My visit to the old age home

In this blog, I am doing something different than usual, I am not going to give you comparisons about things, but instead, I will tell you about my experience when I visited an old age home in Mumbai, and the things that I saw, and learned from my experience.

It was a sunny day right in the middle of the month of May, I was in Mumbai to visit a friend of mine, and then we decided to visit his great-grandmother in an old age home not very far from his house, we went inside, and the staff greeted us warmly and made us feel like family, it was good because it can provide warmth and comfort to the old people over there.

I went in and was surprised by the interior for the building, it had a tropical vibe to it, maybe because there were a lot of palm trees in the courtyard, they told me that some were imported from outside, and some were fake, and it also had a lot of plants in the main room, and mostly all of the room, I think it was safe to say that none of them will die because of the lack of oxygen.

It was very clean and hygienic inside the home, I was impressed, but not surprised given the reputation of the old age home, one of the best in the city, and it lived up to its reputation, I was happy to see that the people were taken care of, even if they weren’t related to me, it still gave me pleasure to see that they were happy.

I wanted to see the rest of the estate, I was curious, I asked the manager if I could take a tour of the home and talk to some people for my blog, he said that he would be happy to give me a tour, I was happy, again.

We walked around the home, it was a big place, I saw a lot of old people, drinking their evening tea and talking to each other, laughing, smiling, sharing their feelings, telling their stories to one another, it was like everybody was everybody’s friend, this place was like a safe place, where you could forget everything bad happening in the outside world, and just give a warm smile to your friends and your loved one, saying everything is okay and perfect, life if good now, it can’t get any worse, and it will get better if anything.

We walked into a room, it was very clean and had a white wall color with paintings of people juggling bowling pins and playing football, some might call it soccer, the room had a very cozy feeling and yet it gave the vibe of a holiday, it said that you are on vacation, go take a walk on the beach and watch an old movie from the ’70s. The old age home was not very far from the beach.

The bed was very soft and comfortable, it felt homely, they had neon bedsheets and the pillows were cold, I like cold pillows, they are very comfortable and give a deep sleep, at least that is what I feel, comment down if you feel any different. The manager told me that every morning while making the bed, the staff would put a little piece of chocolate on the pillow to the residents in a good and jolly mood for the day.

I remember that the manager was telling me about their checkup routines, he told me that there are small weekly checkups for things like sugar level, blood pressure, and there is one big checkup every month to make sure that everyone is safe and there is no new disease, I was happy to know that they were taken care of with such care and dedication, these old people were always at peace of mind because they knew that their health is in the right hands and that they are safe here, from diseases and viruses and also physically from any attacks or robbery, the security was high for the home.

I walked around for a few minutes with the manager, he was telling me about the daily routine and all that, after a while, I thanked him for showing me around and that I had a great time, and that now I would like to talk to some of the residents of the home, he nodded and then we shook hands, I remember thinking that he had a strong grip, it made him appear more confident, and then we went our own ways.

I sat down on a chair, it was a unique chair, it was circular and blue, it was unique because it was so soft that I felt I was being sucked into it, I felt sleepy, but it was too noisy, and I did not have a lot of time, sitting across me was an old man, I guessed that he had in his mid-60s, I looked into his eyes, those eyes were not ordinary eyes, they had a glow, a glow of wisdom, a glow of knowledge, a glow of experience, some fun and interesting stories waiting to be told, useful knowledge that was waiting to be to be passed on.

I smiled at him and said, ‘Hi’, he smiled back at me and just raised his hand and gave a tiny wave, he had a very warm and inviting smile, we didn’t say a word, I felt like I knew him since a long time, it was just the vibe he gave, it was comfy.

Finally, I decided to speak, I asked him, “Can you please tell me a little about yourself and this home, it is for my blog?”

He smiled at me and nodded, “Sure, My name is Anil, and I am 54 years old, I am from Mumbai and love living over here with all these people, they are like family, and some really are.”

“How is the food here?”, I asked.

“The food is awesome, we just panner masala today, and a lot of other things, and the breakfast is amazing.”, he replied with a sudden boost in his voice, now this guy is what I call a real foodie.

We talked some more, I asked him what was his favorite thing about this old age home, he said that he loves the library, he talked about the library fondly, as if it was his son, he told me that all the knowledge in the world can be found in books, some knowledge is obtained intentionally, and some you just find at that moment, but knowledge is found, and that’s what is important in life, you can learn and implement, you can share and teach, he told me that wisdom and knowledge are things that are so powerful that with the right use of it, you can change the world.

We talked for three more hours, it was really fun, he was telling me stories about his life, his childhood, his struggles, his marriage, his kids, and a lot more, I learned a lot from his experiences, he told me about his mistakes so that I would not make them in the future, he talked to me like I was family, we shared a few laughs, and some evening tea, he got emotional while talking about his wife’s death, I offered him my condolences and tried to comfort him, we talked again.

Talking to him was so engaging, we said our goodbyes, and I said that I would love to talk to him again, and would come to meet him in the near future if possible.

I walked around and talked to a few more people, three old men in their 80s and a woman who was 98 years old, she was very healthy for her age, and also very open and forward-minded.

That day I realized that everyone has a story, and most of the people would like to share it, but some are worth listening to and some are not, but the one’s worth listening to might teach you something important in life and could help you in the future, and some stories could change your life.

Stay home, stay safe.

Originally published at https://aanvikm25.blogspot.com on July 29, 2021.