World Grandparents Day alert: Do you remember they are there too?
World Grandparents Day alert: Do you remember they are there too?
MyDuty
Old is Gold
Grandparents are the central figure of the great Indian family, full of affection and love. But how many times do we express our love or spend time with them despite all that they have done for us? Maybe, one could put in thought about this on World Grandparents’ Day today.
Grandparents’ Day is observed on the second Sunday of September. But does it really suffice to spend this one day as a special gesture with them when you can do so 365 days a year? It’s no fiction that grandparents feel neglected by their families in the autumn of their lives with their young ones are too busy to spare them a thought and worse still consider them a liability.
What could be worse for this gentle generation than not getting a chance to spend time with grandchildren? The COVID-19 has added to their woes.
Take the case of Indravati Singh who is in her seventies. “I have six grandsons and granddaughters out of which two of my grandsons are quite old. The other four live in another State and I barely get to visit them. The pandemic has acted as a catalyst to our geographical barriers and now I can’t even visit my grandchildren.”
Singh is not alone in feeling so alone. Kids are their sole source of happiness. Time files for them when they are with their grandkids. They forget all their worries and become a kid with them. But, we as adults often forget our grandparents also need the same kind of love, togetherness and indulgence.
Nirmala Agarwal, who is in her eighties, can barely express her feelings due to the left side of her body being partially paralysed. Tears rolled down from her eyes when she spoke about her situation. “It’s been a few months that I have become a grandmother of a healthy baby boy. I haven’t met him physically due to my health issues and this uncertain pandemic. My son doesn’t get time to visit me because of his work. I doubt whether I’d be able to touch him before I die,” she says.
This lack of consideration for the oldest members of a family is excruciating and insensitive. Yes, work is important and it takes a lot of your time, but not at the cost of familial neglect.
Mohini Bhandari and Pradeep Bhandari, a couple in their sixties, are sick of their solitary existence and do not hesitate from talking of early death. “Our children are based in the US, and we live alone with a couple of servants for assistance. I miss being with my grandkids and watching animation movies with them and mimicking the characters”, Pradeep Bhandari says.
His wife turned nostalgic and teary-eyed while discussing the distance between her and her young ones. “I used to make mango and lemon pickle for my grandkids and they would relish it. We feel so unwanted and alone ever since my children shifted abroad. Our last visit to the US was when my daughter-in-law gave birth to our grandkid,” she says.
The alarming thing is that these sob stories are not stray stories. The neglect of elders is widespread and global with no real mechanism to make inclusivity of the old and frail a norm. But baby steps could help make your grandparents a part of your daily life.
Time to not treat them like unused furniture or a chore you much perform by bidding them goodnight. They are people who reared you, rocked you to sleep, laughed with you, took all the pain and blame of your growing years. Now, it’s your turn to return the favour.