Does your dad keep accidentally adding strangers to the family WhatsApp group? Can your mum just not figure out how to make a video call? Our senior citizens are at sea when it comes to technology and many of us can’t get through the day without snapping at them more than we want to – “No, mom, Wi-Fi and hotspot are not the same!”
And then we feel guilty about it.
Parents having #Facepalm moments
Enter Mobile Pathshaala. Founded by Pinki Bhaia and Neelam Mohta, its intent is to technologically empower senior citizens who want to learn how to get smartphone-savvy. Their DIY (do it yourself) motto? “Learning has no age. One must keep learning and keep upgrading themselves.”
They really need this, to be able to feel independent
Pinki found her parents struggling with the apps on their phones. “After I taught them, I could see the happiness in their eyes. And then they started teaching their friends, showing off their new skills! That’s when I realised that older people really need this, to be able to do things on their own and feel independent.”
Pinki and Neelam, encouraged and aided by their husbands and children, quickly upgraded their own knowledge of the more popular apps and added dollops of patience and compassion to take the elders through the mysteries of the mobile phone.
Entertainment and Empowerment
For some, the Mobile Pathshaala sessions spelt confidence and pride. “Now I no longer have to be dependent on the youngsters at home; they cannot taunt me or scoff at me any more,” smiled one grandmother, flaunting her smartphone.
For others, learning also meant fun — from making cards and videos for grandchildren, to discovering the power of Photoshop and picture collages.
Pinki and Neelam started by holding demonstrations in Openhouse, the co-studying space on Shakespeare Sarani. And then the pandemic struck. But it was during the lockdown that senior citizens realised just how vital their DIY tech skills were. No longer was it simply about keeping themselves busy and surprising their grandkids.
And so Mobile Pathshaala took their classes online. The three apps they prioritised for pandemic needs were: WhatsApp, for personal as well as necessary communication, YouTube for entertainment at a time when social activities were paused, and Uber for emergency transport.
Offline to Online
Screen lessons require even more homework for Pinki and Neelam. Some 24 hours before the class commences, instructions are sent out. The links to the apps to be downloaded are shared and many phone calls are made to explain the download and login process. For class, one has to have two devices, the first via which one logs into the webinar, and a smartphone to practise on.
“I wasn’t doing much on my smartphone other than reading emails. Now I’ve discovered so much, like how to make space on my phone, which is so important,” said 68-year-old Mahesh Goenka, an insurance consultant who also refers his clients to Mobile Pathshaala.
Mobile Pathshaala has been invited for lecture demonstrations to members of Bengal Rowing Club, Calcutta Swimming Club, as well as ‘Pronam’, the initiative by Kolkata Police and The Bengal, to support senior citizens living alone in the city. “We’ve taught many working professionals how to use Zoom and other video conferencing apps as well. It was new for everyone,” said Neelam.
WICCI West Bengal Fashion Council took their help to launch a programme. “I signed up because I wanted to create an album of my granddaughter’s photos, and I ended up taking their help for a webinar I had to host. In fact, Mobile Pathshaala took over and guided us through the whole thing,” said Kumud Mitra, President, WICCI West Bengal Fashion Council.
What started with 20 friends and family in a room in 2019 has escalated to more than 75 senior citizens on a webinar. But for Pinki, the key takeaway from this journey is patience. “There are many elderly people who think they will not be able to learn. I explain to them how important a smartphone is in our lives today, from ordering food to video-calling your doctor. They just have to learn how to use it, with a little bit of patience from the teacher and the taught.”
Neelam and Pinki with eager-to-learn senior citizens at Openhouse on June 11, 2019