Hyderabad: An undated video of a 64-year-old man appealing to be released from an old age home was posted on social media three days ago. The man described the home as a jail.
Following up on the video, this correspondent visited the Sri Shiridi Sai Old Age Home at Miyapur. The narrow two-storey building accommodates 70 senior citizens in 10 rooms on the top floor and a few dormitories on the ground floor, attached to a 10-ft veranda.
Rooms for the senior citizens are mostly upstairs, overlooking the veranda.
What strikes one on entering is the fragile and sad faces of the residents. They are seated far from one another, each one lost in their own solitude. During the time we spent at the home, we observed that individuals, especially those suffering from psychological disorders, spent their entire day having zero communication with other inmates.
When greeted or spoken to, the residents had a distant look in their eyes. Some were sitting at the main gate, looking like they would love to walk outside freely. Every time someone entered the home, the inmates strained to see if it was a loved one.
A heavy silence hung around the home. There was no joy, conversation or companionship.
One of the residents this correspondent spoke to was B. V. Raghu Kumar, who said he was a respected doctor. “I want to commit suicide as I cannot bear the isolation of this place. I plead that someone do justification to my life. I beg for a better meal and the freedom of life. I want to live longer and be able to move freely and see the world," he said.
Sixty-year-old Mustan Aya said, “I get bored and sad. My family is far away and my mind is going all around. I cannot move freely without disturbing my attendant who gets annoyed when I call for help. I am deeply crushed by my life, being stuck inside this building for days on end.”
Spokesperson for the Sri Shiridi Sai Old Age Home, Venkatesh Bijjla, says the home has 70 members, of which 50 have some type of mental health issue.
“We can only provide basic necessities like food, housing and basic care. With no funding, there are no activities available for elderly persons. They often sit for long hours on the veranda or in their rooms.”
Mr Bijjla admits that the staff is not educated or trained to meet the needs of the residents.
Homes for the aged are not comfortable places, especially for senior citizens suffering from psychological illnesses, this correspondent found. A shift to nuclear households from the traditional family structures has led to an increasing number of elderly people being forced to stay in old age homes.
As this increasingly becomes the trend, homes for the elderly should be offering a better environment and services at an affordable price.
Though many call themselves ‘a home away from home’, the reality is quite different. Companionship, warmth, the feeling of being a community is often missing though these are essential for the elderly.
A visit to the Sai Baba Old Age Home at Mudfort told a similar story.
The home does not accept senior citizens with depression as it affects the other inmates, and it is not equipped to handle other kinds of psychological traumas either.
While we were talking to the manager, a scream of fear filled the air. An elderly woman began chanting the name of Sai Baba, calling in her sleep for help. Within seconds, the scream turned to tears of frustration as she tried to get up and reach the picture of Sai Baba by her bedside table.
The manager rushed to her side and tried to comfort the shaking, fearful woman.
Mounika Kumar, who works at the home, said, “We do not house senior citizens diagnosed with depression as it creates a problem. We do have a general physician who visits every day but no psychiatrist. There are activities that the seniors enjoy and the home tries to maintain a caring, loving and family oriented atmosphere.”
