A senior citizen means a person of mature years. It signifies a man or woman who has already had a long life, and gained a lot of knowledge from his/her experiences, which is the real knowledge of life. A son will never be a grown up in the eyes of a father, however much he grows, and though the father will grow older and older, the son will never reach the position of the father. In case of the girl too, the same thing holds true. Children should never underestimate their parents.

Elderly people are the foundation of the family. But times have changed today. The young generation assumes that they know much more than their parents. Therefore, some children push their parents to the corner of a dark room. And thus the aged have to live, abandoned by their own flesh and blood. Our senior citizens come to know the meaning of life after crossing so many hurdles, overcoming many problems while going through the myriad experiences of life. But, in the sunset of their lives, they have lost their strength, power and energy.

They are now feeble in body and filled with uncertainty and gloom. At this stage of their life, the aged need love and sympathy, otherwise, they feel lonely and depressed. Whenever they perceive that their children ignore them, they become despondent. When this happens, the heartbroken elders long for death. If you respect your parents and care for them, it is as good as worshipping God and the home will be a happy and peaceful place. Otherwise, the next generation will show the same callousness towards the parents. It’s true that people are very busy these days, but they should make time to be with their elderly parents.

Inspite of all the inevitable frailties and sadness, old age is still a golden age. Without old age, life is incomplete. When you are old, you should strive to gain more knowledge. You can now see the world. You must enjoy the world and must never think that you are alone. You belong to the family of man. Keep faith in God. This is the secret of happiness. You must never think that you are weak. You have great strength and resilience within you. If you introspect on your life, you will gain strength. Strength is life, and weakness is death. Strength is eternal, immortal, weakness is a constant strain and misery. Believe that “at my will, mountains will crumble up.” Then you will never feel that you are old. Always keep your mind fresh with new ideas. Try to love Nature, as this will give you ample satisfaction. Now that you are old, you have enough time to read books, listen to music. There are so many sources in hand to keep yourself happy and busy. Spend time and bond with your grandchildren. It’s a beautiful bondage of the family. Society has changed, you must, however, accept the fact that the times have changed. Nobody has time to talk to you. So be strong and try not to depend on others. Always try to be self-sufficient. If you can keep your mind happy, then your body can co-operate with you. There is a popular saying that there is no age limit to learning anything. These days, I fully realise the significance of these words. You can do whatever you put your mind to. Try to do something meaningful so that the next generation will see you as their role model. Life is very precious. It is gifted to us by God and we must cherish it.

Nalini Barkakati