Life can be broadly divided into 3 phases - young age, middle age & old age - and everyone has to pass through these phases during their lifetime. People are the most vulnerable in their young age & old age, while they are at their confident best during their middle age. Nature has ensured a mechanism whereby the vulnerability of children during their young age is supported by their parents in their middle age and the vulnerability of parents during their old age is supported by their children during their middle age. This works like clockwork so that those who once cared for you when you needed it the most, tend to get care back when they need it the most. This was always the backbone of the traditional Indian family system where children either lived with their parents in the 20th century or lived close to their parents in the 21st century. Western countries didn’t follow this family system, wherein the moment children cross their teens, their parents got used to living around an empty nest. But over the past 3 decades, especially with the arrival of India on the global technology stage, we witnessed an increased emigration of children to pursue graduation or their career overseas. This meant that the well-oiled family system to support the cycle of nature in India got disrupted. Parents being parents, always put their children’s interests & future ahead of them and encouraged their children to migrate overseas. But this happened while the parents were still in their middle age and at their confidence high. Little did they know how tough it will be for themselves when they hit their old age. The entire generation of parents who encouraged their children to migrate overseas during the technology boom starting in the late 1980s are now living a lonely life back in India. While they had planned well for their children’s future, they didn’t anticipate the challenges they would face themselves during their sunset years in India. If living only with your spouse during your old age is tough, living alone post your spouse’s demise is even tougher. These are parents who have happily sent their children overseas and want to live their old age with the highest levels of self-respect & dignity. They prefer to live around their established ecosystem nurtured over the past 30-40 years. They don’t want to ask for obligations from their family or friends. And they will never want to share their apprehensions & concerns with their children, lest they would be worried. That’s how parents have always been. How does one solve for this then? The solution lies in ensuring that : a) care is provided to them professionally without them having to ask for it as a favor. b) care is provided in the comfort of their home, without having to uproot them from an ecosystem they have nurtured over a long period of time. c) care is provided across all aspects of life ranging from basic Empathy needs to beat loneliness, to ensuring constant Engagement to keep their minds active, to providing Entertainment to infuse joy, to supporting during an Emergency to prevent disaster. Children in their middle age who are settled overseas are typically in the midst of their thriving careers and ensuring the best education for their kids. Knowing that their parents would never proactively ask for such a professional intervention, perhaps it’s time for them to be proactive in offering such professional support to their parents. It is indeed payback time for them to repay the moral debt. And the good news is that such professional support is now available. All it takes now is to connect their parents with such a credible organization that truly believes in providing Care with Empathy. Author - Tushar Kamat Comments are welcome at feedback@nyaasahcare.com
