Introduction:

In the recent years, we have come across thousands of old age homes across the country mainly isolated in nature established by philanthropists, non-governmental organizations and by landlords. While the philanthropists and non-governmental organizations manage the older age homes themselves and through their employees without any cost to the inmates, the isolated old age homes are more neat and clean and well-maintained owing to the payments they receive from the occupants. Not that the non-governmental organizations don’t receive external contribution, but instances of excellent house-keeping are few and far between.

Overall, the concept of the establishment and running of old age homes is a welcome step to give a fillip to the lives of senior citizens who are the subjects of neglect in the society as unwanted elements. If their family discounts them, the society considers as an impediment to development and progress. The government does not seem to be having them in its perception except during elections. In the recent years, life-expectancy has improved with more of diet consciousness, required doses of exercises and tremendous headway of medical sciences. The primal age population is bound to increase with the death rate declining and this augurs well for the country, notwithstanding the fact that the percentage of the older population is in ascendancy.

The story of a father:

A man is born to die. But he passes a number of stages before he meets his doom. From a baby, he becomes a child and then adolescent, youth, middle-aged and old. A baby needs care and custody, a middle-aged man earns and spends more for his family than for himself, but an old man is sluggish, less active or inactive and often needs his son’s support and strength. An old man’s is the story of neglect and insensitiveness as the give-and-take formula does not work well in his family. What he has done in his life-time is perceived as his duties as he is dumped by his own children when he becomes invalid, inactive without adequate income. So, the primary matter is money and not the relationships he had established with his son during his life time. This is the story of a father, and the less said about the mother is better.

A mother has some value, if an earnings father is there, but with only the mother surviving, her plight is better forgotten. Many of us might have gone through Fakir Mohan Senapati’s (Famous Odia writer) “Dak Munsi” (Post man) where a retired post man was the subject of neglect by his son and his wife because of his low pension income, old age and diseases. All his sacrifices of the past to make his son a British official was simply forgotten as selfishness and false vanity overtook him. The eminent Odia writer did highlight a deep-rooted and harrowing social problem to cast a deep impression on the modern day son. After about a hundred years of his short story (Dak Munsi), the same problem haunts the society in no mean-manner.

Parents get sieved and separated from the family:

The United Nations Organization (UNO) in its report on older people has come out with a shocking statistics about 71% of them have no choice but to work as laborers only to earn and eat. It is found that an overwhelming majority of sons getting excellent services and reputation have forgotten their parents and prefer to live without them. Some of them leave them at old age homes so as to free themselves from the bondages of rearing their parents. They don’t realize the dreams once their parents had to be among the entire family memberships of the son and the bride and his grandsons and daughters. They had dreams of a retired, luxurious life without any labor or bother. But in real terms, parents get sieved and separated from the family which, all the time, they thought their own.

There was no ‘Father’s Day’ or ‘Mother’s Day’ in India two decades ago. Now, we have the fiasco of these auspicious days in line with the Western countries. Does this give anything to the father or the mother? They are remembered for a day each in a year, suffering oblivion for the rest of the time of the year. This is farcical. Observing a day with pomp and ceremony and forgetting 364 days is a fun only enjoyed by the children without amusing the parent who is left in the lurk. Parents have given everything to their children what they were capable of during their active and earning period. They were  hopeful of getting some return during their heydays. But, any neglect by children to them is a bolt from the blue.

Child is the father of a man:

Children changed by false vanity and ample selfishness seldom realize that their behavior towards their parents may reflect in the same manner when they will be at the receiving end. When they grow old, their children will cite their personal example to treat them and greet them in the similar manner. The words of the ancient poet and philosopher that ‘bad son is a possibility, but bad mother is not’ are prophetic. The mother, despite being overlooked or rebuked by children, does not pray for his children’s misery. It is also said ‘mother and motherland are superior to heaven’. But let it not be a slogan only.

Conclusion:

Realization and repentance are in store for the prodigal sons. However, this repentance will come only at a time when parents will not be there anymore. Idealizing or adoring parents posthumous has no meaning. Similarly, performing annual death rites of the parents serves no purpose except that the society adores the action as a devoted son remembering his father. The real service to parents is to help them in times of need during their life-time which gives a brilliant sunny weather’ across their lips.