Then my parents came to stay in Malibu Towne, the Varisht Nagrik Society became an integral part of my father’s routine very soon. He would get dressed and at the same time, every evening would leave for Central Park where all of them would meet.
Varisht Nagrik Society was founded in 2016. Like every society, it is registered and has its own governing body. They have yearly membership fees and all residents of Malibu Towne above 60 can be a part of it. The common denominator here for all the senior members is to have a platform to express themselves freely and have a laugh and some fun. They normally would gather at one end of Central Park near the generator point. Over a period of time, they improved the setting of their corner and created an ‘Aushadhi park’. It has about 56 different kinds of medicinal plants and some of them are quite rare. They plan to also create a ‘navgreh park’.
Every first Sunday of the month ‘haven’ is performed by the members. My father celebrated his 87th birthday here with his senior friends. I have never seen him smile so much and so widely.
Every now and then he will sheepishly state that he will miss his dinner because there is a birthday celebration at their spot or three or four members are collectively celebrating their birthday at any of the many eateries in the town.
All of them are each other’s support system and help each other out with their services or suggestions. They stay away from political discussions. Together they are a very happy lot…..expressing themselves with poetry, music and sharing their life stories with each other. They are also actively involved in the works of RWA and are willing to lend their support wherever needed. The Society is going to felicitate its members aged 75+ on the eve of the 75th Anniversary of India’s independence.
