The onset of margazhi sees the elderly of Chennai step out of their homes, sabha-hopping and soaking in the music and dance. In fact, a few concerts / performances in the city are attended almost exclusively by senior citizens. Yet, when Sanjay Dattatri, who runs the Old Is Gold store visited sabhas, he found that very few of them were wheelchair-friendly. “Most sabhas in the city are not disabled- or elderly-friendly,” says Sanjay, whose store in Adyar as well as the e-portal www.oldisgoldstore.com offers senior citizens products that help make their lives safer. Sanjay wrote to over 15 sabhas in the city, offering free wheelchair service to the elderly. “We immediately heard back from Hamsadhwani and Chennai Cultural,” he says. While the facility is already available at Chennai Cultural, it will be available from December 16 at Hamsadhwani when their programme begins.
“We will have one person manning the wheelchair and he will be able to transport the elderly from their vehicle to the auditorium. We are waiting to hear from more sabhas. This is the only time of the year when senior citizens have something to look forward to culturally, and it is ironic that there are so little facilities geared to making this comfortable for them,” says Sanjay. He is also in talks with wheelchair companies about expanding this idea to other areas.
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