There are certain people, whom nobody wants: the old people! Tell me. How many people want them? There may be some good-hearted people who are ready to take care of a baby found abandoned on the wayside. There may also be people who are kind enough to adopt a kitten or puppy, found wet in the rain. But, how many people will be ready to take care of an abandoned old person? In this world, cruelties towards old people are frighteningly on the increase.
They are a burden in their homes. Their nation does not need them. That is the attitude of their children and the society towards them. Anyone can do anything to them. They live a vulnerable life, unable to defend themselves, weeping alone and cursing the world.
The daughter-in-law bites her teeth and curses her old mother-in-law, saying: “I think she will outlive me!” The son looks at his father and sends out a sad sigh, saying: “Why does God give such longevity to men?” The grandchildren cover their noses when their grandmother comes near.
During their good days, how much these grandparents have toiled for these sons, daughters and grandchildren? They too had days of youth. They too were once healthy. They too once had self-confidence, hopes and dreams. But…
Nobody’s life begins with old age. Likewise, everybody’s life need not reach old age. Nonetheless, some people are living with an overconfidence that only old people will have to face such a situation. Life is like the compartments of a train. Old age is the name of the last compartment. Old age is like a companion who never leaves you once it has got hold of you.
Old age is the name of a poignant wait for death. Once a person has reached old age, then death alone is waiting for them. Thereafter, life will be as if entangled in a wheel and keeps rotating. When the rotation of the wheel stops, life will stop as well.
How many sufferings the old people have to undergo during this waiting period! Not all sufferings are physical; but mental pains are more in number. The helplessness of being forced to depend on others. A feeling of abandonment. Loneliness. Difficulties caused by illnesses. Sorrow that the body is not catching up with mind. Old age is like a spider waiting with it web spread out. It will not let you go.
Old age cannot be defined in a single word. Only a person, who is observing old age from a close range, can understand its true depth and expanse. For whom is old age? People who are not yet old generally think that old age is the result of some crime done by the old people. Never! Old people do not learn anything from old age. They are just passing through this stage of life. In fact, the young people have to learn from old age. They should learn that one day, they also will become old. When you flex your muscles, polish your face and lead a self-willed life during your youth, remember that on the other side of that turn, old age is waiting for you! So, be kind to the old people and treat them with a kind heart.
