By P. Ramesh Kumar I was like a character in a play who was not given his lines. Can there be a rehearsal when the event in question is the death of a parent? It was out of the blue one day when I had just arrived at my workplace that I got a telephone…
By Yogendra Deva In our sleepy little town, my father, an English professor in a local college, would spend hours at his rusty little typewriter weaving stories, writing letters to the editor, churning out books on critical studies on English literature for students, and much more. Despite his age, he connected effortlessly with the younger…
By Sunil Saxena Do you know which form of abuse the elderly suffer the most or who inflicts it? It is emotional abuse, and is inflicted by the immediate family if the elderly lives at home or by the health caregivers if the elderly lives in an old age home. Unfortunately, such abuse is rarely…
By Jasmit Khurana I had heard of psychotic disorders from my friends but I did not know how scary it is to experience one. Last night, I experienced one and it has left me shaken and scarred. I had come to India after eight years, and I was very excited to visit my childhood friend…
By Kunāl Majumder It’s 5:06 am on Christmas Eve. I’m here by my mother’s hospital bed, deciding on her next medication. Three days ago, I returned from an overseas trip to find that Maa hasn’t been well for days. She had to be rushed to the Emergency and then admitted due to high BP and…
By Gurpreet Chawla As a child, I lived in Delhi with my parents. My father’s elder brother and younger sister also lived in Delhi with their families. My grandparents lived in our hometown, Yamuna Nagar in Haryana with my father’s younger brother. My grandfather assisted in my Chacha’s business and would rarely come to Delhi….
Photo courtesy: Beerkopf By Anna Thomas I could not believe it when I was told that I am being assigned to the ICU. For a trainee nurse, the ICU is like the ultimate dream. The best and the most experienced nurses work in the Intensive Care Unit, the ICU as it is popularly known. I…
Dementia is an ageing person’s biggest enemy. It strikes quietly, and most of the time family caregivers are not aware of their parents’ decline. They are certainly surprised by the personality change that happens in their elders. But can’t figure out why this is happening. Most hope that the changes are only a passing phase…
By Ila Narayanan How do you deal with a father-in-law who is old, irritable, demanding and treats you like trash? Live with it? Reason it out? Wilt before his bullying? Fight it out? I have done all of these but I am none the wiser. My struggles leave me in tears at times, and in…