International Day of Older Persons 2025: Mumbai’s seniors give back with purpose

Few readers would be aware that today October 1 is International Day of Older Persons Interestingly despite not being the focus of attention often many elderly persons go out of their way to lighten up their years of retirement with personal or social initiatives where they play significant roles in making their surroundings and society a better more inclusive place The Guide reached out to three such senior superstar MumbaikarsPure contentmentOne of Beena Tamsersquos poems from her collection Pics courtesyBeena TamseIt is not an everyday task to work closely with several mentallychallenged youth and children Beena Tamse does it anyway The 65yearold from Powai does a weekly visit to the Aashay Bahuudeshiy Samajik Sanstha in Badlapur and dedicates plenty of her time and effort towards caring for nearly 13 children in the spaceldquoI usually take various items along from food books and toys to educational materials and aids Along with a few others we help these youngsters with their daily activitiesrdquo she explains to us ldquoWe also organise birthday celebrations read with them and teach them These youngsters are older than they look due to their congenital growth issues they will forever stay that way so why not help them live a good life and develop them as people of this societyrdquoMembers at a birthday celebration at the community centreWhat the sexagenarian gets out of this is in her own words pure contentment Her recreational pastimes include painting and writing poetry the latter being a way of expressing the depth of her thoughts ldquoMy mantra is that we must keep spreading goodness and give back to society in some way as thatrsquos what we have come here forrdquo she signs offParticipants at a session held to spread awareness on Alzheimerrsquos Day September 21 Pics courtesySenior Citizensrsquo AssociationAll for oneThis 73yearold along with his contemporaries has proved that the elderly can be more selfsufficient than we think Major Retired Arun Shiriskar founderchairman of the Senior Citizensrsquo Association in the RTO Area of Andheri West says the organisation which currently has 228 members was founded in 2013 to gather all the senior citizens of the area creating a community for celebration mutual support and provision of resources during times of needVolunteers help seniors at a digital literacy workshopldquoWe arrange functions twice a month on various topics like health retirement finance tax savings literature festivals and special days like International Alzheimerrsquos Day on September 21 for which we held a session with a psychologist on the 24th We even celebrate all the birthdays per month as a collective celebrationrdquo he illustrates Additionally he has opened a community hall where seniors may come to read play board games and even sing karaoke ldquoItrsquos a way to prevent boredom or loneliness that elderly people often feel in this age especially as many members live alone away from their children and need connection and affectionrdquoA drive conducted at the Airport School Vile Parle for children from lowincome homes right Natasha ShrimalSmiles for childrenAppointing the mindset of the iconic Outlaw of Sherwood Forest Natasha Shrimal 62 regularly volunteers at Robin Hood Army a zero funds organisation providing welfare resources for the underprivileged Though her mobility is restricted owing to a knee surgery three years prior she remains active as a food banker for the organisation through her contributions towards underprivileged childrenMajor Retired Arun ShiriskarldquoRobin Hood Army is an important part of my life Itrsquos a very nice experience to do something for those who need support Often I contribute to these children via food clothing and any other items they require from usrdquo she informs us ldquoWe especially try serving healthy homemade food including puri sabzi fruit idlis chutney and sweets such as halwa and cakerdquoParticipants at the Anand Mela held by the Robin Hood Army Pics courtesyNatasha ShrimalShe has also participated at a drive conducted at Airport School Vile Parle East teaching children between the ages of two and 15 Further she participates in other drives such as gathering adequate drinking water for anyone needing it in the scorching sun and heat such as truck drivers and traffic police