Leaves

​LEAVES​

Daily I witness a rain of leaves

​,​

dried leaves of a Margosa tree and one tall Ashoka tree

​.​

one in my house and the other in neighbor's  garden

​,​

​on the other side of the compound wall​

The sound of leaves getting crushed under my feet

​,​

as I climb up the steps to reach the terrace

​,​

is music of a different kind

​.​

Daily sweeping does get them displaced

​ and collected​

​in​

 a huge pit made just for this purpose

If you stand on that collected heap, nay mound,

you feel as if

you are standing in the beech

and water is sweeping the sand away from under your feet

​.​

How long will this merriment last

​?​

For a couple of months, at best?

Everything is ephemeral

like the leaves that dry and die

giving way

​to ​

compost

​ -

some

​other form of life​

====

Dr P Vyasamoorthy
040-27846631 / 09490804278

Senior Citizens Travel Tips

Senior Citizens – Friendly vacation – Travel as an option

 

There are hundreds of senior citizens who are thoroughly bored and wonder how to kill time. Most pensioners have enough money and reasonably good health to enjoy. They may not know the avenues open to them to spend time usefully, enjoyably and entertain themselves. Traveling is an excellent option. Here are some tips.

 

If you are single, widowed or a divorcee - chances are high among senior citizens - there are exclusive clubs / associations for meeting their needs. For instance Anand Yatra in Pune caters to singles (middle aged and above) by engaging them in travel. Day long picnics to local spots, weekend getaways to nearby towns or weeklong sojourns are all there. The purpose is to get to know each other during such trips, get closer and perhaps even think of going for long term relationships like living together, live-in, second marriage and the like. Contact: Anand yatra DR Hemant 9552127127 / Mumbai 9820775870 hvdeo@yahoo.co.in.  Who knows, your boredom may be permanently cured!

 

There are many who may be unfortunate and suffer from loss of hearing or vision issues or mobility issues – bound to wheel chair sort of, or speech problems. Though they have the desire to be a part of travel groups and enjoy a bubbling life many tour operators would shy will shy away from them. Precisely to infuse confidence and life into such seniors, http://www.enable.com arranges travel program exclusively meant for disabled persons. Both local national international trips are arranged. I saw a video https://youtu.be/Vb-bHGzxPEM and am thoroughly impressed at the efforts they take to make enjoy like despite disabilities.

 

There are senior citizens associations and clubs that specialize in organizing travels for their members on a regular basis. Tamilnadu Senior Citizens Association TANSECA is a thirty year old association in Chennai with a membership base of 2000. Trips both national and international are routine here. They just concluded a South India tour – six days – 32 people – visiting Yelagiri, Hoganekal, Thiruchengode, Palani etc. There must be some SCA in your city to help you out.

 

IRCTC tourism organizes all kinds of tours. They are highly affordable, well planned and scheduled properly. Everything from food, local conveyance and train tickets are mentioned without ambiguity. You can make a small group and join the trips. As they are guided tours with experienced guides and IRCTC is a govt outfit chances of getting duped are nil. Variety of choice is amazing. Try and share your experiences for the benefit of others.

 

Dr P Vyasamoorthy
040-27846631 / 09490804278

Have you heard of International Council of Thirteen Indigenous Grandmothers? They are a group praying for you and me

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List of things that any SCA can do

There were 62 items in your list. Here they are in random order:

1. Take part in rallies for social betterment
2. Conducting painting & art classes
3. Publish – constitution byelaws etc
4. Publish – brochure
5. Liaise with govt / municipality
6. Celebrating achievements of members
7. Membership drive – introduce new members, cap, directory, folder, rules / regulations etc
8. Medical camp – hearing loss assessment
9. Conducting smart phone usage classes
10. Join local federation
11. Donate to old age home
12. Conduct competitions sports painting crafts collectibles stamps, music dance etc
13. Buy exchange donate books
14. Visit old age homes
15. Giving prizes gifts mementos certificates awards etc on various occasion
16. Socialization – visit members' sad occasions (funeral etc)
17. Help financially – offer scholarship
18. Visit old age homes
19. Medical camps – Diagnostic
20. Help Financially – get him a job / employ him in SCA
21. Learning related – assess members interests
22. IT related – enthuse members to donate laptop printer, internet dongle etc
23. Conducting digital payments or IT classes
24. Conducting music classes
25. Learning related – run a library
26. Regular meetings on specified dates/ days of the month
27. Learning related – form U3A or learners group
28. Socialization – get to know members
29. IT Related -- maintain a google / yahoo group
30. Celebrating festivals
31. IT related – send SMS alerts meetings greetings
32. Picnics and outings – overnight stay
33. Collect donations for events in member's homes
34. Celebrating birthdays
35. Collect unused unexpired medicines
36. Learning related – join other U3As
37. IT related -- conduct awareness classes
38. IT Related – provide a website
39. Publish – list of members
40. Celebrating national events
41. Help Financially – getting OAP
42. Publish souvenir
43. Socialization – visit buddies who are ill / bedridden
44. Donate – clothes to poor people
45. Publish – newsletter
46. Picnics and outings – local
47. Medical Camp – diabetes
48. Maintain a bulletin board
49. Conduct a jumble sale garage sale
50. Conduct seminars, conferences, workshops etc
51. Co-operate with govt / municipal authorizes
52. Donate books stationery shoes clothes to school
53. Engage members in entertainment
54. Membership drive – Add new members
55. Medical Camp – Dental
56. Conducting bajans and religious meetings / puja
57. Help Financially – Arrange loans
58. Celebrating wedding anniversaries
59. Engage members in voluntary work
60. Collect used dress material
61. Conducting computer classes
62. Learning Related – announce learning opportunities

===

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Noises

Noises

On a regular basis we hear many noises that become part of our lives. I wish to catalog noises that may be familiar to most of us on a daily basis. The specialty is that you know who produces that noise without going out to verify. All are man-made, common place events. These noises get embedded in our memory – you can re-call them without effort or get into appropriate action quickly.

Read the listing given below, as applicable to me. Which of these sounds you are not used to? Which is most annoying? Which is most welcome? Can you recognize such sounds automatically amidst other engagements and rush to respond, if necessary?  Isn’t it fun to deliberate on noises we take for granted?

1. Noise of the motor cycle of the milk supplier in the early morning around five am while he stops at my gate to deposit milk sachets in the cloth bag tied to the gate

2. The thud of Deccan Chronicle newspaper hitting the front closed doors as the paper boy throws it every morning

3. The blow of the whistle by the Garbage Collector as he approaches my house to collect kitchen waste

4. “Moggu Moggu” shouting of the street vendor on his moped while selling Rangoli powder.

5. The cart vendor yelling “Mouse” as he sells plantains

6. The frisky sound of sweeping broom as the servant sweeps in the garden.

7. Sound of beating wet clothes --washing by servant maid in veranda  

8. Sound of gate crackling when postman deposits letters; or others trying entry into my house for any reason.

9. The whirring sound of hand held printer when electricity guy prints out the bill

10. The churning sound made by Mosquito fogging machine as it crosses my house.

Ten things I like

1. Learning a tech tip or workaround in using computer or Smartphone
2. Eating fried stuff
3. Discovering something that I wrote long ago that is still useful to someone
4. Talking to an old friend over phone
5. Solving Language based puzzles
6. Being appreciated for dabbling with several self imposed responsibilities
7. When a day passes on without any tussles with my children
8. Eating sweets before going to bed
9. Helping someone by providing useful and usable information
10. Whiling away an entire day without doing anything substantial