Write a emotional writing on the old age home in our societies
Answers
Explanation:
For generations, India had a prevailing tradition of the Joint Hindu Family or undivided family. The system is an extended family arrangement prevalent throughout the Indian subcontinent, particularly in India, consisting of many generations living in the same home, all bound by the common relationship.
The family is headed by a senior person called a ‘Karta’, usually the oldest male or female, who makes decisions on economic and social matters on behalf of the entire family. The patriarch’s wife generally exerts control over the household and minor religious practices and often wields considerable influence in domestic matters.
Family income flows into a common pool, from which resources are drawn to meet the needs of all members, which are regulated by the heads of the family. However, with urbanization and economic development, India has witnessed a break up of the traditional joint family into more nuclear-like families, and the traditional joint family in India accounted for a small number of Indian households.
Today the Joint Family System is slowly fading away and soon become extinct.
There are many reasons for that. The first- lifestyle of present day youngsters. With the introduction of many electronic gadgets like computers, mobile phones, video games and with many other such electronic gadgets, the younger generation is slowly moving away from the attachment of family bonding and gets glued to such electronic items ignoring their elders and staying away separately.
Secondly, once after marriage, men are slowly moving away from their parents, reasons may be many. But the main reason which I had seen in many houses is the newly married young women in such homes force their husbands to come out of such bonding called joint family and wants to lead an independent life away from her in-laws. Do not know why they want to avoid their aged in-laws.
In another incident which I had witnessed in many houses, the children, say a son and daughter, share their parents after their marriage. How? They draft an agreement that for one year the daughter would shelter her mother and during the same period the son would shelter his father. They both would swap their parents next year. What an inhuman way of treating aged parents? How cruel the children are nowadays? After coming to know of these incidents in many houses, tears swell from my eyes. Also, I lost sleep on many nights. Without wanting to part this way, and unable to digest this type of ill-treatment meted out to them from their children, the aged ones, silently move away straight to old age homes.
Thirdly, even if the newly married couple continues to live in a joint family, a problem arises slowly and steadily first with small fights between mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law, that who should have control over the family, which escalates further if sisters-in-law too join the issue. Most of the TV serials are taken on the basis of such unfortunate scenario which happens everyday in many households. Or it is vice versa, after seeing such TV serials many family gets divided from the joint family system.
After reading all the above don’t come to the conclusion that I watch too many TV serials. No. Not at all. I don’t watch TV serials at all. I hate TV serials. All the above are from my own personal experiences after visiting many households. That is it.
Men in such households, slowly start listening to their women folk, and in due course will be slowly drifting away leaving their parents, sisters, brothers and other joint family members to lead an independent life or life of their own choice with their young kids. Then once everyone in that family gets married and start moving away to lead their independent life, finally on one fine day aged parents will be left alone to take care of themselves.
I witnessed many aged parents who either have been ditched by their own children, or those who have no children to take care of them, and to make a living slowly started begging on the streets, in front of temples, railway platforms or goes out looking for shelter homes.
Another incident. I once visited an elderly home in a remote village in Tamil Nadu run by one philanthropic minded individual. There were about 100 aged and deserted men and women. Some are brought by the volunteers of the home from road side platforms. But many have been deserted by their own children and took shelter.
As soon as I entered the home, all the eyes started looking at me expecting something, and some even came to me and start holding my hand and some hugged me. I enquired the caretaker, are they expecting something from me, like cash or food? He immediately said, No. Then continued they are expecting the lost love from those who visit them. He told me that these elder ones still hoping that one day their children will visit the home and take them along. Hope that happens soon. This was another emotional incident in my life.