Silver Service
Harmony - Celebrate Age|February 2018

A mother’s words inspired one of Mumbai’s largest elder-care movements. Nine years on, the son, Sailesh Mishra, is powering on to fulfil his calling, writes Sahil Jaswal

Sahil Jaswal
Silver Service

Sailesh Mishra is not your average social crusader. There is no pain of missed opportunities, no regrets he is trying to make up for, no past atrocities he is attempting to recover from. Yet this 53 year-old is driven. Can compassion alone have motivated Mishra to become a noted gerontologist?

“I believe it was my mother who set me on this track. I will never forget her words, ‘Forget yourself for others and others will never forget you’,” says Mishra, who founded the Mumbai-based Silver Innings nine years ago.

Through his foundation, Mishra has been working to change the perception of ‘silver years’, from a time of ‘retirement’ to a stage when elders can pick up where they left off before the responsibilities and baggage of adulthood begin to kick in. Instead of looking at retirement as a time of winding down and vicariously reliving one’s youth through the eyes of one’s grandchildren, Mishra says it is a time to put the ‘live’ back into ‘living’.

“We, especially the middle class, are conditioned to think that there is no life beyond 60 and I used to be one of these people,” he shares. “But I have seen dreams and hope in the eyes of seniors and that tells me they are alive, and not just living. I once helped a senior citizen to procure his identity card within 60 days, when the mandated time to process the documents was 90 days. With tears in his eyes, he handed me a candy from his pocket and hugged me firmly. In that instant, the force of all his emotions hit me. Not only was it a touching moment for me, it was an eye-opener to all the emotions and love that seniors harbour.”

Bu hikaye Harmony - Celebrate Age dergisinin February 2018 sayısından alınmıştır.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

Bu hikaye Harmony - Celebrate Age dergisinin February 2018 sayısından alınmıştır.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

HARMONY - CELEBRATE AGE DERGISINDEN DAHA FAZLA HIKAYETümünü görüntüle
Wrapped In Love
Harmony - Celebrate Age

Wrapped In Love

My Dadi Meenakshi Banerji was a short and tubby woman with great gumption who raised 10 citizens of the world.

time-read
1 min  |
September 2017
Sharing Her ‘Mettle'
Harmony - Celebrate Age

Sharing Her ‘Mettle'

To me, this bell metal vaarpu, which weighs about 80 kg and is at least 120 years old, is an enduring reminder of my paternal grandmother Aleyamma Abraham.

time-read
1 min  |
September 2017
Medical Overload
Harmony - Celebrate Age

Medical Overload

Your doctor may walk the talk while writing out your prescriptions but here’s the thing: make sure he hasn’t prescribed one too many. 

time-read
2 dak  |
September 2017
An Act Of Faith
Harmony - Celebrate Age

An Act Of Faith

One act of kindness can save someone’s life.’

time-read
5 dak  |
September 2017
Armed For Business
Harmony - Celebrate Age

Armed For Business

The sheer glory and glamour of the Olive Greens motivated me, a third-generation soldier, to join the Army. Thus I enlisted, brimming with enthusiasm, in 1984.

time-read
2 dak  |
September 2017
Capture the fracture
Harmony - Celebrate Age

Capture the fracture

Fracture owing to osteoporosis can have a serious impact on a person’s health and quality of life. Dr Abhijit Y Pawar, consultant orthopaedic spine surgeon at Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital, speaks about the significance of timely intervention in preventing fractures

time-read
4 dak  |
December 2016
Friends With Benefits!
Harmony - Celebrate Age

Friends With Benefits!

Incontinence need not interfere with life.

time-read
2 dak  |
December 2017
Yellow, Yellow, Gritty Fellows!
Harmony - Celebrate Age

Yellow, Yellow, Gritty Fellows!

It was a nippy Sunday morning but nothing that would keep the rugged Delhiite away from the annual Senior Citizens’ Run supported by Harmony at the Airtel Delhi Half Marathon. Not even the mood-dampening smog that had descended on the capital a week earlier could do that! So said 74 year-old Sarla Rani and her band of regulars at the run who arrived at Nehru Stadium on the morning of 19 November even before the sun did. Soon they were joined by busloads of silvers from all over Delhi, Noida and Gurugram.

time-read
3 dak  |
December 2017
Magic By The Sea
Harmony - Celebrate Age

Magic By The Sea

From Lord Jagannath to oceanside beauty and green initiatives, Braja Sorensen uncovers the many layers of Puri.

time-read
6 dak  |
December 2017
Indian Rhapsody
Harmony - Celebrate Age

Indian Rhapsody

In a span of two decades, Roshen Dalal has attained renown for her painstakingly researched books on history and religions in India. The Puffin History of India and The Puffin History of the World, each in two volumes, have not just received critical acclaim but are bestsellers as well. Her other books include The Religions of India: A Concise Guide to Nine Major Faiths; Hinduism: An Alphabetical Guide; The Vedas: An Introduction to Hinduism’s Sacred Texts and The Compact Timeline History of the World. 

time-read
5 dak  |
December 2017