Every morning they meet around 7.30am, gathering at their favourite spot at a corner of BA-CA Park. Some come after completing their morning walk, others come only for the company. No occasion or invitation is needed for anyone to break into a song or recite a favourite poem. It is how they have stayed connected over the years. Twenty-five years, to be precise.
Salt Lake Senior Citizens’ Association, an organisation that functions as a mutual support system for the elderly, turned 25 on March 11.
Bonding mainly over a similar taste for art and culture, the members of the association number around 40 now. The conversation is always peppered with performances. Bijan Ghosh, one of the youngest members of the organization at 72, makes sure that the group stays clear of any form of negativity, thus facilitating a happy post-retirement life for the members. "We try our best to keep politics and any form of toxic gossip out of the discussion,” he says.
Immersed in nostalgia for music and art, the members spend an hour or so sitting in a circle and exploring their cultural selves that were buried till recently by the burden of the professional roles. Swati Sanyal, an octogenarian, believes that love for performing arts has kept them together. “We gather purely with the intention of cultural exchange, and we recite and sing songs deeply rooted in nostalgia,” says Sanyal, who was not only a dedicated teacher in her day but also a facilitator of music for enthusiastic learners.
The Salt Lake-based organisation has some members from the fringes of he township too. Anuradha Chaudhury, a retired professor of zoology at Lady Brabourne College, is culturally one of the most enthusiastic members and the secretary of of the organisation. “Even at 72, I never fail to join the others almost everyday of the week,” she said. She comes walking all way from Kankurgachhi.
Another member, Nandadulal Dutta, comes on Thursdays by foot from Muchibazar, in Ultadanga. Thursday traditionally draws the maximum number of participants. “When attendance started dwindling we decided to keep a day in a week special so that everyone who cannot come on other days makes an effort to come on that day,” said Dutta. In his younger days, he used to walk all the way to Jessore Road and then jog to and from the airport. “When BA-CA Park was opened to the public, we used to sit on a bamboo pole platform and chat on the way back home,” Dutta, now 81, recalls.
The silver jubilee show being inaugurated at Okakura Bhavan
He is one of the three founder-members who are still alive, the other two being association president Asoke Kumar Bhattacharya and Pabitra Sarkar. “We formed the group to focus on geriatric issues and rights. We have organised lectures open to all by eminent local residents like General Shankar Roy Chowdhury (retd), economist Amlan Datta, bureaucrat Tarun Dutt and Dr Sukumar Mukherjee. We have distributed fruits among patients at hospitals,” says Bhattacharya. They would even go on excursions with families to Bandel church or Imambara. The body was registered and affiliated to All India Senior Citizens' Confederation.
Foundation day fests
The group had been established on March 11, 1998. On the day in this jubilee year, they raised their flag (with a bird in flight as the logo) but kept the celebration pending for March 26, when the members took part in a cultural programme at Rabindra Okakura Bhavan.
The cultural extravaganza comprised of solo and group songs, music recitals, audio drama and a dance item by Pragya Sarkar, grandchild of one of the founder-members. The group songs were mostly directed by Sanyal. All three founder-members - Bhattacharya, Dutta and Sarkar - were present as well.
The chief guest at the event was Swami Atmabodhananda of Ramakrishna Vedanta Math who underlined the importance of a stress-free and happy life after retirement and put forward some points that could make life easier for the elderly.
The two-hour programme concluded with an audio drama titled Khola Hawa, written and directed by Ghosh. The play was set in a hypothetical place where the elderly characters gathered for fresh air, cultural exchange and the love of life, much like they actually do at BA-CA Park.
Daily attendance has not been the same since the pandemic. “Still you will find 12-15 members on any given day. If I do not go even for one day, I feel something is missing in life,” smiles Bhattacharya, the president, a resident of BA Block who is currently the eldest member aged 87 years.
The association is open to new members. Annual fees are Rs 300. “We do not mind even of they are a bit younger than 60,” said Ghosh.
Write to saltlake@abp.in