Team Chatur Panchi - Old Age Home Visit (24th March'10)

“A test of a people is how it behaves toward the old. It is easy to love children. Even tyrants and dictators make a point of being fond of children. But the affection and care for the old, the incurable, the helpless are the true gold mines of a culture.”

Keeping this quote in mind, the students of LD College Unstoppable (LDCU) – A Social Activity club based in LD College of Engineering spent their holiday with the residents of an old age home at Bharti Ashram in Sarkhej. On the morning of ramnavmi,residents of Bharti Ashram old age home were in for a pleasant surprise when they found handful of youth welcoming them in their prayer hall with a tika,a rose and a shy namstey. The event began at 9 a.m. with a short introduction and a prayer.The atmosphere of ashram had a pleasant air when everyone joined to sing "raghupati raghav raja ram".

The real ice breaker between the young and the old was antakshri.The young volunteers were seen testing their knowledge about old hindi songs,while the elderly were seen singing songs of kishore kumar and lata mangeshkar with an enthusiasm like 18 year olds. Antakshri was followed by garba where the residents in spite of their heart, gout and leg problems were seen dancing and singing with the volunteers. Shivangi,A member of LDCU team was quite happy seeing the active participationfrom the elderly."Despite their health problems they showed great entusiasem"she added. During the interaction time,the residents were given a special greeting card made by the volunteers along with some sweets. Sonu Agarwal a member of the organizing team noted that "Everyone was happy or satisfied with their situation,and fighting their health problems bravely."

The interaction was followed by some activities.Many ladies and some gentlemen were seen sniffing and identifying different spices in the game of "the queen of the kitchen",where one had to identify maximum amount of spices. The" pagdi tying tournament" was a favourite among the young and the old alike. "Garba and turban activities were the most successful ones.The elders got a chance to be young again and break free." added Sonu. Volunteers were seen parading around with their colorful turbans tied by their elder partners.

By the end of the event,the volunteers were seen posing for pictures with their new friends.

During the feedback time the elderly sang bhajans and gave every volunteer their blessings. The ladies were seen hugging and kissing the volunteers like they were their own children. The event ended with many promises of next visit and advices like “Love your parents and be like shravana for them". "Their affection and warmth reminded me of my grandparents.I'll always remember this day.and i'll be visiting the old age home soon."added shivangi. Jenil Kothari the head of LDCU said that “Today the team of LDCU was able to bring smiles on 30 faces and was able to receive invaluable blessings from them. It is sad to see their grief about their families leaving them but our main motto was to help them forget their grievance and make them happy.”