The Vintage Advantage

The Nightingales Medical Trust and The Nightingales Elder’s Enrichment Centre, had their 16th Anniversary Celebration in style last December. They not only bid 2015 a jolly goodbye, they also celebrated the various skills the senior club members had to offer with music and dance. S Radha Prathi sent us this writeup about this versatile and talented show by senior citizens. 

Namma Bengaluru just proved that it has not lost its knack for springing its pleasant surprises on us in the most unexpected ways. Even as people resolved to attach the epithet Pensioner’s paradise to good old Bangalore, Nightingales Elders Enrichment Centres (NEEC) gently prompted its denizens to reconsider the old title. Accordingly, the members of the Malleswaram branch decided to have a gala time on the second Saturday of the last month of 2015. It was the sixteenth year of their collective identity. When they looked further north they sighted their two year old sibling branch in Sanjay Nagar whose members were also working towards making a statement of their existence. It did not

take long for the wise old souls to realize that more the merrier would make a more meaningful phrase if they came together. After all, the guiding spirit of the clubs is the same. NEEC serves as a haven to those who care to register themselves as its members to keep them engaged, educated, updated and entertained right round the year. The club has made it a point to culminate each such vibrant year by celebrating an annual day. The fact that they ensure that they make it the crowning glory of the year has now become a tradition unto itself.

This year around, they decided to gather at Seva Sadan at Malleswaram around mid morning and showcase their variegated and vintage talents. If it was a treat to the senses to watch them display their skills in Yoga or Tai Chi, sing, dance, play act and spoof creatively, the take away was homework for our minds and mindset. For all of us, who are under the impression that old age is a curse of sorts, beset by aches and pains and deteriorating strength, the show was stimulating. Do not for a moment think that all these glittering stars on the stage are blessed souls without a care in life. On the contrary they happen to be sensible souls who know how to put behind the setbacks of life and put their best foot forward to make life pleasant for themselves and those around them. The fact that they had meticulously planned, practised and played out their program with utmost enthusiasm and sincerity spoke in volumes about the wondrous qualities of sincerity and passion which must have been the guiding forces of their lives. Dedication and determination came through the veneer of the light heartedness displayed on stage in each and every piece. That was not all; while the souvenir brought out on the occasion celebrated their cerebral capabilities, the sumptuous lunch enjoyed at the end of the function gave a glimpse of the gourmets who had nurtured a fine taste for all the beautiful gifts that life has to offer.

The fun filled full house, the fanfare and the feverish fervor that ruled the day was fittingly presided over by its founder members Dr Radha S Murthy and S Prem Kumar Raja who had dreamed it all up for them. May their tribe increase manifold!

If you are a senior citizen who wishes to join the Nightingales Elders Enrichment Centre, visit:

No.149. 11th Main

Between 16th & 17th Cross

Malleswaram

Bangalore 560 055

Ph: 080-23342929