Lonely NRI parents get company

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Keywords: Strength, Loneliness

Pune: Parents of NRI children often have to deal with loneliness and the 'empty nest' syndrome. But a group of 400 parents from Pune have found a way to keep spirits up.

“I want my children to know what they are missing, being away from home - shrikhand, aaloo sabzi. If they come back I will feed them with my own hands,” says mother of an NRI, Kusum Patil.

Kusum’s son Ajay is settled in the US, leaving his parents behind in India and the lady feels this lovingly cooked meal is a reminder of their loneliness.

Kusum and her husband aren't alone in their solitude. They have found 400 kindred souls in Pune, helped along by the NRI Parents Organisation.

It's one of several Indian associations that provide support to parents left alone in the country, as their children go overseas.

The organisation arranges weekly programs so that the members can come together to share common interest and common thoughts.

Members meet for dinners, lectures on subjects like health management, and other such programmes which are followed by hour-long recruitment drives.

Fee is nominal, and new members are largely driven here by word of mouth.

“I am a retired scientist and my son is in America. I am convinced that the activities of this organisation are very relevant in today’s scenario. That you are very well off financially but there is less manpower. I have joined this because the activities are very suitable,” says Member, NRIPO, Dr Meera Pimplaskar.

There are more tangible expressions of help. Sadanand Ghaskadvi has just had his third surgery in three months.

Both his sons live abroad, but he doesn't miss them. His friends from the organisation drop in, making sure he forgets his pain in their company.

"What should I say? It works in connectivity people automatically assume that this person has a problem. My group leader got to know that I am here, then others got to know the idea is that I as an individual and my wife should never be alone," Member, NRIPO, Sadanand Ghaskadvi.

For their children, who live with the worry of parents ageing alone, it’s a safety net.

And for people like Kusum and her husband, it’s a more comfortable option than living out their sunset years in unfamiliar surroundings, away from home.