Nana-Nani Parks for Senior Citizens.

Nana-Nani Parks for Senior Citizens.
M.V.Ruparelia.

Walking is the Best Exercise and it is a must for Senior Citizens. In present day crowded localities with rickshaws, buses and private vehicles all-around, where to walk? Shri Pramod Navalkar, Maharashtra`s the then MLA and a friend and well-wisher of Senior Citizens thought of this concept of Nana-Nani Parks for Senior Citizens. With his untiring & outstanding efforts, the First Nana-Nani Park was inaugurated on 26th January, 1998 at Girgaon Chowpatty. This beautiful garden was a Home within a Home for Senior Citizens, facilitating meeting with their own age to share their joys & sorrows. It relieved Senior Citizens from urban congestion and gave them spacious space not only for walking but also to enjoy the company of other Senior Citizens for the time, they like. This proved socially, mentally and physically of therapeutic value to Senior Citizens. You will be surprised to know that this beautiful Park was created on a garbage dun on the beach of Girgaon Chowpatty. It has served dual purpose of cleaning up the area and beatifying it. In the Morning & Evening, large number of Senior Citizens is taking advantage of this beautiful natural atmosphere of the Garden with a cup of tea. They arrange many programmes in the Garden including medical camps, lectures, discourses, bhajans etc and go for picnics also. They enjoy king size life in company of each other.

This Garden has served as a Model and large number of Gardens on this pattern has come up in Mumbai at different places in all most all suburbs. This idea of separate garden for Senior Citizens has become the world wide phenomenon. Hanging Garden and Kamla Nehru Park in the vicinity of this garden are very good gardens of Mumbai worth visiting.

One more created by efforts of Shri Navalkar is Aji-Ajoba Garden at Shivaji Park in Dadar, which is also exclusively for Senior Citizens. Here also, large number of Senior Citizens takes advantage in the morning & evening. Free maintenance by Private Company with free supply of tea in the Morning & Evening and several newspapers increases the pleasure of Senior Citizens. In many of the other such named Gardens, other citizens are also allowed and some portions are earmarked for Senior Citizens.

Dada- Dadi Park in Veer Savarkar Udhyan at Borivali is worth visiting. More than 1800 Senior Citizens are the Members of the Association of Senior Citizens running under the `Pushpa-Ma-Foundation`. In addition to a big portion of the Garden exclusively for Senior Citizens, they have been given large portion of space for Office & Get Together under the bridge provided for walkers. They have been provided with T V, Computers, Newspapers, Magazines, Yoga Centre etc. They arrange debates, games, fashion shows, religious, spiritual & cultural programmes. They celebrate all festivals and take Members to Picnics, Drama, Cinema etc also at very nominal charge, major expenses being born by Foundation. Birth Day of all Members is also celebrated once in a month. Free tea & eatables are provided by Foundation. This lovely garden is a creation of popular MLA Shri Gopal Shetty and is managed by the same team of Poisure Gymkhana in Kandivali, which is also worth visiting and which is also having a corner for Senior Citizens. Two more worth visiting gardens have come up in Borivali recently, one Chhatrapati Shivaji Garden near Yogi Nagar and another at Devidas Road.

Dream Park near Evershine at Thakur Village, Kandivali is an exceptionally wonderful garden fully equipped and you will be thrilled just as you enter this Dream Park, especially in late evenings, when lights and gushing fountains are on! These gushing water fountains and coloured lights surpass the beauty of Vrindavan Gardens of Mysore & Pinjore Garden near Chandigarh! As you walk further on walking track, sweet light music will enchant you throughout. Every thing here is of international standard with exceptional features!! The time, you pass here shall be of immense delight to you and every thing here shall relieve you of all stress and fill you with exceptional joy! It is also having a corner for Senior Citizens.

In this polluted city of Mumbai, there are as many as 804 gardens, recreation grounds and play grounds spread in various suburbs and work is in progress for 2 Theme Parks at Bhandup & Mulund. There is also a thinking of providing Love Gardens for young ones.

Compared to the population of Senior Citizens and their pressing need to have space for them to meet and pass time joyfully and usefully, there is urgent need for all Municipal Corporations in the country to provide more and more Nana-Nani Parks with facilities of benches, meeting place, newspapers, periodicals, music and other facilities.