I went to India with a friend to explore Indian spices and cooking practices related to our business interest in healthy food preparation. In the course of our exploration in South India, Tamil Nadu, we spent time in some villages around Pondicherry and restaurants and homes in Auroville – learning from both skilled professionals and house wives as well. One of our stops was at the Mahatma Gandhi Home for the Aged in Pondicherry. My friend Anamika arranged this with Royal, the manager of the home - they like to see new people and she felt there would also be something for us to learn. Anamika, who is a Dutch woman living in Auroville for many years has been integral to the supporting team of the home since the beginning. She recently published her first book of philosophical poetry, Life at Zero Distance. The profit from sales of the book are used to support the home.
Mahatma Gandhi home in Pondicherry is a home for the homeless elderly women trying to counter the misfortune and misery of these women living on the street – providing shelter, food, health care and security so they may live their last days with shelter, care and security.
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During our first visit to the home I was impressed by the childish innocence and purity of the women living there. When we entered the room, there was a movement and excitement – the elderly ladies sitting there wanted to touch and kiss our hands or foreheads and greeted us as dear guests with sincere joy and gratitude, although this was only our first visit and they had no idea why we were there– this wasn’t important. The emotion of this encounter is still alive in me and I can still recall the warm affection, the gentle and soft touch of their hands and shining eyes.
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Royal
The person who takes all the responsibility and organization of the Home is Royal. He is an amazing guy and takes care of all these women like the model of a good son. Besides being a good manager, he is a good cook and a caregiver with a heart and vision.
After watching him cook some sort of curried potatoes, he made a traditional masala tea, adding just a few leaves of fresh mint, which is his own secret for a perfect cup of tea – adding freshness and a cooling element to the flavour. We go to the roof terrace to drink the delicious tea and chat. Royal tells us about all the expenses of the home and how he has to struggle to provide the required funds. Royal is very upset that you have to pay, even when аn old lady dies, for example to the policeman who comes to verify the death (a sort of bribe fee). All in all the expenses per day of the home seem not so huge by Western standards, only 65 euro, but this is equivalent to a good monthly salary in India…
The atmosphere created by Royal and the team of caregivers, making jokes, laughing all the time is priceless – you can feel the good vibrations everywhere. A female staff member, Lakshmi is accompanied by her daughter during one of our visits and we witness the long and precise preparation of the girl for school. It starts with the hands, fingernails and face and finishes with the hair – splitting the long hair into two braids and attaching fresh white flowers, typical for Indian schoolgirls. Both mother and child are very patient during the whole process.
The girls name is Anbarasi, she is 10 years old and she attends a private school. Her education is paid for by one of the trustees of the Old Age Home foundation. Lakshmi is 29 years old and also has a 7 year-old son. She has worked in the Home for the last 6 years and it has become a kind of shelter for her too - she left her husband due to his drinking problem. Every time he got drunk, which was several times a week, he would become violent and beat her. She left him when finally he beat her so hard that he cracked her skull. This was 4.5 years ago and she now lives with her mother. It was not only the husband, but also her mother in law with whom they lived, that had a drinking problem. And they both demanded that Lakshmi would work and provide them with the money they needed for drink. Even though she left her husband due to physical abuse and mistreatment, she now carries the stigma in this society, as it is believed that a woman should not live alone, but with her husband. Royal always supports her and is gives her courage to follow her own path.
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The Prayer
Every day there is a special moment in the house - a prayer/expressing gratitude gathering at the main room where all inhabitants of the home are present for 5-10 minutes when they each pray to their own god or deity, without bothering being in one room addressing different Gods or praying for the well-being of the well-wisher/sponsor of the day. I nicknamed them the Saints from Pondicherry because they look so pure, innocent and without judgment – just simply present, emanating affection and joy. They come to this place after so much suffering, living on the streets, without food, shelter, emotional support, often begging. Now they have come here full of gratitude, waiting for nothing – no intentions of becoming somebody, something, or a need to claim some possessions or achievements, something so much attached to active society members. They look so pure and simple, that they resemble a saint-like appearance. My mind began to speculate that with their purity of being and prayer they maintain some sort of balance in the world…balancing the other side of greed, possession, hate, excessive consumption… a fragile balance so hard to keep these days…
Filming
After having this experience I went again to the home in India the following year with friend of mine Victor Popov who is a professional cameraman. We were going every day to the home to film the daily life of residents and supporting team of caregivers. One thing that was very unexpected and surprising to observe for me was that not for a moment I felt the presence of desperation and death in the overall mood of the house and the second thing was the way the local community participates and supports the life of the home, exchanging communication and providing food and small amount of money in some cases.
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- Ogy Enev
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