The old serve the young

In a role reversal, a few seniors in Besant Nagar are caring for youngsters.

January 31, 2015 08:46 pm | Updated 08:46 pm IST

V. Chandrasekar, a key member of the Forum, is assisted by his wife Vijayalakshmi in sorting out the books meant for distribution.  Photo: B. Jothi Ramalingam

V. Chandrasekar, a key member of the Forum, is assisted by his wife Vijayalakshmi in sorting out the books meant for distribution. Photo: B. Jothi Ramalingam

We tend to picture senior citizens as helpless and leaning heavily on others. And therefore, we are surprised when we see them serve people considerably younger than themselves.

And I should admit I was more than surprised to discover such a group of seniors in Besant Nagar.

Senior Citizens Group of Besant Nagar, founded in 2012, collects and distributes books to college students. Chandrasekhar, honorary president of the forum, says, “We sent a press release about our initiative to neighbourhood tabloids and made a few calls — that’s all it took to get started. Many came forward to donate their books. Many students from families with low incomes came to receive these free books.”

Around 2,000 books on various subjects were collected in a week. Each student was allowed to take a single book.

Similarly, during the last monsoon, we collected and distributed blankets to pavement dwellers in Besant Nagar. “It is not possible to go far away and distribute the blankets. So we restricted ourselves to Besant Nagar. Seven young volunteers helped us in the distribution of blankets, ,” says Chandrasekhar

“Most of the forum members are pensioners and we set aside a part of our pension for this work,” says Chandrasekhar.

This Forum for seniors encourages similar initiatives in other neighbourhoods. Chandrasekhar says, “Someone from Tambaram called to say he wanted to donate the books of his children. I asked him to distribute the books to deserving students in Tambaram. The idea is to serve the poor wherever they are found. Our forum is not registered and does not have a bank account. We accept assistance only in kind.”

The Forum’s next plan is to collect and distribute walking sticks.

“It also has plans to offer training in spoken English, group discussion and attending interviews for students from economically weak sections. Also, career counselling sessions will be organised,” he adds.

The sessions will be conducted by V. Chandrasekhar, an MBA from XLRI Jamshedpur and a retired professor from Anna University and his wife C. Vijayalakshmi, an English teacher. V. Chandrasekhar is now a visiting professor at Anna University.

Those keen on assisting the forum may call V. Chandrasekhar at 9884224480 or write to profvc@gmail.com

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