For the young at heart

Yogakshema’, an event for senior citizens organised by Rotary Club of Bangalore Cantonment, was inaugurated yesterday at Rangoli Art Center, MG Road. With the theme ‘Safety of Senior Citizens’, the two-day programme was inaugurated by environmentalist and actor Suresh Heblikar.

“Regardless of your age, you must contribute to society and do things which give you immense satisfaction,” said Suresh urging the seniors to be an active integral part of society.
The inauguration ceremony was attended by members of the Senior Citizens Club (SCC) supported by Rotary Club of Bangalore Cantonment and other senior citizens. H R Ananth, district governor Rotary 3190, and Prem Kurian, president, Rotary Club of Bangalore Cantonment, were also present on the occasion.

Then there was a panel discussion to understand the needs of senior citizens in today’s times and try and find solutions to them. Shankar Bidari, former commissioner of police, also came in to support the endeavour to make the senior citizens feel safe and secure in the city. Counselling sessions for those in distress were organised as well. The highlight of the day was the screening of Kannada film ‘Thithi’, which seemed very topical and relevant to the programme.

Dr Chinmaya, a member of the organising committee for ‘Yogakshema’, said, “The main intent behind organising the event is to see if we can take this forward and make it into a larger community project. We also have amongst us General Major Prasad, the pillar of ‘Janagraha’, a community policing project where residents participate in security issues.”

Former past president Shailendra Gupta said, “Societal changes in our country have fragmented the joint family system and ageing members need to live with dignity, respect and self-dependency. This is a wonderful platform to gauge and address their day-to-day needs.”

Dr Subhadra V A, SCC president, expressed that with children settled abroad and elsewhere, many elders have to take care of several aspects of their lives themselves and they don’t feel secure with the present environment. On Saturday, at the same venue, there will be a group team building activity with Aman Jain, an expert in experiential learning, who will conduct a session on imbibing in young minds respect for seniors.