The gOLDen Age
Sachin’s mother, “Its enough now! We want independence, liberty and peace. The time is ripe to send them to their OWN place.”
Father, “Yes, you are right, I guess. Hey, I had a conversation with one of my colleagues and he gave me the address of one of the place that we were looking for. Mama and Bauji will feel like home.”
Mother, “Okay, so do it as early as possible. Sachin is also a young boy now.”
Sachin, who was till now standing near the doorsteps and listening to the conversations, entered the room, “Mom, when will you make me marry?”
Mother, in a perplexed tone, “My dear son, right now you are quite immature and small for all this stuff. But why did you ask such question?”
Sachin, “I was wondering that I too, as a part of family ritual, would have to send to your OWN PLACE, once I get married.”
It’s not just the story of Sachin’s home, it’s a common day phenomenon. Everyone chews the same gum and spit or throw it out once the sweetness departs. How ironic phenomena exist on this planet? When a seed is sown, it is cared like anything. When it grows into a plant, it is nurtured to give the fruit. But when it grows old with the gnarled branches, no leaves, no fruits, but with roots intact, nobody cares for it. People start looking down on the old and desolate tree and it is considered as an obstacle. And then, the axes perform the rest of the job…
Same thing applies to us, the humans (if I can say that). A child is nurtured with utmost care. When he grows young, he is expected to earn (fruit) for the family. But when he grows old, (as a part of ritual), the only place left for him/her on this big planet is an Old Age Home, as if it is some dumping bin which is always ready to embrace all the redundant and no longer in USE stuff.
An African proverb says, “The death of an old person is like the loss of a library.”
……….
……….
Another story that I came across while blogging was even more touching and left me bewildered about my (our) responsibilities towards elderly. The story goes like this:
An 80 year old man was sitting on the sofa in his house along with his 45 year's old highly educated son. Suddenly a crow perched on their window. The Father asked his Son, “What is this?”The Son replied “It is a crow”. After a few minutes, the Father asked his Son the 2nd time, “What is this?” The Son said “Father, I have just now told you “It's a crow”. After a little while, the old Father again asked his Son the 3rd time, “What is this?” At this time some expression of irritation was felt in the Son's tone when he said to his Father with a rebuff. “It's a crow, a crow”. A little after, the Father again asked his Son the 4th time, “What is this?”This time the Son shouted at his Father, “Why do you keep asking me the same question again and again, although I have told you so many times 'IT' S A CROW'. Are you not able to understand this?”A little later the Father went to his room and came back with an old tattered diary, which he had maintained since his Son was born. On opening a page, he asked his Son to read that page. When the son read it, the following words were written in the diary: ``Today my little son aged three was sitting with me on the sofa, when a crow was sitting on the window. My Son asked me 23 times what it was, and I replied to him all 23 times that it was a Crow. I hugged him lovingly each time h e asked me the same question again and again for 23 times. I did not at all feel irritated I rather felt affection for my innocent child”. While the little child asked him 23 times “What is this?”, the Father had felt no irritation in replying to the same question all 23 times and when today the Father asked his Son the same question just 4 times, the Son felt irritated and annoyed.
So, the moral of the story make us realize that how repulsive we are not only to address their problems and even in listening to them.
So, if your parents attain old age, do not repulse them or look at them as a burden, but speak to them a gracious word; be cool, obedient, humble and kind to them. Be considerate to your parents. From today say this aloud, "I want to see my parents happy forever. They have cared for me ever since I was a little child. They have always showered their selfless love on me. They crossed all mounta
ins and valleys without seeing the storm and heat to make me a person presentable in the society today"
This would be the most admirable of all human endeavors.
P.S: Old age is humanity’s greatest invention, and on an even deeper level, it invented us. Old age transformed the way our most distant ancestors gave birth, reared their young, lived together, and fed themselves. Later it propelled the development of culture, language, and society.
- WilliamThomas .
Sachin’s mother, “Its enough now! We want independence, liberty and peace. The time is ripe to send them to their OWN place.”
Father, “Yes, you are right, I guess. Hey, I had a conversation with one of my colleagues and he gave me the address of one of the place that we were looking for. Mama and Bauji will feel like home.”
Mother, “Okay, so do it as early as possible. Sachin is also a young boy now.”
Sachin, who was till now standing near the doorsteps and listening to the conversations, entered the room, “Mom, when will you make me marry?”
Mother, in a perplexed tone, “My dear son, right now you are quite immature and small for all this stuff. But why did you ask such question?”
Sachin, “I was wondering that I too, as a part of family ritual, would have to send to your OWN PLACE, once I get married.”
It’s not just the story of Sachin’s home, it’s a common day phenomenon. Everyone chews the same gum and spit or throw it out once the sweetness departs. How ironic phenomena exist on this planet? When a seed is sown, it is cared like anything. When it grows into a plant, it is nurtured to give the fruit. But when it grows old with the gnarled branches, no leaves, no fruits, but with roots intact, nobody cares for it. People start looking down on the old and desolate tree and it is considered as an obstacle. And then, the axes perform the rest of the job…
Same thing applies to us, the humans (if I can say that). A child is nurtured with utmost care. When he grows young, he is expected to earn (fruit) for the family. But when he grows old, (as a part of ritual), the only place left for him/her on this big planet is an Old Age Home, as if it is some dumping bin which is always ready to embrace all the redundant and no longer in USE stuff.
An African proverb says, “The death of an old person is like the loss of a library.”
……….
……….
Another story that I came across while blogging was even more touching and left me bewildered about my (our) responsibilities towards elderly. The story goes like this:
An 80 year old man was sitting on the sofa in his house along with his 45 year's old highly educated son. Suddenly a crow perched on their window. The Father asked his Son, “What is this?”The Son replied “It is a crow”. After a few minutes, the Father asked his Son the 2nd time, “What is this?” The Son said “Father, I have just now told you “It's a crow”. After a little while, the old Father again asked his Son the 3rd time, “What is this?” At this time some expression of irritation was felt in the Son's tone when he said to his Father with a rebuff. “It's a crow, a crow”. A little after, the Father again asked his Son the 4th time, “What is this?”This time the Son shouted at his Father, “Why do you keep asking me the same question again and again, although I have told you so many times 'IT' S A CROW'. Are you not able to understand this?”A little later the Father went to his room and came back with an old tattered diary, which he had maintained since his Son was born. On opening a page, he asked his Son to read that page. When the son read it, the following words were written in the diary: ``Today my little son aged three was sitting with me on the sofa, when a crow was sitting on the window. My Son asked me 23 times what it was, and I replied to him all 23 times that it was a Crow. I hugged him lovingly each time h e asked me the same question again and again for 23 times. I did not at all feel irritated I rather felt affection for my innocent child”. While the little child asked him 23 times “What is this?”, the Father had felt no irritation in replying to the same question all 23 times and when today the Father asked his Son the same question just 4 times, the Son felt irritated and annoyed.
So, the moral of the story make us realize that how repulsive we are not only to address their problems and even in listening to them.
So, if your parents attain old age, do not repulse them or look at them as a burden, but speak to them a gracious word; be cool, obedient, humble and kind to them. Be considerate to your parents. From today say this aloud, "I want to see my parents happy forever. They have cared for me ever since I was a little child. They have always showered their selfless love on me. They crossed all mounta
ins and valleys without seeing the storm and heat to make me a person presentable in the society today"This would be the most admirable of all human endeavors.
P.S: Old age is humanity’s greatest invention, and on an even deeper level, it invented us. Old age transformed the way our most distant ancestors gave birth, reared their young, lived together, and fed themselves. Later it propelled the development of culture, language, and society.
- WilliamThomas .
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