Let Us Reciprocate.

Let Us Reciprocate. M.V.Ruparelia.
In our First Innings, many of us were having a designation like General Manager, Engineer, Office Superintendent, Professional etc with some what defined duties and working time schedule like 9 to 5 etc and were habituated to live life like that! After retirement, some are in dilemma as to what to do without anything to do! One of the ways to come out of such dilemma is to accept our New and Universally acceptable & respectable designation of Senior Citizen given to us by the Society, Government & United Nations Organization. You are not an `Old Man`, `a Buddha` etc but you are respectable Senior Citizen and this position is accepted universally and you get respect & facilities throughout the World!
In our Second Innings of living as Senior Citizen, we are given respect, facilities, concessions etc as remuneration with an expectation that we shall serve our colleagues and other citizens by following our routine of First Innings of doing our job/duty regularly by fixing our own time schedule, may be of 1 hour, 2 hours or more, as we decide. No compulsion but you must follow your own schedule regularly for your self decided work for the benefit of your family, colleagues and society. If you do not do anything, how can you expect Government, your Federation or Association of Senior Citizens or any body else to do anything for you?
In first innings, you have taken lot of advantage of your family, being head of the family. You have taken lot of services from your spouse also. It is now your turn to reciprocate and help each member of the family in the way, you can, instead of still ordering and behaving differently & indifferently.
Society has also given you a lot. Now, you are free and having lot of time. Look around during your walks and observe. There are pot holes on the roads, roads are dug up & not restored yet, roads are dirty & not sweeped, dirty water is overflowing somewhere, some street lights are not burning in night or all are burning during broad day light, water supply is irregular etc. You can take up such & similar issues with authorities concerned for getting relief to citizens. You can teach to illiterate or to students of your pet subjects. You can give voluntary service in special drives like polio drops etc. Get engaged in some social NGOs working in your area forgetting the general preconceived idea/block that all NGOs are like this or that!! Improve their working by your sincere & straightforward working!
Our Associations of Senior Citizens have also done a lot for us & still doing. Let us join them in large number & strengthen them. To-day, out of almost 9 crores Senior Citizens in our Country, less than 2% are members of such Organizations/Associations of Senior Citizens. Out of such limited members also, hardly 10% take some part in activities of these Organizations-majority remain sleeping members! Let each educated (literate) Senior Citizen become member of such Organization. Let each existing member make at least one new member, if not every day, at least every week! Let us make our unfortunate illiterate Senior Citizens also members and make them literate also. Although, we are 9% of the population, if we see figures of voters, it will be observed that Senior Citizens form higher % of voters and on those basis, we are 15% of voters’ strength. With this strength, our organizations can get us lot of benefits, as in USA by AARP. Let us take one example of our participating! With more than 3 lakhs members affiliated to All India Senior Citizens Confederation (AISCCON), only 1500 subscribe to their Monthly Magazine, which is only costing Rs 100 p.a. Similar figures for other Magazines by other Organizations shall also indicate that we are not reciprocating to our Organizations, as we should. Let us also help our less fortunate colleagues in the ways, we can. If some one is sick or alone, go to him, talk to him, take him for a walk, to doctor, get him from bazaar, if he needs something etc.
Government has also given us, whatever it could give and still giving- not only concessions & facilities etc but also respect in the society and improving the quality of life in old age. It is our duty to cooperate & create cooperative attitude amongst citizens for various policies of the Government in power, forgetting our affiliation to any political party. In a democratic set up, it is necessary for matured citizens to respect the policies of the Government of majority. Protests, if any, have to be in peaceful manners & in democratic way and we should not form the habit of criticizing every action & every policy and indulge in protests for sake of protests. It is true that Government is not doing any special favour to us and it is their duty to look after our welfare, as done all over the World, but the spirit of giving back in return is a healthy and morally desirable practice.

Let us not take anything free from any one but give back, whatever; we can in kind by way of service! Let us reciprocate for ever thing to the extant possible.