Have you seen an Amitabh Bacchan-Rani Mukherjee starrer entitled "Black"? I remember this Bhansali film because it was the first ever mainstream film dealing with the dreaded disease Alzheimer's. Sure the film was populist and melodramatic, but all the attention it could generate toward the impossible psychosoamtic combo called Alzheimer's was indeed desirable.
I mention all these details because September 22 is a day dedicated to raising awareness about Alzheimer's. This silent but cruel killer destroys the very personality. Thus an image-thief, it is an elder and more destructive sibling of dementia. All these neurological diseases, including the Parkinson's, are the real enemies now because these old age related disabilities destroy a human being, his/her web of relationships in an auto-immune way.
As it is the world is greying fast. Despite India's distinctive demographic dividend, India, too, is aging fast. Given the improved life expetancy, there is a huge number of the elderly. As India's job market is mostly in the unorganised sector, the old are fast being a liability. Given the life style diseases being on the rise, the constant stress, the lack of exercise, the typical old age forgetfulness is no longer a matter of mockery, like the much riled professorial memory. Severe dementia, Alzheimer's are very common now, and mostly among the women.
These ladies, now absolutely out of the production cycle and reproduction systems, have to suffer this undigified disease. Such a patient, difficult to diagnose in the early/onset stages, is a caretake's nightmare, too, especially because there is as yet no effective medicineto cure/control it.
The best way hence to avoid it is to be a good friend, in fact, the best buddy of your own brain, keep it constantly occupied so that constantly new netwoks are formed therein which may control the auto-immune disease, We know more of the space than the sea, but even that knowledge is vaster than our awareness of our own, the very human, brain!
We need to be kind, patient, tolerant towards our elders who once gave their everything for us! The future as it is going to be very difficult, given the digital revolution. In such an onslaught that would reduce economic certainties given the job crunch, our elders would have to be our aged children who are fathoming forgetfulness!
pratima@ the child indeed is the parent of the elderly who have thus lost their very identity
N.B: Papa used to selflessly work for this cause.
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