'Take my joke out of here, don't take it home': Son takes daughter-in-law away, remembers family at an old age home in Ahmedabad on Diwali

"I tell my sister, if I die, get rid of me from here, don't send me home. These are the words of Lilaben, who has been away from home for 40 years alone and has been living in an old age home for the last few years. Diwali is a festival to light lamps of happiness, gifts and affection with the family. The parents who once sacrificed their desires for the happiness of their children, today they do not have the same children in old age. Amid the preparations for rangoli, diyas and sweets at home, these days are filled with more emotions and old memories than happiness for the elderly at Jeevan Sandhya Old Age Home in Ahmedabad. The 130 elders have accepted the reality and have considered this ashram as their home and each other as their family. Together they make rangoli and celebrate Diwali with enthusiasm by bursting crackers. The old age home operators make a humble effort to spread light in the lives of the elderly by making sweets every day and ensure that they do not miss their homes. But, after waiting for their children for years, these elders now desperately wish that the last journey of life should also take place from here. 'My son's daughter-in-law was dangerous, so I was expelled' Lilaben, who lives in an old age home, said, "My daughter's daughter-in-law came so dangerous that she quarreled with me and threw me out of the house. I have been living alone since then, but I got good support from everyone. She has less eyesight, hearing and she can't walk. Once she fell, she asked me to go home, so the daughter-in-law said that she would not be allowed to come here. Crying, Lilaben said, "I miss home a lot. I feel very sad, but who to tell? Who should I tell about my heart now? We are confused by remembering things in our minds and minds. He had sung a poem written on him, "A bird without wings is crippled, it is confused in the mind and mind, a bird without wings is crippled ... The bird is crippled on the path of the field, there is no companion, the bird without wings is crippled... Every moment it sighs, the edge of tears in its eyes, the bird without wings is crippled... When it falls, the world is crippling, who hears its call, a bird without wings is crippled... Someone runs its tears, the tension of its navel, a bird without wings is crippled... Someone is the one who is going to be the support, the bird without wings is growing... 'If you are not ready to keep a son, then how can you go to your daughter's house' Bhagwatiben said, "I have been living here in an old age home for 21 years. I had two sons and two daughters in the family. One of them passed away. While the other son is not ready to keep me, one daughter takes care of me and one daughter does not keep me. The son paid off all the debts and then spent one lakh rupees to get him married, so he went out with his daughter-in-law. So he has to stay in an old age home. When I was raising my son, tears came to my eyes, so even today I cry remembering. After working as a labourer for years, the son raised his daughters. The daughter calls her to her house to celebrate Diwali, but the son is not ready to keep her, so how can she go to her daughter's house to celebrate Diwali? Not a single call has come from my son to come home to celebrate Diwali. In addition, Bhagwatiben said, "Here we celebrate Diwali with all the people. Now I don't even feel like leaving a family of 150 people and going home. If I die, and if my son doesn't come to pick me up, he will be taken for the last rites from here. My son doesn't have anybody, so I don't want to go to him anymore. 'They don't let me feel that I have no one' Shobhanaben said, "I have only one daughter, I don't have a son, so after the death of my husband, I can't stay at my daughter's house, so I have to stay here. The daughter stays far away but comes when we call her. Also, all the people here take care of us very well so that we don't miss home. We celebrate Diwali in a very grand way, we make rangoli together, we burst firecrackers. In our childhood, we burst firecrackers so much that today the memories of childhood are being refreshed. Now it seems that both childhood and old age are the same. Here, everyone celebrates together, so it does not feel that I have no one. 'We keep us happier than what we didn't get at home' Dimpleben, Managing Trustee of Jeevan Sandhya, says, "At present, we have 150 people living there with 130 elders and other staff. Diwali is the biggest festival according to Hinduism. So in this festival, we make the dishes that the elders like. We also give them new clothes through donors so that they feel like family here. We also burst firecrackers that can be fun. We keep them happy by giving more than what we don't get at home. We celebrate the festival of Diwali by making rangoli and lighting lamps. Just like during Navratri, we also do garba here as we used to do garba in Diwali earlier. Since this festival is the festival of lights, we constantly strive to let more light spread in their lives.