Popular Mumbai-based nutritionist and fitness consultant Rujuta Diwekar created quite a flurry on social media when she announced “a 6 week senior internship program”. Of course, people got curious with the first rider — “To qualify, you must be above 65 years of age”. “We look forward to learning from your vast experience and viewing the world from your perspective,” she concluded. The programme is on from April 15 to May 30.
Rujuta says one of the inspirations came from the Hollywood film The Intern , featuring Robert De Niro and Anne Hathaway, which explores the life of a 70-year-old intern at an online fashion site. “I thought, why not have our own De Niro in our office,” says Rujuta. “A large part of my work is about taking forward traditional wisdom in a way the current generation understands it. These senior citizens are repositories of wisdom, and I think they will help me document things such as what to eat in which season, and the diet of a pregnant woman in each trimester and post-partum. These days, everything is available through the year. But there is a time to start and stop eating mangoes.”
The other pre-conditions that Rujuta laid down for the paid internship (a stipend of Rs. 15,000 for six weeks) – “You can be from any background, but with a keen interest to share and learn. Being Internet savvy is not a requirement but will help (and hopefully we can teach you a trick or two). Interest in food, fitness and wellbeing is essential, but we can use any expertise that you have if you meet the above requirements.”
The note carries details of the dates and timings, and asks that they travel to her office in Khar, Mumbai. The senior citizens will work directly with her team over a period of six weeks in all activities — it will be five-day weeks, and four hours of work a day. “I felt they should be paid a stipend because there should be some value for their time, and should at least cover their costs.”
Rujuta says such a programme is necessary because there are a whole lot of seniors with not many avenues to share their knowledge. Rujuta also hopes to work with the senior citizen interns on their diets. “I’m also looking to understand when they felt they were slowing down, what kind of nutrition information they had access to, and what language or vocabulary we must use to communicate to them.”
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