Perfect Getaway

Members of Golden Years's Club know how to beat the post-retirement blues. K. Sarumathi on the the group that meets regularly at Santhome

May 19, 2014 07:34 pm | Updated 07:52 pm IST - Chennai:

What do you do after retirement, when your kids have flown the nest, when you no longer have the comforting routine of a 9to5 job, when home starts to feel like a prison? Thirty senior citizens have created for themselves a perfect getaway in the form of Golden Years’ Club. Started by 78-year-old Beatrix D’Souza, the club is an extended family which meets on the first Sunday of every month at St. Bede’s School in Santhome to enjoy some cherished time together.

“Senior citizens are at a loose end after retirement. Most are lonely and often end up becoming depressed. The club offers them an apt setting for socialising with others like them,” says D’ Souza, a women’s activist and a politician.

For every meet, the members prepare high-tea for each other. Some bake cakes, while others bring home-made sandwiches and tea. Along with food come passionate discussions about politics, philosophy and life. For most, it is the only forum to share the events of their workaday lives.

So close-knit is the group that when one of the members falls ill, the others land up on his or her doorstep to offer comfort and support. “It was one of our members’ birthday and she had taken ill. All of us went to her house and threw her a party,” says D’Souza. For recreation, the group goes out for picnics, movies, dinners, enacts plays and throws parties for the boarding students of St. Bedes. They also conducted a full-day hip hop programme, where the members enjoyed a day full of music and dance. There are smaller groups within the club which meet very often.

The club has a mixed group of women and men, some of whom are still working and on the verge of retirement. Most members are between the age group of 55 and 80 years.

Apart from their regular activities, the Club also gets involved in social work such as raising funds for poor students. They conducted a Christmas fair last year for the same. Most of the members are quite active and work individually for society. “Some of us go on regular prison visits and conduct workshops there. I have a forum for violence which works towards eradicating violence against women,” says D’Souza, who was instrumental in starting the White Ribbon programme in India, where men are given the responsibility of ensuring women are no subjected to violence.

“We conducted an awareness programme at Stella Maris College, where 100 autorickshaw drivers took the oath never to get involved in any form of violence against women.”

The club offers a yearly subscription to members at Rs. 1,200.

For joining the club, call D’Souza at 2495 0522.

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