) Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh

Chattisgarh

12) All India Institute Medical Sciences, Raipur

Delhi-NCT

13) All India Institute Medical Sciences, Delhi

Gujarat

14) BJ Medical College, Ahmedabad

15) MP Shah Government Medical College, Jamnagar

Haryana

16) Pt. BD Sharma, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Rohtak, Haryana

17) BPS Government Medical College, Sonipat

Himachal Pradesh

18) Indira Gandhi Medical College, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh

19) Dr Rajendra Prasad Government Medical College, Kangra, Tanda, HP

Jammu and Kashmir

20) Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences, Srinagar

21) Government Medical College, Jammu

22) Government Medical College, Srinagar

Jharkhand

23) MGM Medical College, Jamshedpur

Karnataka

24) Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute, Bangalore

25) National Institute of Virology, Field Unit, Bangalore

26) Mysore Medical College and Research Institute, Mysore

27) Hassan Institute of Medical Sciences, Hassan

28) Shimoga Institute of Medical Sciences, Shivamogga

29) Wenlock District Hospital, Mangalore

Kerala

30) National Institute of Virology, Field Unit, Kerala

31) Government Medical College, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala

32) Government Medical College, Kozhikode, Kerala

33) Government Medical College, Thrissur

Madhya Pradesh

34) All India Institute Medical Sciences, Bhopal

35) National Institute of Research in Tribal Health, Jabalpur

Meghalaya

36) NEIGRI of Health and Medical Sciences, Shillong, Meghalaya

Maharashtra

37) Indira Gandhi Government Medical College, Nagpur

38) Kasturba Hospital for Infectious Diseases, Mumbai

39) National Institute of Virology, Mumbai Unit

Manipur

40) JN Institute of Medical Sciences Hospital, Imphal-East, Manipur

41) Regional Institute of Medical Sciences, Imphal

Odisha

42) Regional Medical Research Centre, Bhubaneshwar

Puducherry

43) Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research, Puducherry

Punjab

44) Government Medical College, Patiala, Punjab

45) Government Medical College, Amritsar

Rajasthan

46) Sawai Man Singh, Jaipur

47) Jhalawar Medical College, Jhalawar, Rajasthan

48) Dr SN Medical College, Jodhpur

49) RNT Medical College, Udaipur

50) SP Medical College, Bikaner, Rajasthan

Tamil Nadu

51) King’s Institute of Preventive Medicine and Research, Chennai

52) Government Medical College, Theni

53) Tirunelveli Medical College, Tirunelveli

54) Government Medical College, Thiruvarur

Tripura

55) Government Medical College, Agartala

Telangana

56) Gandhi Medical College, Secunderabad

57) Osmania Medical College, Hyderabad

Uttar Pradesh

58) King’s George Medical University, Lucknow

59) Institute of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi

60) Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, Aligarh

Uttarakhand

61) Government Medical College, Haldwani

West Bengal

62) National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases, Kolkata

63) IPGMER, Kolkata

Updated centre in Delhi

64) National Centre of Disease Control, New Delhi

(Information courtesy: https://icmr.nic.in/node/39071)

Wash your hands

When to get tested for COVID-19?

The Health Department, Government of India has specified when you need to get a Coronavirus screening done.

Please remember that you are NOT required to get tested for COVID-19 if you do not have symptoms like cough, fever or difficulty in breathing.

If you have any of the above symptoms and have travelled to any of the COVID-19 affected countries including Italy, Iran, Republic of Korea, France, Spain, Germany, UAE, etc or you are in contact of a laboratory-confirmed positive case, immediately call the State Helpline Number or Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India’s 24×7 helpline 011-2397 8046.

For Karnataka, the State Helpline Number is 104.

Arogya Sahayavani, phone number: 080- 22208541/ 22374658, Email address:ssuidspbangalore@gmail.com.

For Maharashtra, the State Helpline Number is 020- 26127394, 104, 1123978046 or send Email to ncov2019@gmail.com.

The helpline service will note down your contact details and contact you with the testing protocols of COVID-19.

If you qualify as a case for testing as per the protocol, you will be tested at a Government approved lab only.

Do not part with your immovable properties during your lifetime. 

There have been several instances where a senior citizen has given their sole property to loved ones out of affection and care and then faced trouble and neglect from the same loved ones. As long as they own a property they are respected and treated well. However, the moment they part with it they become dispensable. The seniors may have transferred the property in good faith. However, the good faith ceases when the children’s interest takes precedence over the senior citizens. It is advised to all senior citizens to keep their property as that is their only asset. In times of need, they can dispose of their property and do not have to depend on anybody for livelihood. Also, do not commit the mistake of giving out your property as security (mortgage) to any financial institutions.

Do not sign any contractual documents without reading them thoroughly. 

The commercial world has become so complicated that no contract document is understandable to the common man, especially the documents related to the technology sector. There is a higher risk of getting trapped into a lot of legal and other issues if the points discussed in the contractual document are not read and comprehended to know the legal implications from prior. Hence, it is always essential to read the document before putting one’s signature on it. If one does not read, one does not know what they are getting into. 

Do not have blind faith in someone.

It is important to not trust anyone blindly. There is no harm in asking for a receipt after one gets servicing of some gadgets done. It is essential to realise the difference between being cautious and trusting someone and having blind faith in someone.

Accept your physical or mental health and provide power of attorney to someone to make a decision on your behalf.

In case you are unwell and not in a position to make your own decision related to property and finance, please accept your state and authorise someone to make a decision on your behalf through the power of attorney. In case one is unable to write or read, there is no harm in authorising someone to take the required decisions on one’s behalf. 

Isha Pant, Superintendent of Police, CID, Bangalore, on senior safety rules 

Inform the police if you live alone: Seniors living alone and worried about their safety can inform the police and arrange for beat police to patrol their lane. 

Download Suraksha App: Seniors or their loved ones can download the SURAKSHA APP (IOS link here: https://apps.apple.com/in/app/suraksha-bengaluru-city-police/id1213387661) that turns one’s smartphone into a discreet personal safety device. The app has a red button which when pressed sends alert to the police control room and urges dispatch of the nearest police patrol vehicle to the distress alert. The app was launched keeping in mind the safety of senior citizens and women. 

Inform about abuse: An FIR can be lodged in the nearest police station to inform about any domestic violence against senior citizens. 

Be discreet: While travelling it is essential to be discreet and not announce on social media.

Dial 100: If faced with road rage, 100 can be dialled to seek help instead of directly confronting the rule-breakers.

Beware of ATM skimmer: Senior citizens are often duped by ATM skimmers, a card reader that can be disguised to look like part of an ATM. The skimmer attachment collects card numbers and PIN codes that are often replicated to counterfeit cards. Seniors are often unaware of such skimmers and may end up becoming victims of fraud which is why they must be vigilant about it. 

Know your neighbours: For senior citizens, it is particularly important that they know their neighbours and are well connected with them in order to bring down crimes in the city and see increasing citizens participation to prevent it. Also, for senior citizens living alone, knowing their next-door neighbours become crucial to deal with any kind of emergencies. Hence, seniors must actively take part in the Hello Neighbourhood Scheme by Bangalore Police.

Here are the 16 private labs across various states that can now conduct Covid-19 screenings. (Info Courtesy: Indian Council of Medical Research)

Delhi

1) Lal Path Labs, Block-E, Sector 18, Rohini, Delhi

2) Dr Dangs Lab, C-2/1, Safdarjung Development Area, New Delhi

3) Laboratory Services, Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, Sarita Vihar, New Delhi

Gujarat

4) Unipath Specialty Laboratory Limited, 102, Sanoma Plaza, Opposite Parimal Garden, Beside JMC House, Ellisbridge, Ahmedabad

5) Supratech Micropath Laboratory and Research Institute Private Limited, Kedar, Ahmedabad

Haryana

6) Strand Life Sciences, A-17, Sector 34, Gurugram

7) SRL Limited, GP26, Sector 18, Gurugram

Karnataka

8) Neuberg Anand Reference Laboratory, Anand Tower, #54, Bowring Hospital Road, Bengaluru

Maharashtra

9) Thyrocare Technologies Limited, D37/1, TTC MIDC, Turbhe, Navi Mumbai

10) Suburban Diagnostics (India) Pvt. Ltd., 306, 307/T, 3rd Floor, Sunshine Building, Andheri (W), Mumbai

11) Metropolis Healthcare Ltd, Unit No. 409-416, 4th Floor, Commercial Building – 1, Kohinoor Mall, Mumbai

12) Sir HN Reliance Foundation Hospital and Research Centre, Molecular Medicine, Reliance Life Sciences Pvt. Ltd., R-282, TTC Industrial Area, Rabale, Navi Mumbai

13) SRL Limited, Prime Square Building, Plot Number 1, Gaiwadi Industrial Estate, SV Road, Goregaon, Mumbai

Tamil Nadu

14) Department of Clinical Virology, CMC, Vellore

15) Department of Laboratory Services, Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Limited, Chennai

Telangana

16) Laboratory Services, Apollo Hospitals, 6th Floor, Health Street Building, Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad.

The National Task Force recommends that the maximum cost for testing should not exceed Rs 4500. This may include Rs 1500 as a screening test for suspect cases and an additional Rs 3,000 for confirmation test, the guidelines stated.

Apart from the Silver Talkies initiative, there are several other organisations and groups of independent volunteers across the country who have extended helping hands for socially distanced seniors living alone in various parts of the country. Here’s a list of some of them you can reach out to in times of need.

Primus Senior Living Community

In order to encourage senior citizens to stay at home and maintain social distance, Primus Senior Living Community is offering free delivery services exclusively for seniors in South Bangalore. Primus has engaged its in-house staff to become volunteers and facilitate free deliveries at the doorstep of senior citizens. 

Things the volunteers can do

. Medicine pick up and drop-off

. Shopping and delivery of groceries

. Shopping and delivery of fresh fruits and vegetables

. Laundry pick-up and drop-off

. Delivery of essential packages and courier

. Shopping and delivery of pet supplies

For help, contact 9060695845

Organisation: Caremongers

Started by Mahita Nagraj, a digital marketeer from Bangalore, Caremongers is a social media-based community volunteering initiative ensuring pan-India volunteer delivery of groceries and medicines to senior citizens who are living alone. Apart from Bangalore, the volunteers have covered other cities like Chennai, Hyderabad, Delhi, Noida, Uttarakhand, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, West Bengal and Odisha.

Things volunteers can do

. Doorstep delivery of essentials like groceries, medicines, milk, vegetables, fruits and any other urgent requirements

For help, call 9591168886

Organisation: Seniority in collaboration with DocsApp

Seniority, a health and lifestyle based retail company for senior citizens has joined hands with DocsApp, a digital healthcare platform in order to bust myths, reduce panic and educate the senior citizens on Coronavirus. This will offer exclusive medical assistance to older adults and their family members.

Services that are being provided

. A 24/7 helpline support to enable senior citizens and their families have access to skilled medical professionals during this crisis time

. Free online consultations across all departments from doctors at the convenience of their homes

. A repository of informative articles, blogs, weekly newsletters and webinars imparting accurate information and safety measures related to Coronavirus

To seek medical assistance, call 08047193443

CHENNAI

Organisation: Bhoomika Trust

Senior citizens living alone in Chennai and needing assistance for medicine and food supplies may seek help from the Bhoomika volunteers.

Things the volunteers can do

. Deliver essential items like groceries, milk, vegetables and fruits

. Deliver medicines on request at the doorstep

For help, contact 04446314726

HYDERABAD

Organisation: One Big Family

One Big Family, a delivery app for the elderly has launched the ‘Stay Safe Stay Home’ initiative in Hyderabad, offering free delivery services to senior citizens of the city via a fleet of well-trained associates/delivery executives.

Things volunteers can do

. 24/7 free doorstep delivery of essentials like medicines, groceries, vegetables, etc.

For help, call 18005725200 or download the mobile app from Play store for android version and Appstore for Apple I-Phones to order online.

BHUBANESHWAR

Organization: #CovidSupportForElders

A community of independent volunteers, it is trying to build a support system for senior citizens.

Things the volunteers can do

. Creating senior-specific awareness about social distancing and self-isolation

. Ensuring steady supply lines for essential items for seniors in two ways:

The volunteers get in touch with the senior citizens and when they specify the needs, the volunteers patch hem up with third-party vendors for doorstep delivery of the items. The group has tied up with some vendors like Bigbazaar, Milky Moo, Apollo Pharmacy, Om Pharma that are offering home deliveries of essential items like. rice, atta, milk, oil. They are also enabling gas refills. Besides, the volunteers are doing online payment of water, electricity and television bills on behalf of the seniors.

They are also developing a database on the shops that are open and functioning in Bhubaneswar and the outlets that are doing home delivery. The volunteers are also helping seniors to pursue hobbies and interests to help them overcome loneliness. Depending on the hobbies of the senior citizens, the volunteers send curated videos to them.

For help, register yourself at https://forms.gle/te3Q1VeJJ4bCo6Pt5

PUNE

Organization: Independent group of young volunteers

The senior citizens in Pune can now reach out to an independent group of volunteers to source necessities like food or over-the-counter medicines which will be delivered outside the door to prevent unnecessary contact.

What the volunteers can do?

Go to local shops and buy essential and critical items like medicines, fruits and vegetables and basic groceries.

. Deliver cooked meals at the doorstep for the seniors who cannot cook for themselves

. Extra care is taken to use gloves, masks, and sanitizers while delivering the items

For help, contact 9146025252

Organization: Action for Pune Development

Action for Pune Development, an organisation of students engaged in several developmental programmes aimed at children and youth provides support to the seniors who are 70+and living alone.

Things volunteers can do

. Doorstep delivery of essential items like basic groceries, rice, atta, oil and medicines

. Ensure volunteer availability to help seniors in case they face any emergency

For help, contact 9657610008

Organization: Ninebee Foundation

Ninebee foundation is distributing free kits containing essential grocery, milk, mask and hand sanitisers to senior citizens who are reaching out to the volunteers for help. Besides Pune, they cover Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad and Bangalore.

Things volunteers can do

. Facilitate the free distribution of essential supplies and groceries at the doorstep

. Deliver meals at the doorstep for those who are unable to cook on their own

For help, WhatsApp to 8007776088 or call 9212136088

Organisation: Friends@Senior Citizens

Friends@Senior Citizens, a volunteer organisation is operating in Pune and PCMC area in order to help the senior citizens overcome the crisis period of the lockdown.

Things volunteers can do

. Doorstep delivery of essential items like groceries and medicines

. Arranging for transport to hospitals for check-ups

. Providing doorstep delivery of tiffin services

For help, call 9422517939 and 9822981267

MUMBAI

Organisation: Fit Brigade

Independent volunteers from Mumbai have come together to form a community called Fit Brigade to cater to the essential needs of senior citizens who are living alone across Mumbai at this time of crisis.

Things the volunteers do

. Deliver essential items like groceries, medicines, fruits and vegetables at the doorstep of senior citizens

. Facilitate kitchen service for those who cannot cook and deliver meals at their doorstep

For help in South Mumbai, call 9821887707/ 9820391911

For help in Central Mumbai, call 9004670600/ 9833170665/9773706712

For help in Western Mumbai, call 9819236951/9821159710/9022420360

DELHI

Organisation: Vardaan Senior Citizen Centre

Vardaan Senior Citizen Centre in Malviya Nagar, an organisation committed to looking after senior citizens living alone, far away from their families has come up to provide free delivery service to senior citizens in and around Malviya Nagar, New Delhi. 

Things the volunteers do

. Provide free delivery of essential items like groceries, medicines, fruits and vegetables

. Taking complete charge of ailing seniors who are living alone and providing comprehensive care

CHANDIGARH, MOHALI and PANCHKULA

Organisation: Grey Shades

Grey Shades, a young organisation that offers a six-month-long fellowship program for senior citizens to keep them engaged and active, is helping them in Chandigarh, Mohali and Panchkula during the quarantine phase.

Things the volunteers do

. Provide a steady supply of groceries, medicines and other essential needs to seniors.

. Pick up the items based on the queries and deliver it to the senior citizens at the doorstep.

. A volunteer counsellor comfort calls to senior citizens who are undergoing anxiety and panic attacks.

For help in Mohali, contact 7303441719

For help in Panchkula, contact 9876781057

For help in Chandigarh, contact 8968821155

AHMEDABAD

Organisation: Swara Smile Foundation

The volunteers from Swara Smile Foundation, an NGO are helping senior citizens in Ahmedabad with doorstep delivery.

Things volunteers can do

. Doorstep delivery of food for senior citizens during the lockdown period

For help, call 9265255908 or 8306596333

KOLKATA

Organisation: Kolkata Police

Kolkata Police have started a senior citizen helpline to help senior citizens who are living alone in Kolkata with their children settled abroad. Kolkata Police have urged the children and relatives from abroad to get in touch with them in case of any emergency help and requirements for senior citizens.

For help, call 9830088884

GOA

 Government Helpline

The senior citizens in Goa can reach out to a government helpline, functional between 9 AM to 6 PM providing free home delivery of groceries.

To avail the facility, call on 08047191000

Goa Help Map

A help map has been formed where an individual can post anonymously for help by creating an account and the volunteers nearby can reach for help.

In order to post for help, click here: https://goahelp.ushahidi.io/views/map

In case you want to volunteer for help, contact: helpmapgoa@gmail.com

Do you know of any other initiatives? Write to us on connect@silvertalkies.com

“With the lockdown, the house is filled with the presence of other family members which may interfere with their privacy. They may not get their convenient slot to watch a television show and more. While being among family members may boost up a senior citizen’s spirit, it may also cause stress and irritation if the senior citizen does not share a comfortable space with them,” says Dr Jayaram.

The danger of depression: For senior citizens living alone and far away from their families, social distancing and self-isolation has aggravated the loneliness that they have been already suffering from. “At present, they are unable to step out, take part in the activities of social engagement clubs, go out for lunch dates with friends and more. A lot of them are not even being allowed to step out to get milk from the nearby dairy shop or veggies from the local stall by their family members and are being constantly reminded that they are more vulnerable to the virus. All these are making them all the more depressed,” says Dr Jayram.

Panic attacks and anxiety: Media channels and social media are always emphasising the fact that senior citizens are at a greater risk. There is no point to continuously remind them that they are more vulnerable as there is nothing more that they can do to take precautionary measures compared to what the youngsters are doing. According to Dr Soumya Hegde, a geriatric psychiatrist, being aware of the fact that Coronavirus in India has claimed the lives of only senior citizens till now is exceedingly enhancing the risk of panic and anxiety attacks among senior citizens.

“With the fake news related to Coronavirus getting viral on WhatsApp and other social media platforms, the situation is getting even worst. Those with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) are getting disoriented about how often to wash their hands. With the groceries and medicines running out and nobody to reach out for help around, those with underlying anxiety disorders are often having panic attacks,” says Dr Hegde.

Solutions To Overcome The Situation

Utilise technology to virtually connect with the world: Dr Hegde believes that technology can come to immense aid of seniors during this period of social distancing. “They may get on video calls and chat with their loved ones. It is always a relief for them to see their friends and families safe in front of their eyes and it considerably cuts down stress and depression.” Click here to understand how to get on the Zoom app and get social virtually.

Take part in virtual games, quizzes, riddles and puzzles, yoga and meditation classes: Online games, puzzles, e-books, quizzes, e-theatres, e-yoga and meditation classes can keep senior citizens mentally engaged at home, thereby reducing their loneliness and monotony, amping up mental health and keeping them calm.

Find some relevant links here: https://dhyaanawellbeing.com/online-classes/

https://stories.audible.com/start-listen 

https://www.juggernaut.in/

Keep off news channels, avoid fake news related to Coronavirus: It is essential for senior citizens to stay away from news related to Coronavirus and give up following on the death counts to avoid being worried. d. There have been several recoveries too. Try to read more on that if you can’t avoid the news.

Help yourself by pursuing hobbies and trying new recipes: Trying out hobbies like gardening, knitting, painting, pottery and more and sharing with friends on social media or trying out new recipes, experimenting and preparing yum dishes and then sharing the recipes with friends and family may help one keep themselves engaged.

Do not skip your indoor exercises: In order to keep one’s body and mind active, it is important for the seniors to practice freehand exercises that could be done at home. E-yoga and e-meditation sessions are wonderful ways of keeping oneself physically fit and mentally sound. Natasha Sekhon, a counselling psychologist at Central Social Welfare Board and visiting counsellor at Grey Shades, who is tackling at least 15 to 20 panic calls from senior citizens at present, engages seniors in mindful exercises over the phone as part of calming them down. She uses two techniques, 5-3-5 and the activation of five senses.

“In the former, a senior citizen is asked to inhale for five seconds, hold the breath for three seconds and again release it for five seconds. The latter involves activation of five senses including what they see, eat, smell, touch and hear, thereby calming them down,” says Sekhon.

Seek help when needed: Various mental health professionals are offering free counselling services over the phone. If you are worried, anxious and unable to cope, please contact one of these helplines to seek expert guidance.

These are some ways that can help senior citizens tackle the impact of lockdown and social distancing on their mental health.

9) With a majority of conveyance services shut, how is it possible to make seniors travel for a doctor or dispensary visit if they do not own a personal car?

You can call an ambulance or 104 (medical helpline) for assistance. You can also dial 100 and inform the police who will help you. You can also approach any police vehicle in the neighbourhood and seek help.

10) Will I be able to leave my city/state?

Several states have sealed their borders and only essential services and emergency cases are being allowed to cross. Travel only if you must.

11) Will I be penalised if I break the lockdown?

All lockdown advisories should be followed with utmost seriousness. The police can take punitive action against you if they feel your actions are endangering the lives or disrupting the law.

12) What services will continue to operate during the lockdown?

All essential services including internet, courier services, banks and ATMs, e-commerce of all essential goods including food, pharmaceutical and medical equipment, other business involving essential items like groceries, vegetables, fruits, milk, medicines, petrol pumps, LPG/OIL agencies will run as usual during the lockdown.

13) Do I need to stock essential items?

No. You don’t need to stock essential items. There is enough stock available in the market and hoarding it won’t be useful.

14) Can we travel from one city to another in personal cars?

No, most cities are under lockdown.

15) Can RWAs or housing societies ban house helps from entering society during a lockdown?

House helps are also required to stay home. If there is an emergency case where an elderly or ailing person needs help, you can contact the police.

A perfectly toned body, lots of glamour, an eye-catching style statement and signature handlebar moustache are what define Mohan, 61, a senior citizen and in-demand model, today. Be it rugged jeans or fluorescent sneakers or traditional sherwanis, Mohan fits into everything, giving steady competition to any youngster.

But back in 2004, his story was just the reverse. With a whopping 130 kg bodyweight, Mohan, then 44, had slipped into depression, become immobile, lost his motor functions and was completely bedridden for a year. For seven long years, he continued to fight obesity, panic attacks, vertigo and could hardly walk a few steps. Mohan shared his impeccable tale of transformation with us that also gifted him an interesting second inning.

Mohan was working with the Haryana government as an officer when in 2004 he gave up his job and took voluntary retirement, being unable to cope with physical and mental conditions. He slipped into a dark phase of clinical depression along with several other health issues. “You name an illness and I had it. Most of these were the outcome of my own negative thinking. After about almost a decade of suffering, I got fed up with my negativity and decided to rewire myself at 55. The first thing I did is getting back into shape and it took eight months of intense hard labour,” he says.

Light at the end of the tunnel

With immense willpower and determination, Mohan dragged himself out of home, joined swimming classes and got into a strict diet regime despite being a foodie. His driving force was being independent. “I never wanted to be dependent on anybody else during my silver years. Had I been in the same physical and mental condition I was earlier I could have never become independent. That made it possible for me to give up a lot of things I loved to become what I am today. At the end of the tunnel, I always saw the light.”

In 2016, Mohan, then 57, got his first break in modelling. He believes that modelling was in his destiny. “I did nothing to get into modelling and it just came by chance. That’s why I try to put my heart and soul into it,” he says. He has done about 2,000 ad shoots in the last four years and has worked for almost all major Indian brands including garments, jewellery, accessories and more and several international brands as well. He is often seen in TV commercials for ‘All Out’ (directed by Shoojit Sarkar), Ferns n Petals, Morri Shirts, Seven Hills Tea, and more. Mohan has even done music videos with Neha Kakkar and others and has been featured in Vogue and GQ Magazines.

Encounters of the starry kind

2019 was a turning point for his career when he got a break in the movie industry and worked with a number of superstars. He was a part of Salman Khan’s Bharat and Tapsee Pannu and Bhumi Pednekar’s Saand Ki Aankh. He also worked with Rajnikanth in Darbar and with Javed Jaffrey in a Malayalam movie, Happy Punjabi and in a Punjabi movie called Highend Yaarian. Two more movies in which he has acted are due to release in the next few months.

In 2018, Mohan walked on the ramp at Amazon India Fashion Week. “I was the first one to walk on the ramp and open the show and I became very emotional that day. I couldn’t believe that the person who could hardly walk properly just a few years back was opening a grand fashion show with the entire auditorium looking at him and applauding him,” he adds.

Inspiring older adults to pursue their dreams

Mohan adores his job and is very comfortable working with everyone, young and adult. He believes that the fashion industry is extremely welcoming for older models and the young models always try to bridge that generation gap and gel in well with seniors.

“I have got the best projects, the best respect and the best acceptance from the fashion industry. Money is not everything for me. It feels great when older adults get inspired by me and try to pursue their dreams in the second innings of their life.”

Mohan believes that growing older has added more swag, more energy and more life in him and looking at him we would agree wholeheartedly with what Salman Khan said. Apart from modelling, he loves to travel, hang out with friends and go shopping.

In order to seek help, you can get in touch with Aster RV Hospital on 080 22040400 and Aster CMI Hospital on 080 43420100. For further information on the telemedicine services, you can visit their website: https://www.asterbangalore.com/.

APOLLO HOSPITALS, BANGALORE, HYDERABAD, CHENNAI, DELHI & KOLKATA

While Apollo had introduced its telemedicine app, Apollo 24/7 in Chennai and Hyderabad just six months back, the hospital has implemented the app in Bangalore after the announcement of the lockdown. The application has been modified and strengthened to tackle a rising number of requests for online consultation with doctors, especially from the senior citizens. Silver Talkies has been informed that very soon this app could be used by users in Delhi and Kolkata.

How does telemedicine service work?

. All health specialities are covered under the app including General Medicine, Internal Medicine, Gastroenterology, Endocrinology, ENT, Orthopaedics, Dermatology, Paediatrics, Obstetrics, Gynaecology and more.

. The app allows one to consult a doctor anytime, anywhere. It is a mobile-based app but also available on the desktop.

. To use this Android-based app the user needs to download it from the Google Play store, sign in and book a doctor prior to consultancy. The app will then block a specific time for the consultancy.

In order to log in from desktop, you can click here: https://www.apollo247.com/

In order to download the app on your mobile, please click here: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.apollo.patientapp

INDIAN PSYCHIATRY SOCIETY KARNATAKA CHAPTER

This is a free of cost initiative to address psychiatric issues arising due to Covid- 19 pandemic and the resulting lockdown status among all, especially senior citizens. This also includes alcohol and drug use related problems and particularly withdrawal symptoms resulting due to non-availability of alcohol and other drugs.

How does telemedicine service work?

. Via call, the psychiatrists will be addressing symptoms like anxiety, fearfulness, restless, acute suspiciousness regarding Covid, acute stress reaction, sadness, hopelessness, helplessness, sleep disturbances, substance abuse, disease anxiety, obsessions & compulsions, irrelevant thoughts and more.

. Alcohol and other substance use-related problems, especially withdrawal symptoms resulting due to non-availability of the same will be addressed on priority and appropriate guidance and counselling will be given to overcome the above problems. Information and referral to the nearest mental health setting will be provided if found necessary.

Someone seeking help should follow this list that has the psychiatrists’ name, contact numbers and the timings of their availability.

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF MENTAL HEALTH AND NEUROSCIENCES (NIMHANS), BANGALORE

The premier mental health institute has also come up with its telemedicine service to offer help to those facing a wide variety of mental disturbances due to the coronavirus outbreak and the lockdown.

How does telemedicine service work?

. Psychiatrists and counsellors from NIMHANS will address calls and help those suffering from anxiety, fearfulness, restlessness, acute suspiciousness regarding Covid; acute stress reaction, sadness, hopelessness, helplessness, sleep disturbances, substance abuse, disease anxiety, obsessions & compulsions, irrelevant thoughts and more.

. This is a pan-India facility and anyone from any place in the country can reach out to the doctors for help.

In order to get help for these concerns, you may call NIMHANS toll free number 080 4611 0007.

Stay in touch with your loved ones online

. It is important to get connected with friends, family and relatives through phone/skype/video call to motivate one another and stay in touch. If you can manage the time and have the inclination, try doing c home-workout challenges, self-cooking, new healthy recipes and ideas for clean and tidy homes. Mental health is important and if you think it’s hard to cope with the unusual situation try to interact with psychologists, mindfulness experts and friends who are optimistic and can re-energise your mind. Many mental health professionals are offering their services for free over the phone.

. Consult your nutritionist online to devise a meal plan to maintain your health. Choose your food judiciously that combat your hunger hormones rather than snacking on carb-dense, starchy foods that get digested quickly and neither help you manage your hunger pangs nor give you the feeling of fullness.

. Some of the immune-boosting ingredients like Vitamin A, E, D, C, B6, B12, folic acid, iron, zinc, selenium, prebiotics and probiotics that should be included in your daily diet during this season are ginger, garlic, amla, tulsi, guava, kiwi, turmeric, fenugreek seeds, pepper, honey, curd, leafy vegetables, shallots, cabbage, bell peppers, sweet potato, seafood, nuts and oilseeds. But do not overdo and check with your nutritionist.

. Don’t give up on protein sources in your meal due to myths circulating on social media. Protein plays a vital role in enhancing the body’s immune system, especially for healing and recovery. If you are non-vegetarian, include protein in all your meals like fresh fish and antibiotic-free poultry. If you are non-vegetarian, include plant-based protein sources such as daal, beans like rajma, channa, paneer, nuts, curd, etc or consider having a protein powder prescribed by your nutritionist.

. Boost your immunity to help your body fight infection naturally with food or consider supplements as advised if you are unable to make it through diet. We Indians are blessed with immune-boosting foods that can be consumed through our traditional recipes such as rasam, lassi, chutneys, gravies or in the form of kashaya.

Avoid junk food

. Strictly exclude energy-dense junk and sugar-based preparations. Rather, include plenty of veggies and fruits that can help in building up your immunity.

. Respond to your high appetite and get hydrated during summer by adding low-calorie immune-boosting recipe ideas to your diet such as buttermilk with ginger and basil, vegetable soups with turmeric and pepper, sugarless ginger ale, sugarless unstrained fruit with nut smoothie/ kokum drink/jaljeera/aam panna with chia seeds and stevia, traditional rasam, millet-based drink, vitamin water, fruit-infused water, green tea or herbal tea, etc.

. Do not hoard any unhealthy food due to less activity during this season and blacklist junk, sugar-based, refined carbs, ready to eat foods, bakery goods, starchy vegetables and desserts.

. Giving up on sugary treats and replacing with jaggery is not a solution since both contribute to hiking up your sugar levels.

. Stack up some healthy homemade munchies to take a break from packed snacks made from white flour loaded with refined sugars and chemical additives.

. Listen to your body and limit portion size even if something is tagged as healthy.

. Fibre up your meal to manage your weight and prevent constipation. You can include vegetables for half of your plate, whole fruit can be a snack, you can take leafy veggies every alternate day, whole grain like unpolished rice can be a part of your meal and millets and sprouts can be a part of your regular diet.

. Never skip 30 minutes of physical activity. Regular physical activity and frequent exercise enhance one’s immune competency and regulation to fight against viral or bacterial infection. It also benefits one by managing weight, diabetes, high blood pressure, etc. It helps to de-stress and calm one’s mind.

. Motivate each other to follow a healthy routine and manage your health during the lockdown.

. You can roll up vegetables in brown paper and further roll up the brown paper veggie roll in a big and thick plastic cover (like that of the wheat flour (atta) cover we get from the market) and store them in the refrigerator. No other plastic covers can keep the veggies fresh for long. Also, remember to keep only one veggie in a cover. In case such covers are not available, you can use zip lock bags to store vegetables in the refrigerator.

. You can use paper napkins as well instead of brown paper, although the brown cover is the best.

. Remove stems of green chillies before storing them.

. The current sanitising advisory tells us to wash everything thoroughly before storing. If you are washing vegetables, make sure to dry them well before you store them in the refrigerator.

. Tomatoes stay fresh outside for a long time, so no need to store it in the refrigerator immediately once you get it.

. As organic groceries cannot be stored for a long time, open it when required. If there is a large amount, store it in the fridge.

. You can store rasam powder, sambar powder, and other dry powders in the freezer.

Dry curry leaves in the sun (follow the same for mint leaves and coriander leaves; once dry grind to a powder and store in mason jars.

. You can store nuts in the refrigerator.

. Store the potatoes on the floor. Use a large stone thali or an open container.

. You can wash ginger thoroughly, pat them on a dry cloth, put them in a container and then freeze it. Whenever you need to use it, do not thaw, just rinse once with tap water and start grating it. The peel will come off easily and it will grate nicely as it is firm. Grate as much as you want and then put it back in the refrigerator.

Storing hacks for fruits and milk

. You can use cling film to wrap the stems of the bananas to keep them fresh for long, be it individual bananas or bunches. Also, you can peel bananas and freeze them to add to smoothies and recipes later.

. Peel your apples before freezing them as apple skins may have small bruises and marks that can lead to spoilage. Also, you can peel and cut the apples into bite-sized chunks and freeze in packs.

. Remove softened grapes from the entire bunch, wash them and dry thoroughly before freezing. They can last long for six to eight months.

. You can freeze milk into ice cube trays. This way, you will never run out of milk for your tea and coffee.

Hope these simple ways help you in convenient storage of kitchen supplies and make your life hassle-free during the lockdown.

Media channels and social media are always emphasising the fact that senior citizens are at a greater risk. With the fake news related to Coronavirus getting viral on WhatsApp and other social media platforms, the situation is getting even worst. Those with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) are getting disoriented about how often to wash their hands. With the groceries and medicines running out and nobody to reach out for help around, those with underlying anxiety disorders are often having panic attacks. To know more about the mental issues affecting older adults during the lockdown, click here. 

In case one is facing such issues, they can reach out to psychiatrists from the Indian Psychiatric Society (Karnataka Chapter) offering free counseling over the phone to address issues during the crisis time. NIMHANS has also come up with its telemedicine service to offer help to those facing a wide variety of mental disturbances due to the coronavirus outbreak and the lockdown. To know more about these services, click here.

How would you identify the mental issues among seniors?

Level of anxiety may disrupt one’s daily routine and one may start showing a lack of interest in activities that they enjoyed earlier. Increased stress may result in a disturbance in one’s sleeping pattern and appetite. In extreme conditions, one may experience weight loss as well.

Do some gardening to keep yourself engaged at home

What would be your advice to keep an active lifestyle even while being homebound?

It is ideal to not disrupt the diurnal clock during the lockdown and stick to the usual routine of going to bed and waking up. Have healthy meals and cook fresh food in small quantities every day. That way you get to eat healthy fresh meals and also you have something to do every day to keep yourselves engaged. Try on new recipes and experiment. Even if it may not be as good as a walk in fresh air, try and do activities at home that you were doing outdoors earlier. Learn to use technology and find out online sessions and classes. You may not get the exact results but it is better than doing nothing. Join online yoga classes, look out for online sessions on simple exercise and stretches.

Cooking healthy meals every day can keep you engaged

Divide the day and allot time for different activities. Keep separate time slots for cleaning cupboards, watering the plants, watching television or video calling friends and family. Remember to set a structure to your daily life. In case one is struggling to keep oneself engaged, it is always good to get in touch with social engagement platforms like Silver Talkies and have access to several online activities that will keep you engaged and not feel lonely or isolated. Click here to know about the various volunteering communities helping out senior citizens during the lockdown.

Many are struggling to manage their daily chores in the absence of their house helps. This has led to increased stress and anxiety amongst them, even impacting their physical health. What would your suggestion be in this situation?

In a way, it is good to do household chores as it helps one to remain engaged throughout the day. However, it is essential to not overburden oneself. You do not need to mop the entire house at the same time. You can divide the work and take up one room every day. Also, try out ways to curtail your work. If you have three bathrooms in the house, stick to using only one and do not use the other two. That way, you will have to clean only one bathroom that you use.

We often come across a wide spectrum of behaviour. One where people are still taking the situation lightly and want their newspaper and regular walks and another where people are having rising anxiety or OCD due to the advisories about constant sanitizing. What would be your advice to these opposite ends of the spectrum?

There has to be a middle line to it. A lot of people are becoming complacent about the situation as nothing has happened to them or to the people around them. But that way you may be wrong. Nothing has happened because we are under lockdown. However, the number of positive cases is only increasing and gradually people will come inside and start following the basic safety measures. The other end of the spectrum who are going overboard with the washing will not be able to continue that for too long. At some point, they will get fed up and will relax a little. However, if it does not get better and reaches a point of development of OCD, they need to reach out and seek clinical help.

Some seniors may worry about being the most vulnerable group as is commonly believed. As a medical professional what would be your advice to them? How should they deal with all this without adding to stress?

There is nothing to be stressed about it. Following simple safety measures are enough. Avoid going outdoors unless it is needed. When you go out, come back and wash your hands. Make sure there are separate bags to get groceries from outside, wash the packets and the veggies before storing them, wear a mask when you go out. If you abide by these measures, there will be no such risk.

What should one be prepared for if one does need to visit the hospital during this phase for any physical emergency?

For seeking help related to hospitalisation and medical emergency, you can call 108. 1091, the elder specific helpline is also available. You may also call 100, the police central line and if you tell them you want to get connected to the elders’ helpline, they will connect you.

The webinar was of great help for the senior participants who got enough ideas on how to tackle the crisis situation and keep their mental health intact while following social distancing.

Ramaswamy Thata; Photo courtesy: Geetha Chandrasekharan

Ramaswamy Thata, Subhadra’s grandfather and Rajammal’s father-in-law didn’t stop at just educating his own daughter-in-law. He visited every house in his neighbourhood in Chennai that had a young widow brought on by the epidemic, asking them to educate her. It led to many young widows being educated, including one who went on to become Subhadra and her sister Margatham’s headmistress in school!

As for Rajammal, she eventually went on to become a doctor and was one of the earliest batches of women to graduate from the Madras Medical College (they received an LMS- a licentiate in medicine and surgery) around 1926/27, though the date isn’t verified. Ramaswamy did not have much money to educate her but he ensured she was enrolled in a widow’s scholarship program so that her education could go on unhindered. She eventually went on to practice medicine in Gulbarga, staying in touch with the family that educated her, all her life.

Both Ramaswamy and his wife were ahead of their times in their thinking says Geetha’s mother Maragatham, 86.

“I did not know it was possible, else I would have got Rajammal married again,” Margatham recalls her grandmother saying.

The ongoing conversation around COVID 19 made Jamuna Ramakrishna, 60, recall that her father had lived through a pandemic and his family had quarantined themselves too! “My father was a kid – five or six years old – at the time of the Spanish flu. He used to talk about it sometimes. His strongest memory was that his family relocated for the duration. At the time, my grandfather was working in the Vaccine Institute in Bangalore. The institute was trying to develop a TB vaccine and was in the outskirts of the city in those days and therefore considered safe. My grandfather asked permission for the family to move into the grounds of the Institute and that was granted.”

With no medicine in sight, people were advised to isolate back then too.

The Times of India wrote: “To avoid an attack one should keep away from all places where there are overcrowding and the consequent risk of infection such as fairs, festivals, theatres, schools, public lecture halls, cinemas, entertainment parties, crowded railway carriages etc.”

“Above all,” The Times of India added, “do not worry too much about the disease,” says an article in The BBC which quotes the paper’s reportage back then.

They say the more things change, the more they remain the same.

We couldn’t find a better example than in Usha Prasad’s anecdote. Immunity boosters are much in demand during COVID-19 as a precaution. Even a century ago it wasn’t much different. Usha Prasad, a member of Nightingale’s Elders’ Enrichment Centre in Bangalore had this to say:

“My husband Prasad’s grandfather, B.V. Pundit, was the founder/proprietor of Sadvaidyasala, a known name in Ayurveda at Nanjangud and at that time the medicine, Srikara Kasturi pills was his proprietary medicine. The medicine was of immense demand during the Spanish Flu of 1918, as it helped people stay healthy.”

This has been recorded by one of BV Pandit’s grandsons, C Sitaram, a journalist. Usha says the Kasturi pills have been recommended by the Ministry of Ayush as an immunity booster during this time around as well!

Have you heard anything about the Spanish Flu of 1918 in your family lore? Was there a story of positive change or any anecdote that stood out? Write to us and let us know on connect@silvertalkies.com. We will be happy to add your story here.

While this was a dose of history, Silver Talkies is working hard to bring you updated information on the Coronavirus pandemic. To know about testing centres, support groups for seniors, lockdown essentials and precautions you must take, read our story series here: The Coronavirus Updates

Feature image courtesy: Wikimedia Commons

Top 6 Health Insurance Plans For Senior Citizens

From our study of health insurance policies in the industry, we’ve identified the following policies:

The advantages of these policies are that they have low waiting periods and offer lifelong renewability. Some of them have no co-payment while others offer good no claim bonuses. The policies address a range of insurance cover needs.

Reasons You May Not Be Eligible For Health Insurance?

Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) mandates that anybody below 65 years of age should be eligible for insurance. However, companies can reject applications on certain grounds. One reason could be severe pre-existing conditions where the underwriter is not comfortable with the risks. The second would be the diagnosis of critical illnesses (either in the past or present).

What Can You Do Instead?

For senior citizens who are not eligible for a regular health insurance policy two options remain. The first option is to create a medical reserve from their retirement corpus. Large medical expenses can be supported by drawing down from the corpus. The limitation of a medical reserve is that it is difficult to replenish with limited income and if it’s exhausted you would have to dip into the retirement corpus. The second option is to be covered in a group insurance policy that their children’s employers offer. Many corporates offer health insurance policies that cover an employee’s family (including parents) with an additional premium.

Health insurance is a crucial safety net post-retirement. To know more about what policy is appropriate for you, talk to an insurance expert. If you are not eligible for a health insurance plan a financial planner could guide you on how to manage healthcare risks.

Do you feel senior citizens play a remarkable part as an audience of Indian cinema?

The audience has evolved quite a lot thanks to the exposure to world cinema available on satellite, television, internet and OTT platforms, etc. People began to reject the old cliched sub-standard formulae of telling stories, forcing producers and directors to create fresher and more authentic content.

What’s been the turning points in life for you?

There was a time when the press called my ex-husband and me the ‘made-for-each-other-couple’. We worked together and raised our children together – a girl and a boy – it was perfect. Then a tragedy struck and destroyed everything we had built together. My 9-year-old daughter had cancer. At the end of that one year, she died of cancer and my marriage fell apart. He asked me for divorce within 24 hours of her passing away. He had gotten into a relationship with my friend who would visit to give us moral support. It devastated me because I couldn’t deal with it in one go. I said ‘no’ to the divorce but came under intense pressure to do so. Though I had another child, a boy of seven and worried for him, I tried to end my life. I did not succeed and out of sheer helplessness went to my friend who was a psychiatrist to get some help. I began to heal and knew that I had to stand and create my life anew. I agreed to the divorce and started working on my film Rihaee. I had my son with me, I brought him up and continued to make films. I was very bold and confident on the outside but a very sad woman on the inside, until my second major turning point.

At the persuasion of a close friend, I did the Landmark Forum which is a transformational program. I heard the leader make a statement that suffering is a choice. It meant taking full responsibility for your life and finding alternate ways to deal with it. I called up my ex-husband and my ex-friend who had now married him and spoke to them. Those conversations were the most difficult ones ever in my life. My voice quivered and my hand trembled as I spoke. All I said was ‘I don’t blame you for what happened. I take full responsibility for my life. Be happy!’ When the conversations finished it was nothing less than magic. I was free. My life was lit up with new possibilities as I declared, ‘the sky is not the limit’. For the first time in many years, I laughed. I then travelled to many parts of the world, painted, read, wrote and trained myself to lead transformational programs. I have lead programs for over fifty thousand people at least. The lesson of ‘letting go of my past’ and forgiveness and moving on transformed my entire life.

What has growing older meant to you? How active have you been with work?

For me, age has never been a problem. Somebody started counting and they created young, middle-aged and old. But, like all things that go through a passage of time and become ‘old’, the body too ages. Even at 73+, I am still working. I am quite unstoppable. I am still making films like the recent ‘Firebrand’ released on Netflix; conducting workshops besides running a home and a production company. I don’t feel old in my head or heart and mingle with people of all ages. Currently, I am writing for my next feature film. Last year, I also did workshops on life conversations, screenwriting and film appreciation.

Do you think urban Indian senior citizens are evolving now?

I do think the urban Indian senior citizen has evolved. Many are doing things they have never done before in their lives – items from the bucket list so to say. I found a lot of senior citizen couples at loggerheads with each other. For some, the outcome was ignoring the other and doing what they pleased which again made them fight and made their children very unhappy. Some others created a space of ‘live and let live’ each being a friend to the other rather than a demanding spouse. The space allowed for peace and harmony in the home. In such cases, I saw that each was free to pursue something that they liked – doing a music or dance class or even travelling with an unknown group.

Raje’s autobiography – ‘Freedom – My story’ was published recently. (https://www.amazon.in/Freedom-My-Story-Arunaraje-Patil/dp/9352641388)

Physiotherapy: One of the vital components of Parkinson’s Disease treatment, physiotherapy not only helps to offset the consequences of Parkinson’s but also addresses the issues of mobility, flexibility, posture and balance among those with the condition. It maintains one’s mobility and balance, making them functionally independent, helps to mobilise stiff joints and makes tight muscles flexible. It also makes it possible for those with Parkinson’s to perform daily activities safely.

Occupational Therapy: Occupational therapy, also known as physical therapy can help one to compensate for the changes brought about by Parkinson’s Disorder. These exercises can be performed at home and can help in strengthening and loosening muscles, improve movement and relieve pain. It can help with balance problems, lack of coordination, fatigue, pain, gait, immobility and weakness.

Speech Therapy: Dysarthria or difficulty in speaking and dysphagia or difficulty in swallowing are two common signs of Parkinson’s Disorder which can be managed efficiently through speech therapy. It can help one maintain as many communication skills as possible and conserve energy and non-verbal communication skills. A speech therapist can recommend appropriate communication technologies to help with daily activities, treat speech, language and communication issues and evaluate swallowing function.

Creative Therapy: According to Dr Pankaj Agarwal, Head, Movement Disorders Clinic and DBS Program, Global Hospitals & Teaching Faculty in Neurology at KEM Hospital, Mumbai, creative therapy that uses music, dance, art and theatre engage different parts of the brain of those with Parkinson’s Disease that not only improves the motor functions but also deal with emotional and mental issues like mood swings, anxiety, depression and other non-motor aspects of the disease to provide an enhanced and comprehensive treatment.

Music Therapy: This includes singing, playing an instrument, listening to music, creating music and rhythm. It helps to improve the speech – loudness, clarity, pitch, intonation, tone, improve swallowing, breathing, aids in walking and overcome freezing, improves communication, builds confidence and boosts self-esteem, enhances cognitive process – memory, attention and more and improves mood, reduces stress, depression and anxiety.

Art and Craft: This includes drawing, painting, sculpturing, clay modelling, sand art, origami, paper quilling, knitting, sewing, art appreciation and more. They help in improving eye-hand coordination, motor control and fine motor skills, mind-body coordination, cognition like memory, attention, visuospatial abilities, thinking, enhancing mood, reducing anxiety and disorder, confidence and creativity.

Dance Therapy: Dance and movement therapy offer physical, psychological, cognitive and social well-being in Parkinson’s Disease. It helps in balance and gait, coordination, motor control, flexibility, endurance, fine motor skills, facial masking and overcoming freezing. It also improves mood, helps in emotional regulation, relieves stress, tension, reduces anxiety, depression, enhances cognition, positivity and hope, confidence and self-esteem, reduces feelings of shame and embarrassment, isolation and withdrawal.

These days doctors are working on implementing technology to strengthen the assisted therapies for attaining a stronger and wholesome treatment approach for Parkinson’s Disorder. It is essential for those with the condition to make use of these therapies and improve their quality of life.

Whole cereals

Include These Four Foods in Your Diet Chart: Different varieties of whole and less processed cereals in moderation; fresh fruits and vegetables; milk, milk products, pulses, lean meat in moderation and fat-rich foods, oils and sweets in lesser quantity. One must keep in mind that embracing rich food diversity is extremely useful as a variety in our diet produces more microbiome in our guts that improve immunity, so do bear that in mind when getting your groceries even though the lockdown may have limited supplies. Adding natural colours to our diet in the form of vegetables and fruits is essential as they are rich in antioxidants, vitamins and minerals. Veggies and fruits are also good sources of fibre that help in easy digestion. One can incorporate more than one food groups to have an immunity-boosting diet.

Milk and milk products

Essentials of a good immune system

Vitamin C rich fruits

Vitamin C: All citrus fruits like orange, mosambi, lemon are good for immunity. Amla is an excellent source of vitamin C. Lemon and ginger tea, lemon and honey with warm water are good for immunity and health.

Add colour to your diet and have a variety of veggies & fruits

Vitamin A: Fruits and vegetables which are yellow and orange in colour like carrot, mango, papaya and greens like spinach, methi, etc are good sources of vitamin A.

Vitamin E: Vitamin E rich foods come in the form of nuts and seeds.

Sunshine Vitamin D: This is extremely good for the body and immunity. Get exposed to the sun for 20 minutes either from 7:30 to 8:30 am or 4.30 to 5.30 pm.

Ginger and garlic

Herbs and spices: Ginger, garlic, pepper, jeera, etc.

Probiotics: Curds, Kanji, etc.

Low fat and low sugar foods

Immunity-boosting drinks: Kashaya, Herbal Teas ( Tulsi, Ginger, Black Pepper), Ajwain Milk, Golden Milk, ABC (Apple, Beetroot & Carrot Juice), Lemon & Honey water, etc.

RECIPES AND THEIR BENEFITS

Kashaya Powder

Ingredients

½ cup coriander seeds

¼ cup cumin seeds

2 tsp pepper

1 tsp fennel

10 clove

½ tsp turmeric

½ tsp ginger powder

For two serving

2½ cup water

2 tbsp jaggery

¼ cup milk

Method

. Take ½ cup coriander seeds in a pan, ¼ cup cumin seeds, 2 tsp pepper, 1 tsp fennel, add 10 clove and dry roast on low flame until it is aromatic. Cool completely, and transfer to a blender. Add ½ tsp turmeric, ½ tsp ginger powder or gratings.

. Blend to fine powder without adding any water. kashaya powder is ready, store in an airtight container.

. In a saucepan take 2½ cup water and add 3 tsp of prepared kashaya powder, also, add 2 tbsp jaggery. You can alternatively add sugar for sweetness.

. Stir well and boil for 5 minutes or until flavours are absorbed well.

. Turn off the flame and add ¼ cup milk, mix well.

Enjoy the kashaya, which is a good cure for cold, cough, fever and boost immunity.

Ajwain milk

Ingredients

Ajwain seeds ( Carom seeds): 1tsp

Milk: one glass

Turmeric powder 1/4 tsp

Method

. Heat a small broad non-stick pan, add the carom seeds or ajwain and dry roast on a medium flame for 1 minute.

. Boil the milk in a saucepan, add the turmeric powder, mix well and boil on a medium flame for 2 minutes, while stirring continuously.

. Remove it from the flame, add the roasted carom seeds to the turmeric milk and mix well.

Ajwain milk is a home remedy for cold, cough and sore throat and it also helps in calming the body and getting good sleep. As an alternative, roasted ajwain can be boiled in water and consumed as ajwain water instead of milk.

Golden Milk

Golden Milk (Haldi Milk)

Ingredients

Turmeric root or powder

Milk: One glass or 150 ml

Method

. Take 1-inch piece (Fresh) Turmeric root. If fresh type is not available, use half tsp turmeric powder and boil turmeric and milk for 5 minutes.

. Strain the milk (remove fresh turmeric piece out).

. Consume it hot. Turmeric Milk is considered as the best remedy for cold and cough due to its antiviral and antibacterial properties.

Ginger Tea

Ingredients

Ginger: one small piece

Cinnamon: a small piece

Lemon (optional)

Honey (optional)

Method

. Bring a cupful of water to boil.

. Add grated ginger and crushed cinnamon.

. Boil, bring the heat down to low. Simmer for two to three minutes. Strain into a cup and drink.

Tulsi Tea

Tulsi, or holy basil, is a great herb. It boosts immunity and battles evil germs.

Ingredients

A few basil leaves, lemon and honey

Method

. Put the basil leaves into a saucepan with one and a quarter cup of water. Bring to a boil.

. Then bring down the flame to low for 5 minutes.

. Strain into a cup, then add the honey and lemon juice and stir.

Apple, Beetroot, Carrot Juice

ABC Juice

Ingredients

1 apple, cut into small chunks

1 small beetroot, peel the skin and cut into small chunks

1 medium carrot, skin peeled, cut into small chunks

Method

. Cut the apple and carrot into small chunks.

. Peel the beetroot skin and cut into small chunks.

. Blend everything in a mixie or in a juicer with half a glass of water. ABC juice is ready to drink. If required, it may be strained and consumed.

This juice is good for building immunity, increases bowel movement and helps in relieving anaemic conditions. It has all the nutrients to improve blood circulation in the body and helps to clear toxins from the body.

Consuming the right kind, quality and amount of food can keep your immunity strong, make you healthy and automatically reduce your expenses on medicine.

Board games

Activity: Play a board game together, for example. Or if you are a music-loving family, impromptu jam sessions.

Pastiming: Create after-dinner conversations around your elders’ reminiscences of challenging times.

Ritual: Setting a regular time and process for house-keeping can create a ritual around this.

Limit exposure to news: Share the highlights of the day at a fixed time every day with the elders to keep them in the loop. This works at multiple levels; not only does it satisfy their stimulus and recognition hunger but it also creates a ritual. Plus, it can be hugely reassuring for seniors to know the younger members are on the ball and they can take a step back.

Contact and recognition: Those daily ‘he said…, and then she said…’ calls to their besties are important debrief sessions for our elders. Help them with headphones with a mike for privacy.

Avoid games: Lastly, speak up if something bothers you. And be prepared to listen without judgment. This will nip every potential game in the bud.

This article originally appeared on LinkedIn. Click here to read. 

We salute Banerjee’s spirit of overcoming his own difficulties and lending out his hands to help those in the worst condition following the Coronavirus outbreak.

Image Courtesy: Twitter

The in-house nursing home

Amenities that take care of senior citizens

Sukhshanthi Luxury Retirement Home has a fully functional and hygienically run kitchen for delicious vegetarian meals, well-equipped nursing room with ambulance service, doctor on call, tie-ups with top-class hospitals in the vicinity, housekeeping services, round the clock security, 24/7 power back up, CCTV surveillance, elevator service, shuttle services to the city, wifi connectivity, utility store, laundry services and legal services to guide seniors in making wills and testaments, catering to every daily requirement of a senior citizen. Keeping in mind the hobbies of senior citizens, Sukhshanthi also provides interior decoration and advisory services for those who love decorating their homes and business centre to help seniors refuel their hidden aspirations in the second innings of life.

A range of facilities that keep seniors entertained, physically and socially engaged

One’s silver years should be more fit, vibrant and engaging. To provide the perfect dose of physical and mental fitness to the seniors, Sushshanthi has in stock an array of facilities that make their lives healthy, enjoyable and socially active. Sukhshanthi has an outdoor gym that is customised for seniors, a well-stocked library with multi-language newspapers and magazines, snooker, table tennis, carrom and chess courts and yoga cum meditation facilities. Sukhshanthi organises cultural programs like veena recital, flute recital, Bharatnatyam and other musical concerts, lectures by eminent experts on gerontology and geriatrics. It also conducts housie games that see the enthusiastic participation of senior residents and their excitement on winning prizes. The residents also have access to Jain Farm Country Club for fun and entertainment.

The in-house fully equipped library

Sushshanthi Luxury Retirement Home is planning to take out its senior residents for the latest movies, to religious places and nearby interesting locations. Due to its commendable location amidst 750 acres of farmland, seniors who are keen on farming can try their hands, go out for long walks inside the farm, enjoying fresh oxygen, tranquil atmosphere and solitude.

Senior specific designs to ensure senior safety

The apartments have been designed in a way to make it senior-friendly, ensuring optimal safety for seniors with measures to keep any accidents at bay. Apart from making the structure earthquake resistant with concrete block masonry, here’s a list of senior-specific designs that Sukhshanthi uses to make it the perfect abode for senior citizens.

• Sidebar in the bathroom to ensure safety while taking a bath
• Rough finish for toilet floors avoids slipping
• Emergency bell in the corridor, connected by switches inside the toilet, bedroom and living room, which once on will be switched off only when a person comes to the rescue.
• Low height emergency bell in the bathroom at a height of one foot from the ground, which can be easily activated if a person falls and is not able to get up.
• Lift that enables easy movement of the patient in case of any medical emergency. All apartments are wheelchair accessible and seating arrangements have been made near the elevator.
• Every apartment has a balcony attached.
• Apartment on the only side of the corridor.
• Effective use of natural lights and ventilation.
• Rainwater harvesting
• Solar Street lights
• Floor Space Index 0.99%
• 69% open space

With its well-equipped and implemented strategies of making senior citizens lead a comfortable, safe and happy life post-retirement, Sukhshanthi Luxury Retirement Home has certainly been a boon for the parents whose children live abroad and also for single men and women who live alone in their silver years. In case you want to book your favourite leisure plot in Sukhshanthi Retirement Home and enjoy fun ageing post-retirement,

Contact: +91 93412 89357

Email: sukhshanthiblr@gmail.com.

Website: www.sukhshanthi.com / www.jainfarms.com.

Photograph Courtesy: Sukhshanthi Luxury Retirement Home

Note for readers: This is a promotional feature

Click here to read about the government advisory issued for the protection of senior citizens above 60 years from Coronavirus.

Using the mask right

. Do not touch the front part or the back part.

. Hold it on the sides.

. Cover the three things – nose, mouth and chin.

. While removing, do not touch the back part and the front part.

. A single layer surgical mask or a cloth mask all can be effective provided one does not touch the front and the back part of it.

Basic respiratory hygiene

. Cover your mouth and face with a tissue paper when you cough and put it in the bin.

. In case you do not have anything to cover your mouth and face, cough into your elbow and make sure that both your nose and mouth are covered by your elbow.

Effective health hygiene

. Every time you go outside and come back, make sure you wash your hands and legs, leave your footwear outside and change clothes.

. Having your own set of towels, own set of soaps and plates and glass is a good habit of personal hygiene.

. It is important to look at our medical issues. At present, the entire focus is on Covid-19 and it is easy to forget other general medical conditions like hypertension, diabetes, cardiac problems that many seniors suffer from. This simple checklist will help you prevent neglecting your other medical problems and keep them in control.

List your medical conditions

List out your medications

List out your allergies

List out your lab/investigation reports

Reach out to your personal doctor

Effective nutrition

. Three things to be kept in mind are you need to have the right time to eat, the right food to eat and in the right quantity.

. It is essential to have a balanced diet with ten right amounts of proteins, carbohydrates and fats (one-third of each of them) and consume enough quantities of fresh fruits and vegetables.

Basic home exercises

Effective mental health habits

Six ways to keep your brain sound are:

. Hear good, smell good, eat good, think good, feel good and see good.

. Make it a habit to listen to music that suits you

. Smell something good, be it a perfume or incense sticks that can improve your state of mind.

. Meditate and focus on something positive and think good.

. Wear a good dress, take a proper shower and shave and feel good. Watch your favourite movies, serials, chant and feel good.

These can ensure your mental balance is maintained.

Tips on social habits

Social habits are important in terms of managing life after the lockdown is lifted.

. Have a structured time table and avoid doing daily activities haphazardly

. Maintain physical distance

. Delegate and seek support. It is important to realise that we cannot do everything all by ourselves and delegate responsibilities and seek support.

Are hospital visits safe now?

There are government guidelines in terms of the services that the hospital can provide and they cannot. Tele Consultancy and video consultancy is the best way for a check-up now. In case a physical examination is required, you can physically visit them.

Protecting yourself from asymptomatic carriers

If we follow the basic personal, hand, respiratory and health hygienes, we can protect ourselves from carriers.

Domestic help guidelines

If each and every one of us including the domestic help and others helping us out can maintain personal, hand and respiratory hygiene, we all can be on safe grounds. However, the government has put up guidelines regarding this as well.

The guidelines for domestic help vary from state to state and depend on the approval of resident welfare associations (RWAs). Click here to know the BBMP advisory for apartment and resident groups.

Ground-rule for groceries and frequently touched surfaces

Follow your hand hygiene and cough hygiene and do not touch your nose, eyes and mouth, that will go a long way in terms of safely handling groceries. Frequently touched surfaces like your glasses, mobile and desk need to be cleaned on a daily basis with the hand sanitiser. As long as these basic hygienes are maintained, you will be safe. If you are driving make sure that the car is sanitised. It is important that the seats, steering wheel, the gears, the handles of the car are sanitised on a regular basis.

Dentist visits

Dental services are shut for obvious reasons as per the government guidelines. For any kind of emergency, you will have to go to a hospital.

How long will seniors have to stay at home even after the lockdown lifts?

Once the lockdown is lifted, personal hygiene, hand hygiene and social distancing have to be maintained when one steps out. At present, it is better to seek support from the younger ones and stay at home as per the government guidelines.

Fruit safety

Peelable fruits are much safer. For fruits that are non-peelable, soak it in warm water with some salt and go for a second wash.

Is footwear a source of transmission?

It will be good to have a separate set of footwear when you go out after the lockdown is lifted and leave it outside. As far as possible, use footwear that is easily washable and can be rinsed like Crocs.

Should seniors above 65 avoid travel even after travel restrictions are lifted?

Once these travel restrictions are lifted, please travel only if it is mandatory and avoid recreational travel in the immediate future. While going out for mandatory travel, follow the hygiene measures.

The importance of sleep to stay healthy

From a medical perspective, a minimum of 8 to 9 hours of sleep is required. With age, the duration of sleep comes down. Even if you get 5 to 6 hours of sleep, it is good enough. In case you get a nap at noon, it is an icing on the cake. Ensure proper sleep hygiene is maintained. Sleep at the right time, get your bedspread changed regularly, have a dim bed lamp but avoid bright light, do not take caffeine after 4 pm and avoid screen time before a couple of hours of going to sleep.

Are newspapers safe?

If you cannot get out of the habit of reading newspapers, just do not forget to maintain your hand hygiene and do not touch your eyes, nose and mouth while reading.

Importance of Vitamin C

Yes, Vitamin C is highly recommendable. Fruits rich in Vitamin C like orange, amla, etc can enhance immunity and is therefore good to be included in the diet.

How does Covid-19 spread?

Covid-19 spread through droplets when you sneeze and cough. There are reports that say it is airborne as well.

3. Limit sugar, sweets and artificial sweetener as it brings an imbalance of gut microbes. This, in turn, can influence the brain and behaviour.

4. Lack of sleep, exercise and stress negatively impact your gut health, therefore work on these areas for better health.

5. Avoid unnecessary use of antibiotics, chemicals and disinfectants in your diet to preserve the role of healthy microbes in your gut! Speak to your physician or a nutritionist if you need to take probiotic supplements.

Some gut-healthy recipes for you

Oats & Yoghurt

Ingredients:

Oats – 1tbsp(rolled/steel cut oats)

Greek Yoghurt/Curd – 150ml

Banana – 1no (small)

Apple – half piece

Almonds – 4nos

Dried Apricot – 2nos

Chia seeds – 1tsp

Salt – to taste

Method:

Cook oats in 200ml of water with salt for about 15minutes and let it cool

Grate apple, mash banana and mix

Mix curd/yoghurt along with the above ingredients, refrigerate it for about 20 minutes and serve.

Nutritive value for 1 serving – Energy: 254kcal, 11g of protein, 16g of fat, 35g of Carbohydrates, 6g of fibre.

Fermented Buckwheat (kuttu) & Quinoa dosa with onion chutney

Ingredients:

Buckwheat (kuttu) – ½ cup

Quinoa – ¼ cup

Urad dhal – 2 tbsp

Fennel – ¼ tsp

Coconut milk – half cup

For chutney:

Shallots (small onion) – 2nos

Bengal gram dhal – 2tbsp

Garlic – 2

Red chilli – 4nos

Curry leaves a few

Lemon juice ( ½ piece ) – 1tbsp

Salt to taste

Regular cooking oil – 2tbsp

Method:

Soak buckwheat, quinoa, urad dal in water for 12 hours and grind it with salt.

Mix roasted fennel and coconut milk with batter and pour it on heated tawa to prepare dosa.

For chutney chop onions and fry them with red chilli, garlic, Bengal gram dal and curry leaves.

Add salt and grind it coarsely (mix lemon juice).

Serve it with buckwheat dosa.

Nutritive value for 1 serving – Energy:215kcal, 8 g of protein, 7.5 g of fat, 30g of Carbohydrates, 7g of fibre.

Feature Image: ProbioticReviewGirl.com

A few easy steps to detect fake news on WhatsApp

Do a gut check: This is the most important and simplest thing to do. How many of us really put our heart and mind to understand if the news is logical before we forward it? Instead of blindly forwarding a chunk of information, first analyse whether the news is rational and seems right and practical. Check if the news has been published by multiple major media houses in the same format. If not, it is definitely fake.

Fact Check on Google: How about checking whether an advisory on WhatsApp is fake or real? You may get confused and a gut check may not help in such cases. The best thing to do here is to do a simple Google search. Just put on the keywords of an article on Google, type ‘fact check’ before the keywords and check if there are any articles from a valid source covered by any major media house. Google now has a dedicated team who are into fact-checking. The moment you put the word ‘fact check’ you will actually get a list of articles that will help you debunk fake news. Go for what the majority of articles have to say.

Look at the URL (website link or address) closely: It is important to check the URLs of news websites where an article gets published. Often fake news writers make fake websites with fake URLs that appear similar to the original URLs of reputed publication houses. Common people often tend to overlook the discrepancies and start believing a piece of fake news to be real. Hence, it is important to be cautious about the URLs and in case you come across any inconsistency including a mis-spelling or a spinoff of other news sites, please do a simple Google search and recheck the original URL to find out if a news link on WhatsApp is fake or real.

Be aware of certain tools that can help you identify whether a website is fake or real: You may make use of the website Whois.com to find out who the owner of a website is. This tool helps you to identify the owner of any website you pick. It will give you the ownership details of a website. Thus, you will be able to easily point out which website is fake and which is real by using this tool.

Seek the help of fact-checking websites and fact-checking numbers: You may go to fact-checking websites the purpose of which is to debunk fake news. So, you will know what fake news is like and you can point out fake news on WhatsApp easily. Also, on WhatsApp, there are fact-checking numbers. You may forward a piece of news to these numbers and they respond if the news is fake or real within 24 hours.

Here’s a list of fact-checking websites 

Boomlive

AltNews

India Today

The Logical Indian

FactChecker

Here are some fact-checking numbers

Alt News: 9825255790

Boom: 7700906111 / 7700906588

Digit Eye: 9632830256

Fact Crescendo – Hindi: 9049053770

Fact Crescendo- Malayalam: 9049046809

Fact Crescendo – Marathi: 9049043487

Factly: 9603132132

India Today: 7370007000

Newschecker: 9999499044

Newsmobile: 8826800707

Understand what is a frequently forwarded message on WhatsApp: WhatsApp tells you whether a message has been forwarded and frequently forwarded or not. If you check the top left corner of a message on WhatsApp, you will notice a single arrow in case a message is forwarded and a double arrow in case it is frequently forwarded. Keep an eye on such frequently forwarded messages with double arrow marks as they may be fake. WhatsApp keeps a count on the chats and it starts marking a message if it is frequently forwarded which is most likely to be false.

Match the image with the caption: That’s another hack to point out if the news is fake or real. In case the image captions or the story content does not correspond with the image, then it’s definitely fake news.

Be watchful of articles which are wishy-washy about the date, time and place: A news report always mentions the date, time and place of the incident covered, be it in the format of a video or a story. In case you do not find these, understand it is fake. Any video can be tweaked and turned into fake news. You can go to YouTube and do a keyword search. You will be able to find out if it’s an old video and why and when was it actually created.

We believe that it is an individual’s accountability to be aware of fake news and its adverse impact. These steps can help one to prevent falling for fake news and making it viral.

Methi seeds (fenugreek seeds) – They pack a lot of fibre (1 tbsp gives 3 grams), and most of it is soluble fibre which is great to keep our digestion humming along fine, making it work like a laxative that can help you bid farewell to constipation. This kind of fibre and the non-starch polysaccharides (NSP) helps mop up bad cholesterol from our body and aid in turning the lipid profile pink, making it a heart-friendly food. You can add fenugreek seeds to every tadka and consume it.

Eggplant – Magnesium in it helps keep the heartbeat regular, and the functioning of nerves normal. Also, it buffs up the immune system. It is loaded with antioxidants, particularly chlorogenic acid, which works on four fronts: fighting free radicals and many viruses, lowering LDL (bad) cholesterol, and providing protection against cancer. It is extremely versatile and can be roasted, grilled, fried, steamed, or sautéed. Expand your palate and try some international variants: ratatouille (Mediterranean), moussaka (Italian), and babaganoush (Greek).

Ginger – Ginger provides protection against cancers, promotes healthy sweating even during the cold months, and works as a good detox agent. It is anti-diabetic, anti-inflammatory and a wonderful immune system booster too. Have ginger tea every day. You may also add ginger to your daily dishes.

Garlic – It is our heart’s best friend, helps lower bad cholesterol, is a cancer slayer, and (this will probably interest you the most) it is a great weight-loss food too. Plus it is a brilliant diuretic that increases the amount of water and salt expelled from the body as urine. All you need to do is just peel and crush two cloves of garlic and gulp them with water first thing in the morning.

Fennel Seeds – It facilitates digestion and reduces flatulence, the accumulation of gas in the alimentary canal. It is an active carminative (a drug that relieves flatulence) agent, helps release gas from intestines and provides relief from stomach problems like pain, restlessness, heartburn and indigestion. Also, it is a natural diuretic. You can eat a few seeds after every meal.

Cauliflower – It is our heart’s best friend, helps lower bad cholesterol, is a cancer slayer, and it is a great weight-loss food too. It is an excellent source of vitamins (C, K, B vitamins), and minerals (potassium, manganese, magnesium, phosphorus), containing some of almost every vitamin and mineral that you need. It also delivers choline which is needed for a healthy nervous system. You can eat cauliflower, raw or cooked, twice a week for sure.

Moringa – This naturally dried leaf of the drumstick tree is one of the most nutrient-dense plants we know of. It is packed with 13 essential vitamins and minerals. Apparently it has four times the potassium of a banana, four times the calcium of milk and seven times vitamin C – the immunity-boosting antioxidant – as compared to oranges. It is a super-concentrated plant protein source. Just mix it up with water and lemon and drink every day.

Turmeric – Thanks to curcumin in it, turmeric works as a tonic to relieve congestion and soothe headaches and cough. It supports better memory, focus and cognition too by increasing the growth of new neurons and fighting various degenerative processes in the brain. Also, is your heart’s friend and a known cancer slayer. Have haldi doodh every day.

These easily available superfoods in your kitchen can certainly help you keep your immunity strong and beat all kinds of viruses and flu at a time when the world is facing a raging pandemic. Get started on them now.

Fun events at Sukhshanthi keep senior citizens socially active

In the last few months, as Covid-19 swept across the world, a majority of senior citizens have been advised to stay within the four walls of their homes. The raging pandemic has taken a heavy toll on the social lives of the elderly living alone. Their daily activities have been interrupted, family visits have been cut off and celebrations have remained low key with no one to celebrate with. Social distancing has resulted in social isolation and loneliness. However, this has not been the case with Narasimhan or 55-year-old Manjula, another resident at Sukhshanthi. Sukhshanthi Luxury Retirement Homes is an initiative of Jain Farms, located in Bagalur, 44 km away from Bangalore, spread across 1.5 acres of lush green and positioned amidst 750 acres of well-kept farmland.

Ganesh Chaturthi celebration at Sukhshanthi Luxury Retirement Homes

“I am glad to have chosen Sukhshanthi for my silver years and that the management has not let the pandemic dampen our spirit of celebration. While I was away from my family during the festival, I did not miss the grandeur. We spent a wonderful day decking up Lord Ganesha, worshipping him, enjoying prasadam and having fun with my fellow residents, keeping in mind the safety protocols,” she adds.

Apart from celebrating festivities by involving its residents, Sukhshanthi Luxury Retirement Homes offers an unlimited flow of options of keeping the seniors healthy, socially active and entertained. Its outdoor gym customised for seniors within the campus is the perfect go-to destination for fitness freak seniors. It has a well-stocked library with multi-language newspapers and magazines, snooker, table tennis, carrom, chess courts and yoga cum meditation facilities.

Everything here is done keeping in mind safety for senior citizens during the pandemic. “We organise several cultural programs like classical dance and musical concerts, lectures by eminent experts on gerontology and geriatrics. We conduct housie games, quizzes and more to keep the senior residents entertained and their cognitive health prim and proper. At the time of the pandemic, we are leveraging technology to ensure our residents remain virtually connected with their friends and families, take part in online games, yoga sessions and other senior-friendly webinars and activities. And all of these are being done keeping in mind the importance of social distancing and sticking to safety protocols and government guidelines,” says BS Nalini, Operational Director from Sukhshanthi Luxury Retirement Homes.

Retirement homes like Sukhshanthi Luxury Retirement Homes can be an abode of joy and peace in the silver years. If you are looking for a lifestyle supported by a well-knit structure of daily aid and assistance, entertainment and social engagement options, making life convenient and enjoyable for yourself or an older loved one, check them out.

Contact: +91 93412 89357

Email: sukhshanthiblr@gmail.com.

Website: www.sukhshanthi.com / www.jainfarms.com.

?Photograph Courtesy: Sukhshanthi Luxury Retirement Home

Note for readers: This is a promotional feature

Corinne as a young girl

My first memory of Aunt Corinne dates back to more than 60 years ago when she was a new nun and I a little girl with ringlets — clutching on to both my doll and mum Tilly for comfort — as I was taken to see this rather mysterious person who also happened to be my mum’s sister. Clad in a brown and white nun’s habit, it was difficult for me to imagine her as a person, though her tender voice was comforting. But she was beyond our approach and what a petrifying approach it was, at least to little me. Since she was in a Cloistered convent, we could only look at her through an iron grill with pointed spikes attached, her veiled face just about visible, as she stood squeezed between two stark black curtains behind the grill. This grill embedded in the wall between rooms separated her from us female visitors. If memory serves me right, no males were allowed, except her father and brothers. I remember too that occasionally she would turn her head aside to a ‘shadowy figure’ sitting next to her and share an explanation of the conversation. The figure (ghost-like in my child’s mind) would reply with a ‘Mais oui’ or a ‘bon, merci’, never seen by us, only heard. I later realized this was the French Reverend Mother (The convent was founded by French missionaries) whose presence was necessary as a chaperone in every visit. Later in 1973, this very same ‘ghostlike’ Reverend Mother kindly arranged for me to be the house guest of her genteel sister Mademoiselle Rochere in Paris while I was travelling in Europe.

To us children, the lure of these visits was so enormous that we would brave all the mystery and ghostliness attached to them

Sister Mary Rita now

for the ‘loot’ we’d bring home from Aunt Corinne, collected from a capacious drawer that slid through the wall beneath the grill and opened from her side and ours. She would fill it with magical stuff like medals and scapulars, rosaries and holy pictures. We children would fight over them for days on end and would begin to barter and exchange, but there was always plenty to go round.

What made my aunt choose this life, I wondered often as a young working woman, when it began to dawn on me the tremendous sacrifice she had made in choosing a path of absolute austerity and seclusion.

Aunt Corinne was attractive and accomplished. I had seen photographs of her in the fashion of the Fifties, in Magyar sleeves and flared skirts with broad belts; with hair swept back and high heels. I’ve heard she was very lively and had a lot of suitors too before she gave it all up for God. Who is this God I wondered and how had she found him at the tender age of twenty-something?

At that age, I was battling with the attractions of growing up and the choices were always confusing and conflicting vis-a-vis the strict family moral and religious values we lived with. These were the days when I began to admire my aunt’s courage as well as disregard her for her foolishness. Was being away from temptation the easiest path to discipline, I wondered, though I know now for sure that would not have been so for her. Human wants and desires remain the same whatever be the environment and it is only through years of hard work, that self-discipline and detachment are developed. It is something my aunt has embraced for over six decades and she radiates such a joy that it makes me truly feel that I have encountered God.

So how is meeting my aunt now? The convent’s rules are now more relaxed in keeping with the times and the dreaded grill too has no spikes though my aunt continues to be confined behind it. However, now visitors related or unrelated, male and female can visit and chat freely. The magic drawer of my childhood still exists for the stream of little ‘PG clan’ progeny who tag along with their parents. Some like me, who cannot visit often, have the pleasure of being able to call her and even send an email. From Gregorian chants, my aunt has moved to playing the keyboard, giving her a chance to revive her prowess on the piano as a young girl.

A visit to see her now. You can see the magic drawer in the photograph

Having her in my life has been a lesson in the simplicity of living, of caring for people by just communicating with them. Like her, I enjoy my garden and this Easter I proudly showed off the lovely blooms on the lily bulbs she gave me years ago. Most importantly, I’m learning the power of prayer and the acceptance of God’s will as being the best way to be cheerful about suffering and the difficult times in life, just the way she had the wisdom to discover so many decades ago.

All photographs courtesy the author. The featured image shows Corinne third from left among the girls at the back

Estimated Annual Expenses

Most retirees assume no variations in their expense patterns. However, people spend more when they have the time, health, and energy to do the things they love. Asha planned several travel itineraries. She insisted on visiting their children every year. Krishnan enjoys long games of golf. He often travels to tournaments. When work is out of the picture hobbies take the forefront.

Inflation & Household Expenses

Krishnan guessed that their expenses would rise by a few thousand rupees every five years. But, if inflation stabilises at 6%, their lifestyle expenses would double every 12 years!

Through their retirement years, Asha and Krishnan would replace their car, household appliances, and gadgets. These expenses would be infrequent and larger. Planning ensured that they maintain the same standard of living throughout.

Healthcare Costs & Unexpected Expenditures

Krishnan was diabetic. His medicines cost nearly Rs. 10,000 every month. While this was factored into their expenses, healthcare complications were not. In the event of any medical emergency, it was likely that Krishnan would require more care. Their financial planner combed through the fine print of their health insurance policy. She segregated a part of their retirement corpus for medical emergencies and unexpected expenses.

Taxes In Retirement

Krishnan’s post-retirement tax liability caught him by surprise. His pension was taxed like salary. Asha’s savings were in fixed deposits, post office schemes, and government bonds. She learnt that tax was due even on unrealized interest from cumulative deposits!

Going forward they had to choose between two tax regimes. One where they got lower tax rates or one where they had more tax deductions. They were able to weigh the pros and cons of each regime with their financial planner.

Senior Living Community & Longevity

Asha and Krishnan pondered about what would happen when they aged. In the last 25 years, life expectancy has risen by 15%. They could expect to live almost ten years longer than their parents did.

Would managing a house become too hard? Would they need medical assistance? Would they draw comfort from a community? Should they secure a house in a senior living community now? Or would they rather live with their children far away from India?

Even personal questions have financial implications. Through the process of financial planning, Krishnan and Asha evaluated their options. This prepared them for many eventualities. They put off buying a retirement home and decided to revisit this decision later.

Planning For The Long Term

The beauty of life is that we have limited insight into what the future holds. Often, when grandchildren arrive on the scene, new financial aspirations blossom. Asha and Krishnan realize that retirement is a long game. They couldn’t possibly anticipate everything upfront. Instead, they would follow a flexible approach and add goals as they materialised.

Their financial plan was an accessible accurate record of their assets. If they planned their estates now, their life savings would smoothly transit per their wishes!

Click here to find out the best health insurance plans for senior citizens. 

iThought Advisory has partnered with Silver Talkies for Money Smart Seniors- A 3 Day Workshop By Industry Experts, an online event on September 14, 16 & 18 from 10 AM – 1 PM. Register Now:

https://forms.gle/YAEvWcSnvG2jQBNR9

Hire paid caregivers at the right time: Traditionally, most people only reach for paid caregiving help when Alzheimer’s reaches more advanced stages, or when the elderly need physical support. However, quality of life (for both the patient and the caregiver) can be better if paid caregiving help can be sought at the very beginning, says Mallya. Doing this helps prepare the patient for the idea of being supported by an ‘outsider’. This can help ease them gradually to be more comfortable when they eventually also need help with bathing and other activities of daily living – which can otherwise be situations where they feel robbed of their dignity.

“Paid caregiving also helps set forth a consistent schedule, which is extremely important for someone with Alzheimer’s. Moreover, it takes a load off the primary caregivers’ plate, allowing them more bandwidth for tasks that cannot (yet) be outsourced and to strike a balance between leading their own individual lives and caregiving,” says Mallya.

Be upfront and inform other people about the condition of your loved ones: Every family has an instinctive reaction to their loved one’s suffering. They want to appear normal to the world. “That is, in my opinion, the worst thing you can do to your loved one suffering from Alzheimer’s. She is anyway suffering from acute confusion and if she’s someone like my mom, a very intelligent, academically gifted lady, a complete intellectual, it is horrible to be in a situation where people, unknowingly hurt her by saying things like, ‘I can’t believe that you don’t remember/know/recognise/understand the conversation.’ It is much better to be upfront and let people know that your loved one is suffering from an incurable disease and whatever she may say or do, she must not be held responsible for it,” adds Bose.

Focus on caregiver burnout: Caregiver burnout is a state of physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion that may be accompanied by a change in attitude often from positive and caring to negative and unconcerned. Burnout can occur when caregivers don’t get the help they need, or if they try to do more than they are able to physically, financially or emotionally. It may manifest through stress, fatigue, depression and anxiety. Some caregivers place unreasonable burdens upon themselves because they see providing care as their exclusive responsibility. Many caregivers also feel guilty if they spend time on themselves rather than on their beloved elder.

“Visiting nurses and therapists, house managers, outsourced help, support groups go a long way in helping manage caregiver burnout. It is important for the caregiver to regularly take time out for themselves, for ensuring they get regular exercise, and indulge in activities they love (maybe gardening, reading a book or simply talking to a friend!),” adds Mallya.

Educating oneself about the progressive nature of Alzheimer’s Disease and making plans in advance may go a long way in helping organise things and make Alzheimer’s caregiving a little easier.

Non-availability of medical help, household helps and paid caregivers: Pandemic has had a massive impact on caregivers as they are unable to take their loved ones with Alzheimer’s to the doctor in case of an emergency, believes Anupama G who was a caregiver to her late husband for over a decade.

“This has significantly increased the burden of work for the caregivers. Being just at home 24/7 for the past six months and taking care of a loved one with Alzheimer’s or Dementia is a tedious job for a primary caregiver,” she says.

Increased caregiver burnout: COVID-19 related anxiety has made it harder for Dementia caregivers and led to increased levels of stress in some cases. Some caregivers now lack support thanks to social distancing, says Mallya. “Not only are caregivers increasingly isolated from the outside world, they now have the heightened fear of transmitting the Coronavirus to the elderly they’re caring for,” she adds.

Caregivers in India often find themselves working from home, caring for out-of-school children, and tending to a sick parent or spouse—all while being isolated from extended family, friends, and resources like visiting therapists, house help, nurses and attendants.

Mallya thinks the pandemic has added to the caregiver’s burden. “The pandemic and lockdowns have disrupted routines of the elderly, which can have a devastating impact on someone with Alzheimer’s and other forms of Dementias. It may increase anxiety among them and in some cases make other symptoms worse. Dealing with this in the absence of or lowered external help has further added to the challenges of caregiving in the pandemic. All these factors have boosted caregiver burnout in general.”

Adverse impact on caregivers’ mental health: The constant cycle of worry, panic and anxiety without relief is the worst outcome of the pandemic. “With no entertainment outside the four walls of the house and constant diet of unending misery from the news feeds, TV news and newspapers are some of the worst things that all of us go through. And when you have to remain upbeat for your loved one, regardless of your feelings, emotional exhaustion is just around the corner,” says Indrani Bose, who has been a caregiver since 1994, first for her ailing in-laws and then for her parents.

Tips to relieve caregivers during the pandemic

• Acknowledge the importance of support and understanding for caregivers.
• It is important for caregivers to take breaks from their responsibilities when possible.
• If the elderly live with more than one caregiver, that is, with the family, it might be a good idea to distribute chores, thereby splitting the burden of caregiving.
• It is also a good idea to digitise the elder’s routine. So, if there was a particular time where they went for walks/met a friend/had a therapist visiting – it might be a good idea to see if some of these can be done online. These periods will serve as a respite for the primary caregiver and also might be additionally beneficial for the elderly.
• The caregivers must focus on medication and listening to music as it is helpful for Alzheimer’s patients as well. Play light music in the room wherever your loved one with Dementia and Alzheimer’s takes rest.

Brain games play a vital role in practicing memory improvement among older adults. “Brain games are defined as any activity that stimulates your thinking. It may include word puzzles like Crossword and Scrabble, traditional games like Chess, Sudoku, and Bridge. It also includes creative outlets like painting, playing an instrument, or learning a new language,” explains Dr Prem.

Interestingly, it has been observed that brain games help sharpen thinking skills that tend to wane with age, such as processing speed, planning skills, reaction time, decision making, and short-term memory.

He adds: “Having meaningful friendships and a strong support system is vital not only to emotional health but also to brain health. Having groups with similar passions such as volunteering, crafts, and singing help.”

Memory boosting diet

An appropriate diet can help in enhancing memory among older adults and slow down cognitive decline. Here are some of the foods that may help:

• A diet rich in Omega 3 fatty acids is essentially good for your memory. Fish happens to be a particularly rich source of Omega-3 and is considered to be a potent memory-booster.
• If vegetarian, opt for a diet rich in spinach, broccoli, kidney beans, soybean and pumpkin seeds as these are good food for your memory.
• Eat more fruits and vegetables.
• Drink green tea as it is good for your brain.
• Watch out these risk factors that may lead to poor memory among older adults.

“Several other conditions could result in decreasing memory and eventual cognitive impairment among older adults. These include heart disease and its risk factors, hypertension, Diabetes Mellitus, multiple medications, hormonal imbalances like hypothyroidism, history of depression, abnormal sleep and obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA),” says Dr Prem.

Symptoms of Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI)

Frequently losing or misplacing things

Frequently forgetting conversations, appointments, or events

Difficulty remembering the names of new acquaintances

Difficulty following the flow of a conversation

When to see a doctor for memory loss?

“When memory lapses become frequent enough or sufficiently noticeable to concern you or a family member, you must make an appointment as soon as possible to talk with your doctor and have a thorough physical examination. Even if you are not displaying all the necessary symptoms to indicate dementia, it may be a good time to take steps to prevent a small problem from becoming a larger one,” says Dr Prem who believes living a socially and physically active and engaged life and eating the right food can help enhance memory.