A heart-rending wait for their offspring

Hyderabad: For the aged in the old age homes in the city, the Mother's Day does not mean much as many were left at the homes by their children never to return and meet them. Radha, 65 (name changed on request) at Little Sisters Home for the Aged, says, "The last time my son came to meet me was on April 14, 2015 on my birthday. I have now come to terms with the reality. I do not want to blame anyone."

Like her there are scores of aged men and women in the 150-odd old age homes across the city who are alone and lonely. For many images shared on social media 'a day best person in the world' 'happy mother's day' 'I love you maa' with a lot of hastags and beautiful images of children and their mothers just do not mean a thing.

A lucky few do get to meet their kin. For instance, Margaret, 72 at the Luke Old Age Home says, "My son is in England. I could not stay there as the cold gets to me. I am happy here in Hyderabad. He does come once a year and send lots of gifts." But then all are not as lucky, a couple at an old age home say, "My wife and I have been staying here for the last three years, I'm 74 years-old and my wife is 68.

My son had got us here saying that they were going on a holiday to a hill station and it would be difficult for us to manage the climb. I don't know how long the holiday was, he never came back to get us," said Ramesh (name changed on request)

"I have gotten used to the environment, we have made friends but my wife still waits hoping he will at least come visit us with our grandchildren. I hope he at least comes when one of us dies," he says in a grief-stricken tone.

"We have over 150 old age homes in Hyderabad alone. We serve nearly 350 elders, the question that I'm mostly encounter is 'did I have my tablets?' They tend to forget if they have taken their tablets and next would be 'did my son/daughter call? When are they coming to meet me?' this is the toughest question to answer," said Sister Sweta of Little Sisters Home for the Aged.

"My son got me here. I didn't want to leave my family. I understand I can't blame him either. He was very busy and couldn't take care of me properly. He does come and visit me twice or thrice a year. I just hope he's been eating on time, he often forgets having his meals because of his work," says Rekha Monga (name changed on request)   

By MAINA MANGA