Something that the pandemic has taught most of us is the need to adapt. When the pandemic broke out in most parts of the world no one knew how the coming days would unfold. But as the country went into a nation-wide lockdown, that ran into months, people realised that life would never be the same.
The lockdown meant different things to different people, but for some senior citizens, it opened the doors to learning new life skills. And as we celebrated World Senior Citizens Day with Unmukt’s Digital Kaleidoscope in association with Amazon Alexa, it was the skills picked up by these elders that won them some attractive prizes. The pre-event contest was a way to recognise what seniors picked up during the lockdown. Some picked up their paintbrushes while others learnt to use the latest technology.
Take for instance Shailaja Ganguly. The 70-year-old from Navi Mumbai was at her daughter’s house when the lockdown was announced at the end of March. As luck would have it, she was to spend many weeks at her daughter’s house. Being a journalist, Ganguly writes for several publications. As part of her religious mutt, she also writes and edits several publications. At her daughter’s house, she realized that she would need to learn to work on a laptop.
“I could always use a mouse but I wanted to challenge myself and learn how to type on a laptop without a mouse. Under the lockdown, it was a skill I picked up. Now there is no looking back,” says the septuagenarian. She has also produced several shows, worked as a consultant for children’s film festivals, and done voice over shows.
Arun Bhatia, an 85-year-old from Koramangala, painted a rooster under a backdrop of bright hues, that won him an Amazon Echo. Bhatia, a prolific writer, last actively painted almost six decades ago in 1956. During the lockdown, he picked up his brushes, paint, dusted his canvas and channeled his artistic side again.
“It gave me immense joy. And on a whim, I participated in the contest and won something which I don’t even know how to use,” Bhatia says. As a travel writer, Bhatia has travelled to most parts of the country and continues to write for several national dailies. Ask him what keeps him going, and he is quick to retort, “I don’t even feel tired, why should I feel retired.”
Just like Bhatia, Pramila Balasundaram too started painting when she found herself with a lot of free time and homebound due to the lockdown. “I have not trained as an artist. In fact, I have done several paintings. Wanted to depict joy, peace and hope that we should strive for under these difficult times,” says the 82-year-old, who runs an NGO in Delhi, for children with intellectual disabilities. “I thank God that at this age I can cook, write, walk around and do all these activities for kids. I feel strongly that God has guided me all these years. Watching my niece grow up with Down’s Syndrome gave me an interest to work with the disabled,” she adds. She is also the author of ‘Sunny Story’, a true story of a child at her centre.
The winners haven’t just learnt something new under the lockdown, they have inspired their peers to look at the positive aspects of the lockdown.