Bengaluru Bengaluru

April 2014 Antithesis That Makes One Great Talk by Sudhanva Desai at

Hebbal Coffee Chavadi

April 2014 Dr. Venkatesh from Fortis Hospital: a talk on Cardiology.

April 2014 Pot luck organised at Mahalakshmipuram Chavadi where

Dignitarians came out with their new recipes

April 2014 Organ Donation by Members Of Good Hearted Souls

April 2014 Diabetic Information by Dr. Radha

May 2014 Enjoy dance by Seema, aerobics instructor

May 2014 “Stealth in Modern Electronic Warfare”

– Mr. PSR RAO had a wonderful talk with slide show

May 2014 Legal tips - Mr. Murthy retd. Manager SBI, wonderful legal hour at

Vijayanagar Chavadi

June 2014 Held the first Carom Tournament in the month of June at

Jayanagar Chavadi. Dignitarians participated in good numbers and

prizes were awarded to the winners.

June 2014 Talk on Satellite Technology and its application was held at

Vidyaranyapuram Chavadi.

July 2014 Maiya's a well known restaurant demonstrated their recipes at the

Jayanagar Chavadi, and they had brought all the ingredients, and

held demo of many recipes.

Aug 2014 Image building through Soft Skills (In English) by Mr. MSR Rao,

a stimulating full hour with the scientist.

Sep 2014 Fancy dress competition at Jayanagar Chavadi. Dignitarians

dressed themselves like brides and bridegrooms of different culture

and demonstrated the unity in diversity.

Sep 2014 Interesting and useful information about DD Magazine was

discussed.

Sep 2014 Talk on Mother Theresa at Vidyaranyapuram Chavadi. It seemed

Dignitarians comprehensively understood the depth of her suffering

Oct 2014 Acupressure – Talk by Dr. Balasubramanyam Reddy was organised at

Vidyaranyapuram Chavadi

Nov 2014 Kannada Rajyotsava Celebration, a wonderful state festival

celebrated and enjoyed by members.

Nov 2014 Visit to IISc by Vidyaranyapuram Chavadi – A two day seminar.

Nov 2014 Talent show of Members organised at Vijayanagar Chavadi.

Dec 2014 CSR activity by Standard Chartered Bank made Dignitarians

play games and enjoy refreshments sponsored by them.

Dec 2014 Quiz on Physics was organised by Hebbal Chavadi by

our Dignitarian Shakuntala.

Dec 2014 Anita Chandra from New Jersey U S A made herself free to educate

Dignitarians on “Maintaining Your Health” at Jayanagar Chavadi.

Dec 2014 Preventing disease as you age: a Talk

Dec 2014 Recollecting our four Years of the centre -- 4th year Anniversary

celebrated at Vidyaranyapuram Chavadi

Dec 2014 M C Rangarajan talked on “Tata’s New Car Running On Air”

– Automobile idea sharing by Members

Jan 2015 Rajeshwari from Sagar Hospital spoke about prevention of Fall and

Preventive at Jayanagar Chavadi.

Jan 2015 Story Telling-Akbar Birbal/Tenali Ramakrishna – Dignitarians went

back to their school days and recalled stories they remembered.

Feb 2015 Frontiers in Medicine at Narayana Hrudayalaya on 24th 25th of

February 2015.

Feb 2015 NU Hospital organised a mega health camp and free health check up

was done for Dignitarians.

Mar 2015 Dr. Radha Murthy of Nightingales Medical Trust gave a talk on

Active Ageing.

Mar 2015 Ali Khwaja of Banjara Academy related to seniors

at Hebbal Chavadi.

40 41

Chennai Chennai

April 2014 We ushered in the Tamil New Year with a ‘pattimandram’ – a debate

in Tamil on the topic “Science & Technology or Spiritualism – What

helps senior citizens in their Golden Years” by members of the

Kamban Kazhagam and a karaoke on yesteryear melodies.

April 2014 Dignitarian, S.V.Sekar released the 1st issue of our bilingual

Newsletter which we have been rolling out month after month since

2013. It has helped us share and discuss our projects, our

achievements, our hopes and has become a forum where our

members could express themselves in both Tamil and English.

May 2014 We started the “Summer Camp with a Difference” – where our

Dignitarians spent time with children, taught them life skills and

recreated the atmosphere of ‘summer at patti, thatha’s house’. Two

summers down and this has been a great success!

May 2014 D.F. was awarded the Rolling Shield for the Best NGO by Bahaii

Association at a grand event at Chinmaya Vidyalaya

June 2014 We celebrated the 19th Anniversary of Dignity Dialogue. We

honoured Sahitya Academy Award Winner Asoka Mitran. Danseuse

Dr. Anita Ratnam spoke on how literature and art could be a window

to one’s expression and emotions. Author Dr. Kamalie Sripal and

R.V.Rajan encouraged seniors to write, read and learn new things.

We recognised contributors to our magazine and Dr. Anita Ratnam

released Dignitarian Malathi Subramanian’s Anthology of Poems.

July 2014 We conducted a “Health and Wellness Camp” for the benefit of

senior citizens at Gallery Shree Parvathi Hall. It was a weeklong

programme where Uma, a yoga and wellness exponent from Maldives,

taught them simple yoga and relaxation techniques for 45 seniors

with music and dance. This was very well received.

Aug 2014 We celebrated the Independence Day at the office with flag hoisting

and a tour of “Known places but Unknown facts” by Raza

Narayanan, a visual tour of places where the Freedom Movement was

significant in Chennai.

Aug 2014 We also started celebrating the birthdays of our members at different

old age homes so that we double our joy and make life more

interesting for the less unfortunate. We had also collected and

donated clothes and rugs for the residents.

Sep 2014 The Free Legal Clinic which is an offshoot of DIGNITY HELPLINE

was inaugurated by Justice Bhaskaran. It was spearheaded by

Advocate Raza Narayanan. Every month ungrudgingly he helped us

deal with and advice seniors on legal entanglements. Through the

Free Legal Cell more than 150 seniors had benefitted. This initiative

brought us lot of public visibility.

Sep 2014 The Steering Committee, Helpline Committee and Events Committee

comprising of enthusiastic Dignitarians were formed .They are now

very active groups and support all activities of D.F.

Oct 2014 We conducted Suraksha Bandhan where we went to schools and

encouraged the children to tie Suraksha Bandhan bands to their

grandparents with a vow that they would never do anything to hurt

them. Painting, slogan and quiz competitions were conducted for kids

on the theme of grandparents. “Quizzing with your grandparent” was

the theme where each participating team had to have one senior and

a child. It was a beautiful evening where at the event children who

had not come with a grandparent and seniors who had come without

a child quickly bonded, formed teams and were soon guessing away!

It was conducted by The Hindu Young World Quiz Master

V.V.Ramanan, who held the audience’s attention all the time.

Oct 2014 World Elders Day was celebrated and the theme was “Anecdotal

Evidence”. We discussed the helpline cases that we had received and

the solutions to their problem. The panel comprised of former DGP,

Letika Charan, Hon’ble Justice Mathivanan, Madras High Court and

senior Journalist Ramalingam. The session was moderated by Raza

Narayanan.

Oct 12, 2014 We celebrated World Arthritis Day at GRT Convention Centre.

Starting with a good breakfast, we held games for seniors,

Dr. Arumugham spoke on “Winning Arthritis” and actor and

comedian Ramesh Khanna had the audience in splits with his

humour.

Nov 2014 We organised a 3 day tour to Courtallam – the Spa of South India in

the Western Ghats. Dhanapaul and Sasi Rekha accompanied 18

Dignitarians on a tour that came back with great memories to

cherish.

Dec 2014 To create awareness about D.F, the problems of the elderly and the

support they require we organised a “Walkathon on the Marina”.

Our Dignitarians, senior citizens, students and members of different

organisations in Chennai participated. It was a fun event starting

with yoga, warm ups, flag off by Actor Sivakumar and his ever

inspiriting talk. We ended having a scrumptious breakfast

Dec 2014 The 5th Anniversary of our Dementia Day Care Centre was

celebrated on the lawns of the Centre in Palavakkam. M.K.

Narayanan, ex-governor, West Bengal was the chief guest and

Dr. P.V. Dhananjayan, dance maestro was the special guest. We had

over 100 invitees.

42 43

Chennai

Jan 2015 We kick started the New Year with an “Appraisal and Planning

Meeting”

Jan 2015 Celebrated Republic Day at our office with flag hoisting and Kreeda

games -- which brought in their wide array of board games and toys

of yesteryears. Dignitarians enjoyed reliving their childhood days and

shared memories of playing them in their younger years.

Jan 2015 We celebrated Pongal with the traditional Pongal Panai and games

like tug of war and ‘uri adikirathu’.

Jan 2015 We organised a three day trip to Yelagiri - a hill station in the Vellore

District. Dignitarians thoroughly enjoyed the break and company.

Feb 2015 The free library for seniors was inaugurated in our office by noted

journalist and author His Highness, Shree Kumar Varma and Prof.

Aludiapillai. We now have an exclusive collection of more than 1000

books from the personal collections of avid book lovers.

Feb 2015 We started a new Tehneer Arangam centre in Anna Nagar. The first

programme was “ Vilaiyadalam Vaango” by Kreeda games

March 2015 We hosted the Healthcare event, a two day symposium on Allopathy

and Alternate Medicine. Doctors from different specialties spoke on

the latest advancements in healthcare followed by an interactive

session.

March 2015 We celebrated International Women’s Day, where we honoured

well-known author Sivasankari, Meiyammai Murugappan, Visalakshi

Ramaswamy and Dr.P.Manorama – all elderly women who continue

to inspire people with their work.

March 2015 In March we started working for the underprivileged seniors in the

slums of Saidapet and Kannagi Nagar. We work closely with the

community to find out their problems, build trust and help them.

We have conducted a free eye camp with Udhi Eye Clinic for the

elderly in both areas. 20 free cataract surgeries were done and we

sponsored glasses for 50 seniors who were prescribed the same.

Health, financial inclusion, empowerment, skills development,

introduction of Government schemes are some of the projects we are

working on. We are helping them open bank accounts and sponsoring

the health/accident insurance put forward by the Government. We are

also working to get the govt sponsored schemes they are eligible to

receive.

Mar 2015 We have started the free ration service where we supply free ration to

needy seniors who can no longer work and do not have anybody to

support them. 30 seniors have benefitted from this scheme.

July 2015 We support Health and Hygiene Project in different Old Age Homes

in Kolkata. “Sohomormi” an Old Age Home in Dhakuria benefited

this time. We conducted a General Health Camp in Sohomormi on

24th July. There was a general health check up including BP, Sugar,

ECG, Height and Weight followed by Doctor’s consultation. As a part

of the Hygiene support, we distributed Health and Hygiene products

like phenyl, lizol, handwash, soap, savlon etc to the residents.

Aug 2015 On 15th August WBHIDCO invited D.F to Senior Citizens Park

(Swapna Bhor) at New Town in Rajarhat. There was a cultural

programme organised by all Four Chai Masti centres. The programme

started with the welcome speech of the Chairman, Debashis Sen

followed by the performances of the Chai Masti Centres... The

Independence Day Special Programme was highly appreciated by

nearly 95 seniors who were present in the auditorium. It was a great

outing for the seniors on that day, as Transport facility (Pick and

Drop) was being provided by HIDCO.

Goa

Kolkata

April 2014 to Frontiers in Medicine

March 2015 A day out for Piku movie

Investor’s awareness programme

Eat right and Stay right

Investment opportunities for seniors

Usage of smart phone for seniors

Women’s day celebration

Jan 10, 2015 Regular chai masti sessions commenced

44 45

PunePune

April 4, 2014 Session on Managing Hypertension and Diabetes by Homeopathy

April 15, 2014 ECG Checkup camp by Ruby Hall Clinic, Wanawadi,

April 27, 2014 Dignity Dialogue Anniversary Event at Ruby Hall Clinic, Wanawadi

May 12, 2014 Hobby and Talent show. .

May 13, 2014 Demonstration of Yoga Techniques and Pranayam by

Natasha Menezes

July 4, 2014 Dr Sheilu Sreenivasan’s visit to DF Pune to address all members.

Members enthusiastically responded by signing up to volunteer in

committees to run the activities.

July 22, 2014 Outing to New Iskon Temple

Aug 11, 2014 Wine tasting programme.

Oct 6, 2014 Tried and Tested Ayuvedic Medicines from Haridwar,

addressed by Dr Tabib

Nov 12, 2014 World Elders Days Celebrations

Nov 14,2014 Children’s Day Celebration

Nov 18,2014 Free Medical checkup by Sanctus Healthcare

Dec 9,2014 Diabetes Management followed by free medical checkup and

physio assessment by Sanctus Healthcare

Dec 15, 2014 Christmas celebrations

Jan 2, 2015 New Year Celebrations

Jan 9, 2015 Prevention of Heart Disease by Dr. Kulkarni

Jan 16, 2015 Greriatric Health by Dr Rain

Feb 14&15 Frontiers In Medicine – two days of Talks by various

2015 physicians and therapists

Feb 20, 2015 A Bhajan Programme by Kadambari Bhajan Group

Feb 23, 2015 Session on Counseling and Mental Health issues of mentally

challenged adults-conducted by Dr Neelima Desai

Feb 24, 2015 Session on Water management....a challenge for the globe by

Crispino Lobo

Mar 9, 2015 International Women's Day-A Documentary Screening

on Gender Equality

Mar 10, 2015 Dental and General Heath check up by Apollo Dental Hospital,

Mar 13, 2015 Celebrated the Holi festival of colours.

April 2014 to 57 Govt of Maharashtra Senior Citizen’s ID cards were issued.

March 2015

April 2014 to 190 Helpline cases received at Pune Helpline, out of which 98 cases

March 2015 are active and 92 are closed after satisfactory resolution.

April 2014 to Under the Dignity Companionship project 18 members were

March 2015 provided with companionship volunteers

April 2014 to Dignity Discovery to mitigate loneliness – a quarterly trip to scenic

March 2015 sites near Pune. The trip encourages people to come together and

forge new friendships. One picnic to Iskon Temple was very popular.

April 2014 to Dignity Ration Programme: Monthly basket of basic provision to help

March 2015 10 Leprosy families.

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46 47

Loneliness

Mitigation Centres

Euphemistically referred

to as ‘Chai Masti’

Life at Chai Masti……

Life after retirement can be quite lonely as a person no longer has an active social

circle. There is no meaningful activity that one has every morning when one wakes

up and there could be a sense of loss of identity. All this leads to a deep sense of

loneliness and loss of self-image. Even if some people are lucky to live with their

children, they realise that everyone is busy with their own lives and have no time or

inclination to talk to older adults. Loneliness leads to depression which in turns

leads to many health problems.

D.F.’s Loneliness Mitigation centres are euphemistically referred to as Chai Masti

centres. These centres provide a platform for senior citizens to interact socially,

build a support network, boost their self esteem and lead an active life. The centres

run from Monday to Friday for 2 hours, usually 4 pm to 6 pm.

Loneliness Mitigation Centres have structured activities to promote:

• Social interaction and sharing with peers

• Learning new skills

• Physical and spiritual well being

• Offer a platform to display their talents and get recognition

Some of the key structured activities conducted at the Loneliness

Mitigation Centres are:

• Guided Tai Chi • Quiz

• Yoga • Games

• Bridge, Carom, Chess etc. • Old Hindi Songs/Movie Screening

• Antakshari • Talks by doctors, financial experts, Lawyers, etc.

• Birthday Celebrations • Festival Celebrations

• Group Singing • Indian Dance

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20 tsurT fo srYea

A great variety of experiences members receive including outing,

Talks, Celebrity meetings, spiritual inspirations, performances and

other active participatory events.

Around 1500 senior citizens come on a daily basis to the 18 centres

across 7 cities – mitigating loneliness and enriching lives. The Chai

Masti centres are a beehive of activity, laughter, learning, and

bonding, expanding of horizons and most importantly, of belonging.

The concept of Chai Masti is built on the sound Buddhist principles of

Kalyana Mitrata. In Buddhist writings a friend is endowed with seven

qualities, worth associating with:

1. He gives what is hard to give.

2. He does what is hard to do.

3. He endures what is hard to endure.

4. He reveals his secrets to you.

5. He keeps your secrets.

6. When misfortunes strike, he doesn’t abandon you.

7. When you’re down and out, he doesn’t look down on you

Despite the common image of the Buddhist as the ultimate solitary

wanderer, we see from the above and other verses throughout

Buddhism, the central importance of admirable friendship. Two sides

of admirable friendship are discussed:

*The first is finding and cultivating admirable friendships, as opposed

to our

ordinary, everyday friends.

*The second side is in how we, as friends, may best support one

another on the path.

Supplemented by Psychologist Eric Ericsson’s concept of Ego Integrity

as a very desirable goal to achieve in one’s senior citizen hood, this

Buddhist principle of Kalyana Mithratha has been implemented on

ground by D.F. in order to help senior citizens work towards a level of

equanimity and self respect through the daily enriching programmes.

48

MumbaiMira Road Centre

Says Elizabeth Alfred (55) Coordinator,

Mira Road

I had spent a large part of my professional

career as a nurse mostly caring for Senior

Citizens. I joined DF on 8th October, 2007

as Coordinator. The Centre serves as a

second home not only for the members but

over the years for the Co-coordinators as

well. By virtue of sharing our joy, sorrow and

happiness with the seniors, we often forget

our domestic problems. I have by now

become a part and parcel of the organisation

and its mission of service to humanity. I am

confident that in the coming years we will all

grow with expanded vision and dedication.

Says Dr Vijaya Bhatia, I remember 18th

October 2007 when Dignity Chai Masti was

inaugurated at Mira Road; I attended the

function, and joined it with a wavering mind

because 4 pm was not suitable to me. I

thought maybe I will attend it once a week.

But on 28th October my mother expired. I

was grieving badly. On 31st October I got

call from our Co-ordinator Elizabeth, that

Dignity Chai- Masti will start from 1st

November and I thought this as His divine

intervention….and started attending its

sessions. Since then I have never looked

back. Every evening at the stroke of 4 I am

at our popular joint Chai Masti. My personal

thanks to Dr. Sheilu Sreenivasan to have

come up with this concept and lighten our

lives forever! I can’t imagine life without it.

Says Jitendra Prasad Verma, I joined in

2008; my very first day was most thrilling. It

was a very great experience to meet together

with seniors from all parts of India and all

faiths-- a real life case of unity in diversity in

loving friendships. The programmes are very

interesting and varied -- from Yoga, Tai-Chi,

Aerobics, Dancing, Talks, Games & Picnics; I

also enjoy all the programmes. I particularly

love the magazine Dignity Dialogue which is

so informative and touching in covering

great lives of simple people and celebrities...

50

Chembur Centre

Darshna Thakker, Coordinator (50)

I will complete 3 years with D.F. by end of this

year. When I joined Dignity as a chai masti co

ordinator I thought I will have to be a person

who will have to continually give pep talks and

motivate the senior citizens to enjoy

senior citizens and society at large. life but I

was in for a pleasant shock. The senior citizens

of Chembur chai masti centre are fun loving,

full of energy and child like enthusiasm.

I am no longer afraid of ageing because

they have taught me to age gracefully,

while having fun.

I have become a better daughter to my

parents and am able to now truly understand

their needs. I have come to a stage where

I feel that not just Chembur centre but

entire D.F. is my extended family.

I am truly grateful to D.F. for having faith

in my work and giving me this opportunity to

do good work for

Says Dignitarian Ravikumar Vutha

Life has truly changed its course after we

have taken membership at D.F. It has

become a school for us at this age, educating

us on many aspects, giving us an

opportunity to meet new people, make

friends, celebrate various festivals,

understand different cultures, organize

several events etc. We have all been in a

cocoon of family responsibilities and career

for all these years burying our inner talent &

skills. It was D.F. which pulled us out of the

cocoon with flying colors and gave wings to

our creativity. A personality change has

taken place. I am no more a shy person.

I now love dancing, singing, having fun with

my friends and most importantly, do not shy

away from flirting with my wife in open!

I have again become a naughty teenager!

Hence, there was always this fun, crazy,

witty, unexplored side of me which got

unraveled through D.F. Kudos to Dignity!

We are really enjoying this second innings of

our life! I eagerly look forward to attend my

school nowadays!

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Powai

Kadambari Joshi (72), Coordinator

I manage the Powai centre with 100 plus

members from its inception in 2013. It is

very enriching to see people coming with

personal emotional baggages but slowly and

steadily lighting up. Ours is a very energetic

group with lots of in-house activity through

the week. Almost each month we get away

to exotic places such as Bhutan, Dubai,

Haridwar, Mt Abu, Daman to name a few.

Personally, having retired as a teacher in

Kendra Vidyalaya after 40 year stint, it

seems to me I am having a fresh crop of

second inning children one hundred of them!

Says Dignitarian Ganesh Iyer

I joined Dignity Chai Masti Powai centre

about 18 months back. It has been greatly

enriching with new friends and a great

learning experience. I have met people from

52 53

Happy Times at Chai Masti

By Dr. Jeanette Pinto

I have been a member of the D.F. for the past 5 years or more. The Chai Masti session was then

held in the basement of the ADAPT building in Chembur. We were about 25 active members

then. We had a young vivacious Coordinator named Dianne Tauro who addressed every one of

us as Aunty or Uncle, and who brought much life into the activities. This I suppose made us feel

like one big family. I enjoyed all the activities as per the schedule.

Over the years I have seen more new members join, and now our Dignity Recreation Center

seems to be bursting at its seams. The hall in the same building is a vibrant place full of energy

and life on most days of the week. On an average there are around 40 -50 active people

attending and participating in the various programmes. The activities are well balanced

providing all seniors to enjoy their recreation/ Chai masti time fruitfully and with much joy.

Some enjoy playing cards or board games, while some may even just sit and chat. There is

excellent participation at the Birthday celebration of members and at the different festival

celebrations. Some of the ladies put in much effort to revive tradition in a creative way.

What is good about Chai Masti is that there is a physical routine, as well as a social platform for

members to participate or even make new friends. There is fun, laughter and friendship galore. A

couple of interesting talks too have been arranged. The atmosphere is very enervating and the

cuppa tea and an occasional snack complete the evening. Some brain games, book/ social issue

discussions, or perhaps short local outings would be welcome. Picnics have been fun too. Our

present Coordinator Darshna is a lady who has a pleasant nature and is encouraging and

motivating in her approach. She sees to it that all are having a good time, and also actively

involves and participates in the various activities.

Personally I enjoy most sessions and would not miss an opportunity to be present at the Chai

Masti every day. I have learnt Tai Chi, which I had no knowledge of. The Aerobics and the Yoga

sessions provide me with the necessary physical exercise. I also enjoy the birthday bashes with

the fun games and the camaraderie. From the social angle D.F. has provided me with the

opportunity to appreciate the gift of life and friendship of the elderly. More power to Dignity

Chai Masti- Chembur!

20 tsurT fo srY ae

varied backgrounds. Coming from the world

of technology I enjoy sharing my knowledge

and skill to co-members. I am amazed at the

level of grasping and enthusiasm from people

ranging from 60 to 90 years! Today we have

one of the most active WhatsApp groups

with over 200 messages daily. With this new

group I have traveled far and wide to

Bhutan, Dubai, North India, Daman,

Lonawala etc. Every day at 5pm it is pure

excitement to walk into our centre and greet

all. I strongly recommend seniors to join

DF.CM.

Says Dignitarians Amita Mehta

I joined the CM Powai right at the start.

From a lonely status, now I am full of friends

from all walks of life. My granddaughter is

actually jealous of me as my WhatsApp does

not stop ringing. She says ‘Granny’ you have

so many friends!!!” Really the Powai centre

has brought a big change in my life and I

look forward to going to the centre each

evening, to the extent that I won the ‘Most

Regular’ award in the recently concluded 2nd

Anniversary Party of Powai centre. Besides

the fun there are also various discounts one

gets from Medical stores, Restaurants to

beauty parlours !!!

Navi Mumbai

Nandkumar Patil (57), Coordinator

This September I completed 8 months of my

association with D.F. With my earlier

corporate background it was entirely different

field for me even though I always wanted to do

my little bit for society. Co-ordinator

assignment came at just the right time for me

to offer services to Senior Citizens at the

Loneliness Mitigation Centre. This unique

experience has brought out my hidden

capabilities of having a good communication,

leadership skills, organising sessions and

simultaneously exercise lot of patience. The

interaction with Senior Citizens sharing of a

lot of experiences has given me an opportunity

to learn and enjoy the collective activities of

fun, fitness and recreation.

Says Dignitarians Gautam Goswami

and Rumjhum Goswami

My wife and I joined DF in March 2015.

I must say we have come to the right place

which we very much needed. This is the place

where we can share and exchange our

views, thoughts, and opinions, discuss

issues, new developments with our

intimate, open minded friends. Their

enthusiasm and the activities inspired us a

great deal to think and be energetic to do

more towards society. The activities like

Yoga, Tai Chi, Zumba, Aerobics, singing,

dancing, telling jokes, recitation and such

like keeps us physically as well as mentally

fit. We are also celebrating everyone's

birthday on a month wise basis to feel

good belonging to a group. The most

important aspect of joining here is its

contribution to make us realise that

“even” being a senior person like ourselves

we have our own importance and are

given guidance as well as all the support

that are needed which will ultimately

result in being beneficial to our country.

Says Dignitarian Kiran Bhalla

Vashi Dignity Centre has grown from a

mere four members to 35 in a short span

of few months. We are lucky to have a

beautiful centre at New Bombay Bengali

Association. We meet for different

sessions like yoga, Zumba and Tai Chi in

addition to lectures on nutrition,

physiotherapy, Bhagwad Geeta. We had a

story telling session which was interesting

and unique. Our centre donated old

clothes to an adivasi village nearby.

We recently visited Dignity Lifestyle and a

house-visit to one of the members who

turned 80. All this have brought us

together and we look forward to making

more such visits. We sing, dance share jokes

during birthdays and this brings us closer to

one another and keeps us happy. I have

made a lot of friends and reunited with a lot

of my old friends. ‘Chai Masti’ friends have

enriched me and I look forward to having

our weekly meetings to plan for daily

programmes. Now we are gearing up for our

presentation on

1st October, 2015.

Grant Road Centre

Samata Kalra – Coordinator (55), Grand

Centre, Mumbai

This November it will be exactly four years

of my association with D.F. I'm at a stage

now that I am ready to convince each and

every senior citizen I pass by on the road to

become a member of D.F. and to be able to

enjoy all that it has to offer and experience

the 360° change in their lives.

I have always had a passion for senior

citizens and doing my duties as a

coordinator has been a positive outlet for

the same. Not having any idea of all that my

work would involve, I was unprepared for

the changes that have come into my

members and my own life. The biggest

advantage is the totally unconditional love

and respect from almost all of them.

I continue to be amazed at their zest for life

and untiring efforts to go on and on even if

sometimes it becomes a little difficult to do

so physically. They love picnics, parties and

joyously relive their childhood at birthday

celebrations. It is immensely satisfying to

see them bloom under appropriate guidance

and I've seen innumerable success stories

that continue to inspire me every single day.

Working with them has honed my

conversational, organisational and

leadership qualities. Interacting with them

on a daily basis has taught me to be 5Ps -

Precise, Practical, Patient, Progressive and

persevering in all that I do.

Says Dignitarian Meenakshi Kapadia

My sister and I joined D.F. in the year 2004.

Since then we have made many friends here. We

all go together for movies, to restaurants and

also jointly celebrate each other's birthdays. By

joining ‘Chai Masti’ centre I have gained a lot of

confidence and lost all my stage fright by

participating in all activities. All the programmes

conducted here are very useful especially Tai

Chi, Yoga, Aerobics and other exercises.

Although I live far from the Centre, I come here

regularly as it gives me an opportunity to spend

my time fruitfully and happily. I have not used

the discount booklet as the places mentioned

are quite far from my residence.

Dinshaw Mehta

My wife and I are a part of D.F. since the year

2010. We like coming to ‘Chai Masti’ centre

so we can participate in all the activities

conducted here. My favourite activities are

Yoga and Tai Chi. I also like meeting and

communicating with new people and sharing

experiences with each other. I have been

unable to use the discount booklet up till now.

54 55

Versova

Ishrat Nazirkumar(74) Coordinator

Just as I was getting a little anxious about

having to live a lonely, almost directionless life,

a Good Samaritan introduced me to the

organisation called Dignity Foundation.

I was so taken up by its goals and objectives

that I wasted no time in seeking membership

its in 2010.

Within 5 months I was asked to accept the

responsibility of being the coordinator of the

Versova branch. It has been almost five years

now and I have enjoyed every moment of it

thoroughly. I have learnt that there is no better

health therapy than having a mind that is

fruitfully occupied. When that occupation is

contributing towards the welfare of fellow

beings, even in a small measure, the result is

not really just good health but also sublime

happiness.

This appealing occupation has resulted in my

taking a kind of u-turn on the road of life.

I feel much younger and rejuvenated. This is

not just true in my case, but in the case of all

of us who meet and participate in a variety of

activities offered by D.F. This is very apparent

to all when one sees the cheerful, glowing

countenance of the members.

Loneliness, which is the bane of most lives at

this stage, has been given a go-bye here. We

have struck new and lasting friendships with

people who understand our needs at this stage.

I have learnt that biological age is not of much

importance; it is the mental or psychological

age that really counts. Dignity has given me

that understanding; that invaluable gift. Our

chief objective or motto could be interpreted

as: “Sarve Bhavantu Sukhinah: Sarve Santu

NiraamayaahSarve Bhadraanni Pashyantu Maa

Kashchit-Dukha-Bhaagbhavet.”

Let all be happy; Let all be healthy; Let all be

safe; Let no one ever suffer from sorrow

My little endeavour towards that objective in

turn keeps me happy, healthy, safe and ever

cheerful. Thank you, Dignity for gifting dignity

to our lives.

Says Dignitrian Nayeem Khan

In August 2015, I have completed one year as

member in Versova centre. On reflection of the

past one year, I can say that this centre has

added mirth and masti in my life. After

retirement there is a gradual reduction in

contacts with old friends. The Dignity Chai

Masti Centre offered me a great platform to have

new friends on a regular basis. The programmes

from Monday to Friday between 4:00 pm to

6:00 include a variety of games, songs, yoga and

discussions on topics of interest, lectures by

experts. The members can participate as per

their choice, interests and convenience. It is an

enriching experience with knowledge addition.

Our Coordinator Ishrat Kumar is adept at

organising the members and programmes deftly.

In the childhood days, we played in the evenings

with friends for physical development. In this

second childhood, we play with new friends for a

healthy mind and a healthier body. This social

get-together platform keeps the seniors

entertained and healthy. They also organise

picnics. In today’s fast paced life, where other

members of the nuclear families have no time

for senior citizens or where some have lost their

life- partners, the Centre has a lot to offer to

alleviate the loneliness and make life happier

and healthier. Surely, the D. F. Chai-Masti

Centres are a boon for the health and happiness

of Senior Citizens. I suggest that there should

be at least two such inter-centre get-togethers

organised in a year. This will enhance better

interaction between members of all Dignity Chai

Masti Centres in Mumbai.

Thane

Shubha Kamrishi (34) Coordinator

It almost 32 Months since I joined. The

experience is very enriching; I have seen a

different side of life here. People say life comes

to an end after retirement but I have

experienced that life starts after retirement.

Thanks to DF for providing me this

opportunity.

Working with Senior citizens is very rich

experience, you can learn lot about life from

them, at this age, the kind of enthusiasm they

bring peps up our own energy and equip us

with an understanding to resolve problem easily.

To start with, I found it a little difficult to

match up with senior citizens thought processes

and to understand them well, but thanks to the

Team they have helped me learn things fast ,

and now we all work as one big family where

we have our own roles to play but all to enjoy

to its fullest. Qualities which I have learnt to

practice here are patience, time management,

communication, dealing with issues related to

human psychology, and all these have helped in

making me as a better and confident person.

Says Dignitarian Raja Ram Swadi

I am now more proud as Dignitarian then as

senior citizen because of following:

• I Understand now philosophy as good as

technology and realise both are important

in life, thanks to Bhagwad Gita sessions

• If it is good to do Outing once a while but

daily body stretching exercises is a must,

thanks to Outing and Yoga sessions

• Nobody is small or big, rich or poor, black

or white, when individual is progressing in life.

• Only aim is to enjoy life gracefully while

ageing, thanks to different games like

Bridge, Antakshari, Dumb Charade and Chess.

• Speaking frankly is good relief for stress

bursting thanks to group sessions all the time.

On the whole, D.F. converted my retired,

bored, old age life to an enjoyable and

dignified graceful life. Thanks to D.F and

Thane Chi Masti Centre.

Says Dignitarian Swadesh Marwah

I had a very busy and fruitful life in the bank

but after retirement I suddenly found myself

very lonely, dull and nothing to look forward

to. It was God’s grace that I was advised and

persuaded by my friend to join D.F. Chai

Masti at Thane. It was one of the best

happenings in the later part of my life. The

Dignity forum has given me the much needed

confidence and chance to express myself,

revive my hobbies such as reading,

embroidery, cooking and to have a good

discussions on current topics of the day. Now

I am happy, more cheerful and enjoy life to

the fullest and in the way I love. Hence I look

forward to more new activities and event for

the senior citizens in the years to come. I

thank God for making a great part of this

beautiful organisation: D.F.

56 57

20 tsurT fo srY ae

Exactly one year ago, I took charge of the newly formed

Kalyani Nagar centre. Since then,

my life has changed for better in ways I never imagined.

My husband and I moved from Mumbai to Pune, and I did

not have a friend’s circle of my own in this city. I was feeling

depressed sitting at home -- wanting to find what and how I

can use my time and energy. As a boon, and by chance, I met

Dr. Sheilu Sreenivasan, and she trusted me and handed over

the responsibility of starting a new centre in Pune.

In the process of starting this new centre, and organising different programmes for Chai Masti,

I met so many people from all walks of life, that I had no time to think or worry about

utilising my time for a cause! All the people I met, they have enriched my life in many ways.

The guests at Chai Masti, the members of DF - all have given so much love to me that I do not

miss my children anymore!

Now our Chai Masti centre has become like a family. In this one year, we have spent so many

great moments together that now we can't imagine our lives without one another.

We understand the needs, emotions and feelings for each other. Feel more close to Dignity

friends, with whom we can share all our feelings! Each one wants to do something or the other

for our group, and it's such a good feeling. It’s very hard to make so many friends in a new

city, especially at this age, but thanks to D.F, I found my happiness. We, all the members of

Kalyani Nagar, have vowed to be together and for each other till the end!

PuneVaishali Desai,

Hon. Coordinator, Kalyani Nagar

Madhvi Mehta - Social Worker and

Coordinator of Chai Masti centres

It’s a point of great pride for me that within

a year, we have garnered more than 100

members. Physically we reached out to more

than 2000 individuals; 500 persons had

attended our different programmes; more

than 50 individuals had been counseled

through our Helpline support. From day one

Ahmedabad Chapter had started to take steps

in the direction of collecting funds to become

self reliant. My vision for the future is to open

5 centres in areas such as Paldi, Ranip/ Vadaj,

Maninagar, Navrangpura, Bopal.

Says Dignitarian Shrilkeha Bhatt

I am a very active member of our satellite

Chai Masti Centre ever since I became a

member in April 2015. I am happy to say that

I have never missed a single day. People say I

am very good as a mimicry artist and I always

try to entertain members with her own life

experiences. I love to get involved in all the

Ahmedabad organised programmes with the day full of

fun. For the two hours at the Centre, we all

forget our home too. The Centre has been so

closely bonded and people are attached to

each other like a family. The only tension I

have is how to spend Saturdays and Sundays

and pass the weekend without my friends

since Centre works only 5 days a week.

Says Dignitarian Bhadresh Vora

I have been coming to the satellite Chai Masti

Centre from day one (Dec 8th onwards) and

I have not missed any session till date.

My friends at the centre tell me that I am a

very good singer as well as a good Tabla player.

After my voluntary retirement from SBI I was

in search of such a group, and it’s my good

fortune I found D.F. After my wife's sudden

death I had become very lonely and sad, but

once I joined the ‘Chai Masti’ Centre I have

been able to accept her loss, and become

positive in life again. I have kept myself busy

with all the interesting lectures and

programmes. I enjoy Fridays’ programmes the

most. Now I have made so many new friends

who always care for me and make my life

worth enjoying once again.

Dr. K. S. Purohit, Gastroenterologist and

speaker at 'Frontiers in Medicine', held in

February 2015, says: I like the word DIGNITY,

it is an excellent expression of what senior

citizens are; the word gives value to a person's

character. Seniors are most valuable and are

pillars of society as they can guide the younger

generation for positive achievement. D.F. is

doing an excellent service to the society.

58 59

20 tsurT fo srY ae

Key note by Chief Guest-Ms Vinita DeshmukhNational Anthem by Mr V Sundaram

Chennai Goa

Dhanapaul Arumgham, Coordinator of

all ‘Tehneer Arangam’ in Chennai

By organising a variety of Tehneer Arangam

programmes, I have had the opportunity to

network with many resource persons and feel

proud and happy to have been instrumental

in sharing their experience with Dignitarians.

I feel happy that we have had lot of coverage

from the media about the events at our

Tehneer Arangam centres which in turn have

helped us in our membership drive. We have

been sending our Tehneer Arangam schedules

to members who have not renewed, who after

seeing our interesting programmes have

renewed their membership. Dignitarians call

to ask for our programme schedule if they

have missed out on it.

One of the recent innovative programmes is

the introduction of special interest clubs

and the involvement of members which has

taken them to a new level. We now screen

movies at our centre on a big projector

screen and Dignitarians enjoy it with tea

and snacks.

Dignitarian Experience

I was Vice President in a big private firm.

After retirement, I was lost for things to do.

I came to know about D.F. and visited their

office and started frequenting their Tehneer

Arangam at Teynampet. I have made very

good friends, learnt bridge and now share

great evenings with my peer group. Certain

programmes conducted by Dignity like the

healthcare event were useful.

G.R. Sunderamoorthy

I have been a member of Dignity for the

past seven years. I like all the activities of

Dignity especially tours that have been

organized for us and the special events like

the healthcare event and literary event. I

enjoyed acting in the drama and enjoy

meeting people of my age group and look

forward to all the future events. The

company and support is such a blessing in

this age! Amutha Raghavan

I still remember the time when we started our 1st

chai masti at Goa and the members had just

enrolled for the reason that they were single and

lonely with no one to look after them. Their main

concern was ‘what if any medical emergency

would come and who is going call the ambulance

for us?’ This is what they shared with me and I

could see the pain in their depressed sad eyes

with no self confidence.

But when I look at them now, I really feel proud.

I can see confidence twinkle in their eyes, they

are no more worried aboutloneliness, they have

made many friends, and I have seen a total

change as attested to in their dressing, which is

smart and cheerful. Our members get to bring

friends for sampling a few sessions, and sure

enough the next day I get a call from them about

wanting to join D.F.

I know each and every member personally now

and feel happy to see how they have changed and

I see them living their life to the fullest. This

I feel is my gain and satisfaction.

Says Dignitarian Elizabeth Rodrigues

I complete 7 months of my membership with D.F.

I remember the day I was invited for ‘Frontiers in

Medicine programme’ hosted by Dignity. That’s

when I first got associated with Dignity and the

‘Chai Masti’. I always look forward to joining the

next ‘Chai Masti’. I like the simplicity of the

members and I like to meet them, hear

memorable moments of their life and share mine.

I always use to think that I have a problem in

dealing with old age, but when I met the ‘chai

masti’ group, I could see that everyone has their

own problem but were still living life to the

fullest. I too developed the positive attitude, zest

for life. I learnt how to stay fit and not to ever

worry about old age. Now I know old age is just

a number. Members of our Chai Masti group

have developed a mutually supportive mind set,

and we would like to share this with other

chapter members.

Ajith Gupchup

My father expired in Dec 2000 and this came as a

great shock to all of us. Mother never really got

over it. She would brood throughout the day and

pour her heart out to anybody who would come to

visit her. After a while people stopped coming to

our house and the relatives too would rarely call.

Four years had passed and she had come to stay

with me in Mumbai. She had become a very

lonely woman and had almost forgotten to smile.

Nothing would make her happy and we at home

were just not able to make her comfortable. At this

point in time I remembered having attended a talk

on the D.F. I called up the organisation helpline

and explained the situation. In two days time we

had two counsellors visiting us. They sat for a

good hour and half and promised to come again

the following week. Their visits helped and Mom

became a little cheerful. I was really impressed.

I stopped working at the age of 65 and around

July 2014 I joined the Goa chapter of the D.F.…

I ached to give something back to the society. The

good deed done by the D.F. at Mumbai had

motivated me. What I like about the ‘Chai Masti’

is that we can be ourselves! There is nothing to

gain or lose so the need to impress anyone is not

there, so automatically you have no mask to

wear. The most important thing I’ve learnt is that

there is no one in this world without problems!

60 61Courtallam Trip Pongal

Preethi Pereira, Social Worker

and Co-ordinator

DIGNITY HELPLINE

How Many Older Adults Did Helpline Help?

During the 12 months Helpline Counselors answered 8,943 calls from Older Adults asking

directly for help, advice and protection. About 290 of these used our crisis counseling one-to-

one, including email counseling services, personal visits to the home of the clients, and

thousands received trusted information on the website's several sections and queries

responded to. The good news in Helpline services is that the new segments of below-the-

poverty level elders also were enabled to access due to the monthly workshops organised from

March onwards. .

CASE 1:Non receipt of Voters ID card and name

missing from Voters’ list problem

The client (woman -- 62.) called to register

her complaint that she had not received her

voter’s card though she submitted the required

Form 6 at her constituency in Pune District

well in time. She was not allowed to vote even

though she had her old voters ID issued from

her old constituency, where she stayed

previously. She had approached practically

everyone who was election authorities,

including her friends but none could help.

Finally, she approached our Helpline. The

Dignity Helpline volunteer went online to the

Maharashtra Chief Election Officer’s website

and searched. The search was successful and

the information about the Client’s voter ID

card was displayed online including

Constituency, Voting Centre, the client’s serial

number in the voting list and most important

the Voter’s ID number.

Since the client had additionally complained

that she had not received her Voter ID card, DF

phoned up the Election helpline and obtained

the information that the Client

could collect her Voter’s Card from the local

Talathi’s office, which too was passed onto her.

Day 1 to Day 14: Client had to make couple of

visits to the Talathi’s and other offices before

they could locate her Voter’s Card and she got

it finally. She thanked DF profusely.

CASE 2:Needed reference of Doctor to treat

Dementia patient

The client’s (Male 86 years) daughter called to

get the reference of a doctor to treat her father

who was a Dementia patient. Of late he was

not sleeping and just sits for most of the time.

The caregivers were finding it difficult to

manage. She was seeking a Doctor, who could

treat her father and resolve the problem.

PuneWe connected them to an MD (Psychiatry),

from their panel and enquired if he could

treat the patient. After receiving his

confirmation, we passed on the Doctor’s

contact details and address to the Client’s

daughter. The daughter said that her father

responded well to the medication and he slept

well for 2 or 3 days. However, oversleeping

became a problem and after a number of

difficulties in treatment lasting several days,

the patient finally settled down with regular

sleep and medication routine after doctor’s

intervention. The Client’s family was

appreciative of the efforts taken by DF to find

solutions to a complicated situation arising

out of doctor’s unavailability.

CASE 3: Psychological support to overcome

loneliness

The client’s (Male. 74 years) called on Pune

helpline and narrated his feeling about DF &

also talked about the phase which he has

going through. He explained about his

loneliness and related issues. He was totally

depressed when he first time called on the

helpline. He is staying as PG (paying guest)

close to our office. Due to loneliness he has

no desire to live. We took him into our chai

masti sessions daily, giving him a chaperon

support to come and go.

We counseled him about mingling with other

members which will help him to come out of

the negative feelings. Almost for one week he

attended CM activities and we could see the

difference in his health. One of DF helpline

volunteer helped him to seek treatment for

his physical and mental health issues. His

health improved gradually. He started to visit

DF every day and participate in all activities.

He is happy and has found friends at DF.

Many of our regular members are supporting

him to get engaged with activities and

discussions.

62 63

Dhanapaul Arumgham, Social Worker

Thilagavathy and husband (60 and 65) from

Vellore approached us with the problem of

sons; working in the Army is not looking after

them. Social Worker helped the client to send

a petition to the higher ups in the Army. The

latter responded favourably and apportioned

4000/ per month out of the son’s salary to be

sent to them directly for their monthly

maintenance. The clients were very happy.

Case2 Devika (62) from Valasaravakkam called our

helpline. Paul Vannan was her son and

Samira, her daughter. Paul got married and

settled in Hyderabad. Samira was not married,

working in a company. Samira got into a love

affair, strongly resented by mother. Due to this

frequent quarrels were taking place. I decided

counseling would benefit both of them.

Accordingly advised both and few session’s

situation improved tremendously.

Case 3Balan from Mogapour called and shared about

his problem. He underwent treatment at

Ramachandra Hospital for his dental problem.

They wrongly removed his good teeth instead

of the affected ones. Regarding this he wanted

a complaints letter against concerned doctor.

Our Legal counsel helped him draft a letter to

the management of Ramachandra Hospital.

Balan gave the letter to Dr. S. Elangkumaran

after which the management called him and

gave a free treatment to the affected tooth.

Unresolved casesJaya, 60 years, a widow from Adayar

approached us. Her son died six months ago

by committing suicide. She has two

grandsons and her daughter-in- law Rani is a

teacher. As Jaya realised that her daughter-in-

law is having an extra marital relationship,

Chennai

Bengaluru

and felt threatened, and feared that

ultimately her grandsons would be neglected.

She wanted to take away the grandsons,

against the wishes of her daughter-in-law.

Jaya came to our office and met our

Advocate. Our Advocate advised that as per

law, mother is the natural guardian for both

the minor sons and hence law did not permit

the grandmother to take the children. The

case was explained to Jaya, and asked to

reconcile with reality. Nothing much could be

done.

Alagesan (72) living in Porur approached us.

He served as a civilian in Defence for some

8 years. Due to eye sight problem, he took

leave and came to Chennai. After that he did

not report back for duty. He wanted to know

whether he can get pension from the Army.

WE made enquiries and found out that the

person should serve for a minimum period of

10 years and hence Alagesan is not eligible

for the same. Alagesan then wanted to apply

for mercy petition to the President of India.

There hangs the case.

Sandhya S.N

An elder of 80 years came to our office at 6pm

one day saying his son who is mentally

challenged for the past 40 years, and is

missing, and does not know how to go about

finding him. We arranged for Police

intervention and in 24 hours reunited the

family.

In our Vijayanagar Chavadi Coordinator Suma

consoled a 70 years lady who was suffering

from family abuse to live on her own with her

son’s help for her routine maintenance. Now

the lady says that this could not have

happened if not our intervention.

MumbaiBhavana Kapadia, Social Worker

Gangutai Shelar (67) was physically healthy

with severe hearing impairment. She is

resident of a slum in Gotalia village, at

Chembur. She is a widow with two sons and

two daughters, all married. Both the

daughters and one son are settled. She stays

with her younger son in a small hut built in

the midst of the vegetable market. Her son is

married and has six daughters and one son.

He is a rickshaw driver, daily wage earning of

Rs.150. He is an alcoholic with problems of

paranoia.

Gangutai was referred to D.F by the Chembur

Police station. She had bruises on her hands

and face when she came to register her

complaints. Her major complaints were

physical and verbal abuse by her daughter in

law. Due to her hearing impairment it was

extremely difficult to communicate with her.

She was not able to give even her correct

address. She wanted her son and his family

to vacate the home and be allowed to live in

peace.

I made a home visit to assess the situation. It

surfaced actually it was our own client who

was the abuser, and ill treated her daughter in

law, whose famished and dilapidated health

condition bore testimony to the abuse. All

the seven kids resembled their mother in

terms of health. She had developed mental

illness. I also found the son needed de-

addiction treatment and got him admitted at

a Govt hospital nearby. Series of counseling

sessions were done with the client and her

daughter in law. After the counseling sessions

the intensity and frequency of quarrels

reduced between the two.

Client was explained that she should allow

her son and his family to live in her hut. Her

daughter in law was counseled against

abusing her mother in law. Treatment

processes revealed the son was getting better.

Soon the entire family situation improved.

Daughter in law suddenly experienced positive

change in her mother in law’s behaviour and

peace soon settled in after her husband’s

treatment. These changes had reduced the

daughter in law’s possession episodes

Daughter in law wants to admit her girls to

Ashram school for further studies. We are

waiting for vacancy.

AhmedabadYogendrabhai (84) had retired as a Post

Master. He has a son and five daughters. He

had left his wife 20 years ago, who now stays

with his son. He shifted to Ahmedabad about

2 years ago. He has his own house in Jivaraj

Park area, which is illegally possessed by his

divorced daughter. She has filed case against

her father about ownership of the house. The

case is running in Mirazapur court for the past

2 years. With no relief, he claims that

presently he stays on the road.

We had a meeting with the advocate, who had

wanted more details which our Volunteer

Desai fetched for us; but due to client not

revealing all the facts but hiding the same, and

on account of the fact that he was actually

staying with his sister and not on the road,

this was a bad case and the client also refused

to cooperate with advice. We could not do

much with the case despite our trying to find

facts from a variety of sources.

Dharmishta Bhatt (61).The Chairman and

Secretary of her housing society was harassing

her by stopping her water supply for more

than 11 months, they forced her to do repairs

to her bathroom and the drainage line for

more than five times. She needed police

support, so we were advised to approach the

Mahila Police who promptly spoke with the

society members. The problem remains solved.

Dharmishta Bhatt became member of D.F and

enjoys daily sessions at the Chai Masti centre.

64 65

Ration Supplies and

Knowledge Workshops

for BPL Elderly

(below the poverty level)

Ration Supplies

From 2002 this project has been in vogue.

The credit goes to Neha Shah, then Social

Worker, for taking the initiative to start this

project. Refinement through the years has

seen a near-perfect, hassle free distribution of

rations to poor people.

Localbanya.com, a premier online

convenience store, joined hands with D.F. in

delivering rations. As part of this

partnership, Localbanya has taken on the

responsibility of helping the Foundation with

our procurement needs and providing the

necessary logistics support to arrange

deliveries in a timely fashion.

D.F. provides Localbanya with a list of

grocery items required to run our programme

on a monthly basis which is then in turn

sourced and delivered to the poor at their

doorstep. We pay a subsidised rate for the

various items while Localbanya picks up the

cost of delivery. Every month over 120 senior

citizens are benefited across Mumbai.

Commenting on this initiative by

Localbanya, Rashi Choudhary, Co-Founder

said, “The basis of the partnership is the

belief of both the organisations that our

elders should not have to struggle for basic

needs and have a right to healthy living.

We are very happy to associate ourselves

with D.F. and help them in our way to make

a difference in the lives of elderly who are

struggling to make ends meet. In future,

we would also like to extend this initiative to

other cities like Delhi, Pune and Hyderabad

where we have a presence.” She further adds,

“Apart from helping the senior citizens

through the NGO, we have the noticed a

trend where kids staying in different cities or

abroad order groceries and other items online

for their parents in India. It’s really pleasing

to see such orders come in.”

Prior to the above arrangement, we were

struggling with bringing such huge quantities

of grains and cereals each month, store them

in our office and distribute to the

beneficiaries on the first of each month.

Office space was blocked up with storage of

such groceries for over a week, which turned

out to be a Herculean task working on the

2nd Floor of a building in Byculla. When

Localbanya.com offered to deliver at the

door step of the poor old, not only our work

but the elderly themselves do not have to

struggle anymore carrying some 25 to 30

kgs back home from our office. I applaud

the service mentality of this online stores

says Dr. Sheilu Sreenivasan

Apart from a number of individual

donations, we owe our grateful thanks to

donors: Give India, the estate of Late Smt.

Bhadra Ranjitlal Sukhadwala, and Ramal

Charities.

Knowledge Workshops for

the Poor Old in Slums

Known by the title Integrated Social

Support and Health Security For The

Elderly in Mumbai and Chennai, the

National Stock exchange headquartered in

Mumbai adopted it as part of their CSR

outreach programme. According to Dr.

Sheilu Sreenivasan ‘Even to serve the poor

is not an opportunity one can easily get in

life, except as a grace from above” is an oft

repeated dictum I have heard as a child.

Twenty full years after the setting up of D.F

to be now endowed with this sort of an

opportunity to dedicate ourselves to the

cause of very poor senior citizens is the

news I want to share with you all. The

National Stock Exchange (NSE)

headquartered in Mumbai has selected our

Project for sponsorship that will enable us

to undertake a Programme of Action for the

Elderly Poor in the Slums of Mumbai and

Chennai”. These two cities have been

selected by NSE. In a process lasting two

66 67

Sponsored by

National Stock Exchange

years we would empower 16,800 poor senior citizens in these two cities. “Life is not a matter

of holding good cards, but of playing a poor hand well” is my personal view. And we chugged

along all these years with whatever resources one found along the way. Now with this new

enablement for establishing newer milestones in the growth history of our Foundation we

hope to intensify the new direction that has opened up.

Rationale for the Action Programme

The key problems faced by poorer senior citizens are:

• Financial insecurity

• Health related problems

• Loneliness

• Elder abuse

• Impediments to mobility

These aspects lead to loneliness, depression, suicidal tendencies even while living with adult

children. Among competing economic pressures of the working class children, on whom the

elderly poor are dependent, a sense of fear, insecurity and final disempowerment if they opted

to speak up about their impoverished and neglected conditions result in real disempowerment

sooner than later. While the smaller children of the adult children receive priority over the

needs of the “oldies”, a highly sensitive and subtle inequilibrium develops in the enjoyment

of scarce comforts at home. The senior citizen is finally driven to live on the fringes of the

family structure. His/her awareness about laws, policies and support programmes of the Govt

and other large bodies is very low.

Empowering senior citizens with basic awareness and gifting them with various services

already in existence at D.F came to be seen as the most important act we could undertake, but

with funding support.

Four poorer and congested localities in Mumbai ( BDD Chawl Worli, Dharavi, Jogeshwari

East and Sion East Transit Camps) and two in Chennai ( Kannagi Nagar and Saidapet) were

selected for our action programme. One Coordinator for each Locality was appointed. Five

Volunteers in each of the 6 Localities were also appointed. An exclusive Project Manager at

the head office in Mumbai was also appointed.

The Intervention Programme

The intervention in each locality would be structured as talk sessions and workshops. The

topics that would be covered through these workshops would be as follows:

1. Financial Awareness and Financial Inclusion

2. Health and Hygiene awareness sessions

3. Awareness about government schemes and benefits

4. Awareness about NGO programmes for senior citizens

5. Senior Citizens ID card programme in Maharashtra

6. Awareness about Alzheimer’s / Dementia

7. Awareness about rights and legal recourse available for senior citizens

Beside the sessions / workshops on the above topics there would be

additional activities such as:

1. Health Camps on general medical health, vision, hearing, etc.

2. Provision of cataract detection, referrals, surgeries and follow-ups

3. Distribution of medicines and aides such as walking sticks, spectacles, hearing aids, etc.

4. Workshop on skill development for earning livelihood for the able bodied

5. Distribution of basic ration to the very poor

6. Cultural programmes and intergenerational activities

68 69

Senior citizens are very insecure about their

health. However, given the high cost of

healthcare, they tend to ignore a problem till it

becomes large and critical. A regular health check

up can help tremendously in identifying

problems early enough so that it can be treated.

The objective of health camp is to provide a

battery of tests free to senior citizens so that

they are able to benefit from this preventive

healthcare. Investigations like blood sugar, blood

pressure, hearing test and consultation facilities

for Medicine, Eye, ENT, General Surgery, Dental,

Dietetics & Nutrition and Ortho will be offered

free of cost during the proposed health camps.

Before the yearend 6 workshops were held in

Mumbai and Chennai.

Corporate Calling and

Social Media

With the increasing visibility being given in the

media about the CSR (Corporate Social

Responsibility) companies are looking for

funding projects of their choice in the

development sector. D.F appointed a senior

executive in February 2015 to take care of this

aspect of fund mobilisation. As of March 31,

2015 some 20 companies have been presented

with Proposals outlining the social significance of

undertaking the projects. The impact of this

effort will be seen in FY 2015-16.

In the context of companies’ participation in the

social programmes of not-for-profits, of late a

term doing the rounds is ‘Slacktivism’ which is a

portmanteau of the words (linguistic blend of

words) ‘slacker’ and ‘activism’. The word is

usually considered a pejorative term that

describes "feel-good" measures, in support of an

issue or social cause, that have little physical or

practical effect, other than to make the person

doing it feel satisfied that they have contributed.

Slacktivism can be defined as the act of showing

support for a cause but only truly being

beneficial to the egos of people participating in

this so-called activism. The acts tend to require

minimal personal effort from the slacktivist.

The underlying assumption is more like low-cost

efforts being substituted for more

substantive actions.

Be that as it may, like many other websites

and news platforms who have integrated

social media sites such as Facebook and

Twitter into their interface, allowing people

to easily "like", "share" or "tweet" about

something interesting they saw on the

Internet, D.F has also been increasingly

addressing the need to attract the young

working in companies through these popular

media. People can now express concern

about ageing issues posted by D.F. in

Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, with

nothing more than the click of a mouse,

raising the question of what is actually being

accomplished by these "likes" when very little

thought or effort is required.

Despite such armchair activism and

limitations of the people wanting to look

socially good in the eyes of peers, a good

amount of posturing has been undertaken by

D.F in the social media, in keeping with

times and media practices. The now famous

ice bucket challenge was taken as emblematic

of “slacktivism,” the derisive term described

above, for cheap ways to feel good without

doing anything meaningful. For example, the

one-day–in-a-year volunteerism of employees

who come to D.F and its locational activities

can be compared to Internet campaigns such

as the Stop Kony movement and the ice

bucket challenge as merely symbolic ways for

“young narcissists to preen without actually

achieving any change”.

Slacktivist activities include signing Internet

petitions, joining a community organisation

without contributing to the organisation's

efforts, copying and pasting of social

network statuses or messages or altering

one's personal data or avatar on social

network services. Research is beginning to

explore the connection between the concept

and modern activism/advocacy, as groups are

increasingly using social media to facilitate

civic engagement and collective action.

Holding Events as one more relationship-building tool has been practiced most

faithfully by D.F since day one in 1995 which saw the first large mobilisation of senior

citizens for the first event in Mumbai called ‘Walk for Dignity’. From then to now, an

average of 5 to 6 events per year are held in each of the chapter cities of D.F.

Events

The main Events are summarised as follows:

Frontiers in Medicine

Recent advances in the prevention and treatment of chronic diseases have radically altered the

quality of life for even middle class Indians. The Longevity Rule of 30-70 specifies that 30% of

ageing is genetically based. The other 70% is in our hands. We can therefore design drugs and

health supplements that might alleviate some of the deficits of having bad genes.

Innovations in medical science, especially pharmaceuticals, have shifted the focus of medicine from

highly invasive treatments and surgeries with potentially serious risks to less-invasive therapies

focused on prevention and health maintenance. This shift has allowed many older Indians to

remain healthy and independent, avoiding long hospital or nursing home stays.

As a result, generations of seniors will likely live longer, healthier, and more productive lives.

Two decades ago physicians worked to relieve patients’ symptoms while today the therapeutic

objective is to slow disease progression and aim for remission. These gradual gains have been

made through a continuous accumulation of knowledge through research and clinical experience.

In order to make such knowledge available for members, the idea of holding a two day Conference

occurred to us. To demonstrate we are not partial to allopathic medicine, we also dedicate a full day

to other forms of health care. Together the two days bring to members vital information and cutting

edge awareness in the modern treatments of diseases specific to senior citizens.

In Bengaluru, Himalaya Drugs and Pharmaceuticals as well as Narayana Hrudayalaya have lent

crucial support to our chapter. In Kolkata similarly a number of health care companies have joined

hands. Physicians and non-allopathic practitioners have generously shared their time to address

senior citizen members, and we owe them all our sense of immense gratitude.

70 71

Ask a Question at Frontiers in Medicine Dr Cyres Mehta at Frontiers in Medicine

Dignity Literary Festival

Each year, in commemoration of the

anniversary of magazine Dignity Dialogue --

India’s first magazine for senior citizens -- we

happily celebrate its birthday in the presence

of celebrities we have profiled in the magazine

and honour all authors and contributors of the

year by calling them to stage and recognizing

the literary talents.

I believe each one of us has a place under this

benevolent Sun….whether you have completed

6o/70/80 years the uniqueness of each one of

you is the process we call in Psychology as

“individuation”. Each year as you keep

accumulating various responses to stimuli in

the environment, you keep becoming more

and more a unique individual. The older you

are the more unique you become. It is this

uniqueness that we aim to capture in

magazine Dignity Dialogue, by immortalising

your experience as a person in this cosmos.

Those who write are enabled into this process

of immortality, and those who don’t write, but

read what others write are adding yet more

experiences into one’s individuality. Thus a

continuous process of enrichment is what we

have set in motion, and considering the fact

this is going on since our inception in 1995

there is a need to celebrate the moment. It is

when we celebrate anything with people who

have achieved and reached the pinnacle of

creativity, that we find newer meanings in

the world around us. For this reason great

achievers are profiled in the magazine.

“Go, go out of the closets,” said Picasso, “go

into the museums, libraries, architectural

monuments, concert halls, bookstores,

recording studios and film studios.” Seek

inspiration at any cost, by virtue or by vice,

by friend or by fiend, by prayer or by wine...

urged Ralph Emerson.

We at Dignity Dialogue made this our

singular mission and in each successive

issue, over the past 20 years we brought in a

rich variety of people who are unique, whose

lives provide plentiful insights. How can we

ever not remember our authors, thinkers,

critiques, performers, speakers, orators,

social workers, spiritualists, compassionate

persons who have embellished the

magazine’s cover month after month?

One or our distinguished authors, Lalita Kodikal who has been writing

since 1995 for the magazine sent us this poem for the occasion.

I quote:

One day we will depart

On a Journey free of cost.

Don’t worry about Seat

Reservation

It’s confirmed.

And the Flight is always on time

Our good deeds done will be our luggage

Humanity will be our passport

Love will be our Visa!

Make sure we do our best

To Travel to Heaven in Business Class!

Campaign for Dignity

For the 2nd year in succession, in Mumbai

we held this very brainy event called

Campaign for Dignity that should have been

held in March 2015 but got postponed to

September 14th 2015.

.

For those of us working with older adults, it

is a common realisation that old people ache

for their young. The Older Adults are sad and

grieved that the young do not care of them.

That the disturbance in the joint family

system in India has thrown out the older

adults to fend for themselves without any

support, succour. That the young do not care.

Here comes Campaign India, the sensitive

print media representing the world of

advertisements to demonstrate the exact

opposite reality. Their 2014 Contest showed

how deeply sensitive the young in India are.

In 2015 we saw 150 creative young teams

pour their emotions to paper and picture to

showcase how endearing older Adults are:

how it’s the duty of the young to look after

the older adults, ‘how little things that

count’; ‘ Wanted, Lost Missing the daughter

I taught to read’; new word formations:

Ignoparent, Granservant, Old-digger,

Desolage; Boomerang….What goes around

comes around; Pets for Sale; What’s your

Excuse; 15 minutes can make a day; Don’t

deserve Indignity; Main Kaun Hota Hoon?;

It’s never too late…………. The world of

creativity has put a permanent closure to the

erroneous thinking among the old that the

young do not care.

In February this year when Campaign India

came forward with the idea to hold the

second annual event Campaign for Dignity

72 73

AD Guru K V Sridhar and Asha Lal, COO, D.F

2015 the entire team at D.F. jumped with joy. Here again we have a spanking new exhibition to

go to town with, to the colleges and school portals to showcase how dear our parents are and

how we should take care, protect, respect the deep dignity there is in every parental heart.

The crowning glory of this year’s event is Prasoon Joshi’s very special tribute to Older Adults

and his chairmanship of the Jury that made the selections. I convey my deeply felt gratitude to

his generosity. The poem is to be recited by him at our forthcoming event on October 1, 2015 in

Mumbai.

To Suresh Ramakrishnan, CEO of Campaign India we owe our special appreciation for

continuing this year’s contest. The Managing Editor, Gokul Krishnamoorthy -- imbued, troubled

and overwhelmed with emotional dues to his elders -- has patiently put up with our perennial

nudge. This year he initiated the idea of expanding the scope of the contest by inviting young

film makers and radio spot creators to send entries for the Contest. The application of their

medium Campaign India to announce the contest and involve the staff in Campaign for Dignity

is something we are very proud of – lending dignity to Dignity.

To Ramesh Narayan and Gokul Krishnamoorthy as part sponsors of this

event we owe our special thanks.

International Day

of Older Persons 2014-15

October 1 marks the International Day of the

Elderly. During the entire month all senior

citizen associations, including D.F. celebrate,

remember and recognise the role of our elders

within our community. This year’s theme as

declared by the UN is “Leaving No One Behind:

Promoting a Society for All" is the theme used

internationally to commemorate this day.

Different city chapters of commemorated the

Day differently.

Ahmedabad was the first city chapter to start

off the celebrations by launching the key

event of Suraksha Bandhan. This event was

first conceived by us in 2001 for sensitising

school children so that they do not indulge in

Elder Abuse when they grow up. To launch

the event of Suraksha Bandhan. I had taken

35 Chief Dignitarians from all over India in

2001 to meet the President of India Shri

Abdul J Kalam who was very happy with a

Dignitarians grandchild child who tied the

Suraksha Bandhan band and took the vow “I

shall protect your security with Dignity”. It is

our fond hope that if we as members of D.F.

year after year go to schools during October

to remind them of their duty to take care of

their parents and other elders in society, they

will remember it after they grow old.

Chennai chapter celebrated the day on

October 11th with competitions for children

and enactment of Suraksha Bandhan on

stage. Preceding this they held a Legal

Discussion on Elder Abuse by eminent Judges

and advocates as anecdotal evidence in the

chapter. The chapter also re-launched

DIGNITY HELPINE by dedicating themselves

as Gero Counselors to listen to the callers’

problems and offer counseling support to

them. Pune Chapter celebrated World Elders

Day on Nov 12th with re-launch of DIGNITY

HELPLINE with Gero Counselors taking over

the management of the Helpline. Similarly,

Kolkata and Bengaluru chapters will host the

World Elders Day with meaningful activities.

At the end what I would like to stress upon is

the fact that while the nation celebrates the

contributions of the elderly, the elderly owe it

to themselves to take charge of their lives and

cultivate what in Psychology is called Ego

Integrity (versus despair) that is, coming to

terms with one’s life, accepting conditions

when the older person feels whole, complete,

and satisfied with their achievements. That

you have adapted to inevitable victories and

disappointments. You realise that the paths

you followed or gave up, were all necessary

for a meaningful life course.

The capacity to view one’s life in the larger

context of all humanity contributes to the serenity

and contentment that accompany integrity. Ego

integrity, in turn, is associated with more:

favorable psychological well-being,

a more upbeat mood,

greater self-acceptance,

higher marital satisfaction,

closer relationships with adult children,

greater community involvement, and

increased ease in accepting help from others

when it is needed

To keep the heart unwrinkled, to be hopeful,

kindly, cheerful, and reverent -- that is to

triumph over old age. To know how to grow old

is the master work of wisdom, and one of the

most difficult chapters in the great art of living.

I end with Deepak Chopra’s oft quoted

statement: Most people think that ageing is

irreversible and we know that there are

mechanisms even in the human machinery

that allow for the reversal of ageing, through

correction of diet, through anti-oxidants,

through removal of toxins from the body,

through exercise, through yoga and breathing

techniques, and through meditation.

74 75

In Mumbai and Chennai where we run day care centres, this year also

we continued our services to older adults afflicted with dementia. In

both the cities the pickup vans became old while in Mumbai we had to

dispose off the van, in Chennai the van is doing its last year probably

before it becomes totally unserviceable. Apart from the routine

neither centre saw anything new. In Mumbai the number had gone

done to a mere 14 people and Chennai some 9 people in all.

Total Forms received for the card issuance: 11, 600

Total Cards issued: 10,300

Total number of Application Issuing Centres: 27 in Mumbai

No. of Old Centres: 21

No. of New Centres Opened: 6 in Mumbai

1 Versova, (Church of our Lady of Health)

2 Chembur Naka (Shree Kutchi Jain Mandal)

3 Andheri (E), (Sai Wadi, Datt Mandir)

4 Malad (E),

5 Malad (W), (Malvani)

6 At Abhydaya Bank premises

Number of Centre closed : 3

Mobile Camp conducted during the year: 12

1 Goregaon Mall

2 Chita Camp (Chembur)

3 Lokhandwalla (Andheri)

4 Ghatkopar

5 Vikroli

6 Matunga (Ruparel Collage)

7 Gorai (Gavthan)

8 Malad (E), (Ganesh Mandir)

9 Malpa Dongri (Andheri E)

10 Deli Road (Har har wala Bldg)

11 Marol (Bamandaya Pada)

12 Masjid Bandar

13 Dongri

State Centres

New centres opened: 7

Total no. of centres in the state of Maharashtra 132

Total no of application Forms issued: 16,900

Total no of Cards issues: 18,686 (including last year’s backlog)

20 tsurT fo srYea

Govt of Maharashtra

ID Cards to Senior CitizensDementia Centres

76 77

DDC Bus patients getting in

DDC carrom another

Financial Performance We commence our financial information with details of donations received with

grateful thanks during the FY 2014-15.

Only those names appear here who have donated Rs. 10,000 and more.

Donor Name Amount

Mrtyunjaya 10,000

Shevanthi G. K. Rao 10,000

Kuldip Balasia 10,000

Prem Prakash Yadav 10,000

Gobind V. Hiranandani 10,000

Krishna Rao 10,000

Huzan Jal Khodaiji 10,000

Vimal C Kamath 10,000

Aakash Moondhra 10,000

Deepika Joshi 10,000

Dr. B. Lalitha Rao 10,000

Dr. Jyotsna Deo 10,000

Geeta Iyengar 10,000

Jayaram Raghavan 10,000

Josephine Coutinho 10,000

Natarajan. M 10,000

Nikunj Jhaveri 10,000

Nirmala George Mathews 10,000

Noshir M.Mistry 10,000

Perviz N. Hathidaroo 10,000

Prabhakar S.Gurjar 10,000

Rakesh Asthana 10,000

Ravindra Shantaram Gayatonde 10,000

S. Satyabhama 10,000

Sadashiv S. Rao 10,000

Shanti Suresh Lawande 10,000

Sudip Indani 10,000

Uma Krishnamurti 10,000

V.K.Doraiswami 10,000

Meena Padhye 10,100

Chandrashekhar K. Kamath 10,505

Siddharth Mankiwala 11,000

Shreevasta G 12,000

Satyamohan Sachdev 12,000

Hiren Jayesh Shah 12,500

Nirali Biren Shah 12,500

Navroz Mahudawala 13,680

Shyam Singh Tomar 13,680

Ushaben Sanghavi 15,000

Vrinda Dalmia 15,000

Christine Rose Pereira 15,000

Isshane Gupta 15,000

Vatsala Krishnadas Nayak 15,000

Madhusudan Raghavan 15,273

Ephrain Alves 15,400

Priyanka Shah 15,400

Zarine B. Merchant 15,400

Donor Name Amount

Health & Wisdom 10,000

BIB & GFO 10,000

Corner Stone Senion Service 10,000

Satyanand Hospital 10,000

OSS Technologies 12,000

Thomas Cook (India) Ltd 12,000

Sun Pharma 15,000

Arphi Electronics Pvt Ltd 15,000

The Media Ant 15,680

Probeen Porisheba 20,000

Medwell Ventures Pvt .Ltd 20,000

J.Thomas and Co Pvt Ltd 20,000

Satyanand Hospital 20,000

Old is Gold Store 25,000

Novartis India Ltd 29,400

Sudit Parekh & Co 30,000

Sundaram Mutual Funds 30,450

Nutan Nagrik Sahakari Bank 31,000

M/s.Titan 38,000

Aayushman Nature Cure Centre 43,005

Hasmukh Shah 15,600

Eva Gunilla Sachdev 16,000

Pankaj Bhatt 16,001

Kapil Dhatingan 18,000

Pradeep Mallick 18,000

Sam Rustom Pochkhanawala 18,000

Suryanarayana 18,000

Raut Shashikant Balwant 18,900

Ananya Shelter 19,101

Alvares Barretto 19,250

Kesar raj 20,000

Darius Forbes 20,000

Anuradha Shanbhag 20,000

Hiresh Wadhwani 20,000

Lalita D Gupte 20,000

Mayank R.Prasad 20,000

Mona A.Kapadia 20,000

Trishla D.Gala 20,000

Kshitish Madanmohan 21,000

Krishnamurthy 22,000

Amiita Rangnekar 23,100

Dilip Bamania 23,100

Rehana Sharifi 23,100

Jayakumar 24,000

Prathika Chary 25,000

Biren C. Shah 25,000

Manhar P.Khadawala 25,000

R. Muthulakshmi 28,200

Lakshmi Srinivasan 30,000

Uma Srinivasan 30,000

Hari Parthasarathy 30,800

Ashish Sawkar 30,800

Warner D'Silva 30,800

Shrikant Sahaukar 30,800

C.V.Ramachandran 32,800

Jayant Ravi 35,000

Jayamma 36,000

S.RAMASWAMY 36,000

Veera Nagarwala 38,300

Haroon B. Shaikh 41,100

Padma Sundaresan 44,300

Sulabha Paralkar 45,000

Raja Balasubramanian 45,000

Arnie Noshir Antia 50,000

P.H.Jokhi 50,000

Ramesh Narayan 50,000

Siddhartha Luther 50,000

Velagapudi Lakshmana Dutt 51,116

Abdul Aziz sharifi 53,900

Rita Sinha 57,000

R.K. Elisha 58,500

Behroze Daruwalla 58,900

Meher M. Shastri 60,000

SOUNDARAJAN 60,000

Jayashree Parthasarathy 61,600

Vijay.H.Shah 62,500

Yash A. Talpade 65,100

A Kumaraswamy 66,000

M.Miakhan 72,000

Sujatha Menon 72,060

Kamala Krishnamurthy 72,900

Farzana Fazelboy 75,000

Shubhada Govekar 77,000

Suresh Nayak Rao 77,000

Suresh Dawalbhakta 84,700

Jayashree Menon 92,400

Booma Bashyam 100,000

Dr. V. Dhananjayan 100,000

Elizabeth Reuben 100,000

Tarjani Vakil 100,000

S.Ramamurthy 108,000

Ravi Malhotra 110,000

Coomi M.Mahudawala 136,800

Gopal Srinivasan 200,000

Estate of Late Smt Bhadra

R. Sukhadwala 250,000

Sharad Wasani 280,000

Ramaswamy Raman 375,000

Sheilu Sreenivasan 387,683

Sanjay Khatau Asher 950,000

TOTAL 6,322,649

Individual Donations

Corporate Grants, Donations

and Trust Donations

Standard Chartered Bank 75,000

N.A. Sportz Interactive Pvt. Ltd. 76,405

Gujarat Road & Infrastructure

Co. Ltd. 100,000

United Way of Mumbai- India 103,100

Deer Creek Intersil India Pvt. Ltd 105,000

J K Group 116,954

Crompton Greaves

Limited Corporate 340,000

United Way Worldwide - USA 631,668

Kotak Mahindra Bank 878,230

Scientific Publishing Services 1,500,000

Rajaram & Tarabai Bandekar

Charitable Trust 10,000

Shantadevi Charitable Trust 10,000

Thatikonda Vatsala Ramachandra Foundation

10,000

Bibhuti Bhushan Foundation 12,000

Singamsetty Ateend rooloo charities 12,900

Shri Balaji Charitable Trust 16,020

Nirlon Foundation Trust 21,000

Dasharath Mahadevia

Sanskrutik Sanstha 22,000

Ramprakash Podar Charitable Trust 23,250

TB Relief Association 25,000

Wales Puja Committee 25,000

Dayaram Thadhamal Shahani Trust 25,000

Mahaiashha Building Trust 25,000

Ramal Charities 25,000

Sindhu Charitable Society 25,000

Baldev and Raj Handa Foundation 100,000

Kewalram Chanrai Foundation 100,000

M.V.Subhaivah (Vellayan Trust ) 100,000

Nihchal Israni Foundation 100,000

Ambashree Foundation 240,000

Sar-La Education Trust 500,000

Jamnalal Bajaj Foundation 700,000

Give India Foundation 822,841

Charities Aid Foundation

of America 978,365

Radha Mohan Mehrotra

Medical Relief Trust 1,000,000

Charities Aid Foundation India 1,155,388

National Institute of

Social Defence 1,213,800

National Stock Exchange 2,015,100

TOTAL Corporate Donation 13,655,556

TOTAL DONATION OF BOTH

19,978,205.00

78 79

74

81

Computation of total

income & expenditure

Financial Performance at a Glance

INCOME:- Amount in 000's

Donations 17,686

Income from other sources 4,384

Dignity Enrichment Programme 3,314

Grants received 1,886

Others 616

Total Income 27,885

Expenses

Charitable objectives 17,336

Dignity Enrichment Program 6,325

Medical relief 1,668

Grants utilisation 1,378

Others 750

Total Expenses 27,458

Net Income over expenses 428

Income Amount % receipt

Donations 17,685,685 63%

Dignity Enrichment Programme 3,313,923 12%

Grants received 1,885,500 7%

Income from other sources 4,384,160 16%

Others 615,870 2%

Total 27,885,137

Expenses Amount %

Dimentia Care 1,668,349 6%

Grants utilisation 1,377,603 5%

Dignity Enrichment Program 6,325,450 23%

Charitable objectives 17,335,851 63%

Others 750,316 3%

Total 27,457,570 27,457,570

Income from

other sources

16%

Dignity

Enrichment

Programme

12%

Donations

63%

Others

2%

Inco

me

Grants received

7%

Charitable

objectives

63%

Dignity

Enrichment

Programme

23%

Exp

en

ses

Budget vs Actual

Grants utilisation

5%

Dimentia Care

6%Others

3%

Budget

Actual

in Lakhs

300

250

200

150

100

50

0

Expenses for cause Ordinary donation receipts

80