Empty Nest Syndrome

Empty Nest Syndrome
By PRABEER SIKDAR
DEHRADUN, 17 April 2009:
Whenever I happen to come across a labourer’s family living in a slum, I envy them, especially their children, who despite their parents’ subsistence income, stay along with them and also chip in with their own contribution to the family.

In one way, if one sets aside the quality of life enjoyed by the labourer’s family, the children of the former definitely score over the rich/educated urban families, whose children often migrate from their hometown in search for better education/ jobs.

When I look at the condition of my present landlord and his spouse (both are above 80 years), it really makes me wonder whether human beings are really different from animals.

Why I say this is because, recently, my landlord, who retired as a Central government employee many years ago, despite having a good pension, does not have anyone near him to even to buy medicines for his ailing wife (she suffers from acute joint pains and crawls even to climb stairs).

Though the frail man can ride a scooter, at this age, he carries on with his daily routine by walking the distance for every household needs. Of course, there is also a domestic help to take care, but their pains gets more accentuated, when they find none of their dearest are around at the time they require them the most.

Many a time, it is neither the doctor nor even the 108 emergency service staff old and ailing people require. It is an assurance from their children – a statement that we are there, a sense of hope and a little bit of love.

Significantly, my landlord’s two sons work in reputed companies in Delhi and Mumbai, respectively, earning handsome salaries for their own families.

I wonder what use of that money would be when they can neither even buy medicines for their ailing parents or can even take them to a doctor.

What, ironically is true, is that the case of my landlord is not an isolated one. Most well-off families living in urban centres also face similar problems – children of richer families would head for US/abroad while for the average rich in towns, their children would migrate to the metros.

And the reasons for the internal and external migrations are mainly related to education and employment. Maybe, the solution for this voluntary separation -- of parents from children and children from parents and also grandchildren from grandparents – lies in improving the two sectors to the best possible limits.

So, the next time you look at a labour couple, enjoying their moments with their children, you know whom to envy.

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