He smiled with a toothless grin. His laughter seemed still
more lavish.. There was no prudence in his expression of emotions.. Sometimes
laughing to heart’s content while at still other times crying out aloud till
some attentive soul rushed to his rescue. Hunger, boredom, mirth or pain, he
had a unique call and gesture for everything.
The lady stroked his sparse hair many times. Care, concern
and love.. she showered everything through her patient hands. The insatiable
heart enjoyed it all.. and yearned for more. Slowly the lady brought up the
bowl of food to his mouth and tried nourishing a few spoonful of unpalatable
stuff. Seconds later he rejected the food. No amount of cajoling would suffice
to make him gobble all of it. He was in his own sweet world, of undivided
attention, and the company of loved ones. As the little digested remains found
its way out, the lady softly loosened the strings of his lower garment and with
the same patience and love that exuded from every pore of her, wiped his back
with a damp towel. He stirred not at anything.. everything around him was sheer
bliss.. He cared not whether he ate or not.. cared not about money and wealth..
not of his survival ahead.. neither of what people thought of him.. He was the
wisest of the lot, having known the right value of things that mattered most to
mankind. Love & attention !! and he wanted them all..
My eyes flushed spontaneously.. and I knew not what I felt…
sad or actually happy.. knew not what I was intently looking at.. The ailing old
in his death-bed or ‘The curious case of Benjamin Button’ ?!!
---I was inspired to write this piece after I witnessed a
very old patient (say aged 85) being brought in to rehabilitation centre for physiotherapy.
People around them sort of glanced doubtful eyes if it would be a case of
success going ahead. People even sometimes pointed out to his family members that
such patients should rather be taken care of at home and it might be a waste to
bring him in everyday so strenuously. I watched with awe how his loved ones
were unruffled with such comments and carried on with their enquiry with the concerned
paramedics and even eagerly followed their instructions. The old man himself
showed vigour to learn things in order to improve, believing that he would again
be able to regain his lost mobility. He shrieked at the errors of his son and
grand-children while longingly looking around for their support and voice. Such
is a case of people who are blessed with many loved ones in their family… people
who value his presence.. people for whom taking care of him isn’t really a burden.
Nevertheless the staff around took good care to see every possible help could
be extended. I later realised that for the medico staff it might have meant
just another case while for many it was a life.. life all so precious to their own young hearts
!
This piece might be seen in a different connotation, but the
message is similar. Even the oldest of the old do not shed off their hopes of a
good life till their end. So, no matter what pain it takes we should respect
their emotions and their right to live a dignified, comfortable life. Blessed
are the people who have the overarching presence of the old at home. Its up to
the hearts to decide whether to look at them from the point of degenerating gerontology
or the presence of profound experience and limitless charm at home.
