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Elders Entertainment Center: -letter11

It is indeed encouraging that youth are concerned about the development and social issues of lovely Chitral. It is not necessary that all ideas being floated, would get shape of actualization, but they should be kept up. By continuous deliberation on issues and concerns, best solutions could be sought.

I admire the concern of sister Ms Falak Naz. May be she has been inspired by studying a system which takes care of elders in a better way. But its true for Chitral that it has its unique culture and no one can afford to  separate his father or mother and that is the actual essence which has distinguished us from others and we proudly say that we have a Unique Culture. This essence is lacked by other societies and that forces them to promote Senior Citizen Homes. The Senior Citizen Homes emanate from the dedicated Elder Entertainment Centers.

I would request sister Falak Naz to come forward to form an effective working committee who may work on the following proposed strategies to resolve the issues of Old Age Needs:
1. Carry out Survey of Elders for need assessment
2. Establish a Sound Welfare System
3. Promote Elder Responsive Integrated Health System, where, checkups, tests and medication are done free / at affordable cost.
4. Organize frequent Entertainment Events for Elders through Sport Boards
5. Conduct Interview Sessions of Elders to preserve history, through Anjuman-e-Taraqi -Khowar, Chitral
6. Organize Talk Shows, to highlight Chitral’s Unique Culture to educate the desperate youth.

Saif ur Rahim
Karachi
03 March 2009.

Elders Entertainment Center: -letter10

I read the proposal of Ms Falak Naz on the establishment of an entertainment center for old people in Chitral. I remember, we had by default, three such places in Chitral in the recent past.

The first was in Zargarandeh, where Bilawer Khan, Haider Quli Khan, Zhanoyar and other old personalities would sit for recreation. Another place was the drawing room of Ataliq Jaafar Ali Shah where Shamsuddin, Wazir Ali Shah, Nasir Ali Shah. Safed Khan, Faramoz Khan and other personalities of old age would sit and chat about good old days. The third place was Chinar hotel where Muzaffar Ali, Zafar Ahmed and others would gather and kill their time. In all the three places, there were means of entertainment such as tea, coffee, chessboard and playing cards, etc. this sort of place cannot be provided by the government agencies.

Such  philanthropists of the town Haider Ali Shah and Nasir Ahmed can take the lead at this moment. Other philanthropists can fallow suit. I have heard about such an initiative by Engr. (R) Sher Nabiullah Khan of Denin. May be he also joins the kind hearted lot. I wish such a place is again there in the town before I am too old.

Dr. Inayatullah Faizi
Chitral.

03 March 09.

Elders Entertainment Center: -letter9

I have read with great interest the letter of Ms Falak Naz, which is very inventive and feasible. Our elders always need our attention, as with the passage of time they need regular check up and treatment at proper time. Due to non-availability of medicinal facilities in most areas of Chitral and northern areas, the elders living in this region are facing great problems. If we check the record of any hospital in Chitral and northern area, we will find that the ratio of the elders is very less among the patients visiting the hospitals. It is not that they do not contract ailments but the fact is that they never visit hospital for treatment due to many problems.

Many Government and non-governmental organizations have worked a lot in the area on different themes, like gender, human right, rural development and natural resource management etc, but it is astounding to know that no one works for the betterment of the elders of our society. Our elder have always been a source of knowledge, leadership and guidance for us and we now are neglecting them.

Now it is the time to do some service for the betterment of our highly regarded elders. In such circumstances the proposal posted by Ms. Falak Naz for the establishment of an Elders entertainment center in Chitral is very feasible and need of the day. I consider that such kind of centers/gathering points will afford a lot of opportunity for them like regular medical check up, tours and other excitement for them. This kind of center will offer us a stage for learning from our eldes about our history, and many more information about our past.

I hold up the idea of Ms Falak Naz, and I offer my services for the proposed center. I appreciate you Ms Falak Naz for encompassing such great idea for the betterment of that community which has made our future better.

Dr. Maha Ajaz
Hunza, NA

02 March 09.

Elders Entertainment Center: -letter8

This is with reference to Tayyab Ali's letter posted on February 25th, 2009; being a Forester not being a sociologist, I am not competent to express my thoughts on the theme, but based on my personal experiences, I would like to insert a few lines on the topic, Chitral having rich culture of various varieties. Not only are their youth cheerful but the senior citizen also very lively, mirthful and a source of indigenous knowledge. It is not a novel things that the elders in our society are used to meet with each others in various places of villages, like a shade of Chinar trees, mosques, shops and other places in order to kill their spare time and sharing their experiences and thoughts which each others.

A close contact with our elders has established the fact that they feel isolation, not because their relatives are unresponsive to them but because of the time limitations of the present age. The objective of this center is not to segregate our respectable elder but provide them a recreational platform where they will be able to share their ideas and thoughts. In addition to this, it will also cover a road for the researcher, ethnobotonist, planner and students where they will be able to meet and get experience from elders, find out valuable advice on different issues, like to amass their predication and Indigenous knowledge on Disaster management, Conflict management and many other issues.
 

I am confident that this mature idea of Ms Falak Naz will catch the attention of the civil society as well as the government for support this design. Carry on My sister, we all with you in this great effort.
 

Ajaz Ahmed,

Chitral.

 27 Feb 09.

Elders Entertainment Center: -letter7

This is with reference to the letter posted by Ms Falak Naz Taj dated February 11, 2009. Eastern countries and especially those which are relatively less developed have very strong family system shaped up with strong bond among the family members. In countries like Pakistan more than 80% of the households still live in joint family systems. In the context of Chitral this is very strong one can hardly see any families in nuclear system and if for some reasons families are living as a nuclear family they would be visiting their parents and grand parents and getting the insight and traditions from them. The grand parents have a key role in family harmony and the relationship of a family in the society. Always, and in all social events a family is represented by and elder of the family.

Ms Taj has proposed an Entertainment place initially for elders of Chitral town what she has called as 'elders circle' or 'entertainment center'. Subsequently, according to her, center of this kind would be established in other population centers say, Booni, Drosh etc. This idea, according to her, came in her mind while watching some of the elders sitting in or outside the shops in Chitral market. Ms Taj is ignoring the cultural fabric and without analyzing the situation has only based on her observation has floated an idea of establishing an elders entertainment center where the elder will be brought in the morning and picked up in the evening. It seems as one will put his grand father or old father (Not grand parents or parents) in the center in the morning and pick him up in the evening just to kill the time as there in nobody in the home to take care of them or the elders have become burden on the other family members. Secondly to use such center(s) as an indigenous knowledge base so that one can visit the center and ask about verbal history or event from those elder that is a kind of Control focus group.

I would like to ask Ms Taj and the other writers who have supported this unique idea whether this kind of center—can be modified and old age house suits our culture?? It is directly effecting:
* Family harmony as an elder of a family will go to the center and sit there till dusk, then what about the elder female elder members of the family who need support from this elder male family member. The young member of the family will gradually develop habit of living without the elder in the family. This will gradually widen the gap between the elders and the youngsters.
* Social fabric of the society, as the sitting in or outside the shops is not just about killing the time, the elder share their experience with the ones who are sitting around them freely without being in a Control group
* The elders have to take part in different social events within and outside the town and thereby they interact with other elders in the locality as pointed by Mr Sher Wali Khan in his letter. Through the proposed center we are supposed to make them habitual of such gatherings which initially will be kind of entertainment but gradually shift into a bored life.

Finally, we must know who the elders are, whether by elders we mean senior citizens or those who are supposed to be the family head, while making any social intervention, an independent situation analysis is very important. To this end I would suggest that a complete situation analysis should be done to see the need and the cultural and social impact of such center(s).  As a student and youngster it is an idea, but seems to be very early to talk about such artificial gathering points. Lets think and debate about it.

Tayyab Ali,
Islamabad.

25 Feb 09.

Elders Entertainment Center: -letter6

This refers to Miss Falak Naz Taj's letter bearing a viable proposal for establishing an ˜Elders Entertainment Centre' at Chitral, and the encouraging feed back of our youth. Although the idea to have a separate place for the elders is a novel one for the Chitral people with their traditional respect and consideration to the elder members of the society, yet it deserves appreciation in view of the facts mentioned there in. The busy life of the 21st century plus the infiltration of alien cultural forces is going to isolate the senior members of the society, at least at day times. A close contact with our elders has confirmed the fact that they feel isolation, not because their children or grant children are indifferent to them but because of the time constraints of the modern age.

A place with recreational facilities in towns/big villages would prove to be a redefining of the old traditional get-to-gather of the elders. About 3-4 decades ago our elders had full attention and company of their children and grand children, yet they wanted company of their friends and relatives of their age and managed meetings in one or the other way. They spent winters in group hunting, traveling from village to village with their hawks and hounds, enjoying feasts and musical concerts and story telling at the evenings. The cultural events like Phindik, Salghereik, Host korik, Lashti-korik, Bi-nisik etc, etc. brought the elders together for chatting and sharing pleasant moments. As youngsters we availed opportunities to listen and feed our memories with stores of historical stories and events, the folk heritage, which were other wise inaccessible. At present these festivities have become tales of the past and our elders find no ways to meet their contemporary friends and relatives while our young generation has no chance to benefit from the age-long experiences of their elders. Such a situation is widening generation gape and posing danger to our traditional values. At this junction of the complex modern age we really need entertainment centres for the senior citizens enabling them to spent their lives in meaningful and befitting manner as suggested by my brilliant niece, Ms.Falak Naz. The initiative of Miss.Naz deservers not only verbal encouragement, but also full moral and financial support of the Government institutions, NGOs and the intellectuals of the civil society to materializing the project. I may ask Ms. Falak Naz,"beta! go ahead with your proposal and prepare a feasibility report and publish it for further discussion of the intellectuals of Chitral. Allah bless you, Ameen."

Sher Wali Khan Aseer,

Abbottabad.

23 Feb 09.

Elders Entertainment Center: -letter5

Please refer to Sister Falak Naz Taj letter. I would like to thanks and feel very much proud to think such a good aspect to have a gathering place for Senior Citizens in Chitral. This is really a marvelous effort and it seems to be more practicable and applicable in Chitral. I am sure Falak has the experience working with Aga Khan Social Welfare Board in Islamabad, hope same thing is in practices with Aga Khan Social Welfare Board Chitral as well. So I would like to suggest that please involve other institutions and visionary people of chitral to build a nice platform for Senior Citizens.

Aftab Ali Baig,

Islamabad,

18 Feb 09.

Elders Entertainment Center: -letter4

18 Feb 09.

Elders Entertainment Center: -letter3

This is in reference to the letter written by Ms Falak Naz Taj on February 11, 2009. The weiter refers to the notion of forming an entertainment center for elders within Chitral. This is the first time, which I am aware of, that such a letter has been written, looking at the needs of our elders in Chitral. The concept that is discussed in the letter is brilliant as it opens an avenue for our elders within Chitral whereby they can participate as well as entertain themselves and others (i.e. intergenerational activities amongst the elders and youth). I am very impressed and inspired by the idea, and I am sure this would be a wonderful opportunity for engagement, social interaction and learning.

Social isolation of our elders is a very genuine concern that we all should be apprehensive about. In today’s world, there are increased demands being placed on family. It brings to mind the notion of the sandwich generation, where many have to provide for their children as well as, meet the expectations placed on them by their aging parents. Because of this, family members may not be able to dedicate enough time to their elders. Inadvertently, over time, research has shown that this leads to seniors becoming a victim to emotional, physical, as well as intellectual challenges without being aware that this is directly influenced by being socially isolated. As a graduate in Social Services – Gerontology, I have read through many recent studies which elaborate on the fact that this is now emerging to be a global phenomenon requiring attention and further research. It’s not isolated to any one region or culture and therefore, the question lies, what programs or services can be implemented to reduce the negative effects of social isolation amongst the elderly population. In North America , the introduction of recreational therapy exists in senior citizens independent living and long-term care facilities, where variety of physical, emotional, social, and cognitive programs are being organized and implemented to encourage holistic approach of body, mind and spirit.

In Chitral, we are fortunate that the traditional ways still exist of caring for our Elders but, on the contrary, it is unfortunate to see some cases within the care facility that I work at, where some residents yearn year after year for a visit from their family members.

The birth of therefore of an entertainment/recreation center will play a very crucial role in providing an opportunity and avenue for our elders to share their experiences and in developing social cohesion where the elders would feel part of the community in large. In addition to this, it will also pave a road for intergenerational programming where the youth of the community will be able to meet and share with the elders, discovering valuable advice and learning from each others experiences.

Inshallah, the community as well as the levels of government hopefully support this idea. Also some of the NGOs are working tirelessly for social development in Chitral and surrounding areas. I am sure that collaborative partnership can be developed among the NGOs in order to conceptualize this idea further.

Mir Hassamuddin
Milton, Ontario Canada.
16 Feb 09.

Elders Entertainment Center: -letter2

Chitral News has always be a source of inspiration, knowledge, innovative ideas and communication for the people of Chitral especially those living outside the district. For the past some years i have been observing that our new generation is gaining momentum in the field of knowledge and wisdom, becoming more creative, innovative and prolific in writing skill; this is indeed very encouraging and heartening to those who are keen to keep pace with the fleeting time and development in the field of communication, development in the field of I.T. giving a spur to the imagination and creativity of men. 

Quite unfortunately the thing we are lacking in is our trend and inclination to preserve the treasure of knowledge, experience and the gems of cultural assets for our coming generations; this attitude tantamounts to rampantly running in the sand of time, the trail vanishing with the passage of time, which is evident in our present time.  Look back, there seems no continuity in our historical events, our so precious cultural values, beyond an occasional conversational mention.

The idea of Falak Naz Taj, is, to provide an entertainment Centre, to put it in other ways, "Elders' Club", I think is quite imaginative and also realistic; for this form will provide an opportunity to the "Gems of our Society", to get together, not only a place of entertainment but also a source of gathering and preserving knowledge of the past for our literary young generation.

For sometime I myself was thinking to go around Chitral and see elders and gather knowledge from them, but the idea of bringing these gems together, which is more productive, never occurred to me. Today the idea contained in this, article stimulated my imagination and hopefully this idea will materialize, all we need is to incite and instigate our new generation to put forth their bit of cooperation and coordination; proposals as to how to start with such a forum.

Yousuf Khan
Karachi

13 Feb 09.

Elders Entertainment Center: -letter

“I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the community, and as long as I live it is my privilege to do for it, whatever I can,”-George Bernard Shaw.

From time beyond memory and in all traditional societies, the role of the elder in a community has been that of a guide and comforter. Having lived through many years of joys and sorrows, pleasures and pains, an elder can offer ways of dealing with problems and serve as inspiration to those who seek help. The fast paced twenty first century has blurred the relationship of the old to the young; this continuity of experience cannot be lost without dire consequences to society. It can be said that this relationship – when realized and accepted as needful- saves mankind from “reinventing the wheel “– again and again….

Gathered together:
Respect for elders is still strong in traditional societies like ours and establishing a place where they could time pass and we all as traditional cultured community would be able to benefit from their life experiences and knowledge is a cause for nearly sacred reverence.

One elder alone can give valuable advice, but a circle of elders, gathered together to offer wisdom gleaned for many years of living, is of even greater value.
There is a great beauty in such a gathering and a deep feeling of connectness. It is to this circle, this gathering of compassion, that a person can come for help.
As in the Autumn Nature yields her harvests, so in the Autumn of life each one of us harvest what we planted in the earlier years. The underlying factor is a life well lived in order to have something to “give back”.

I myself have observed many of the elders sitting inside or outside shops in the Chitral bazaar, they deserved a much better place than this where there would be facilities for regular monthly medical checkups for them, different kinds of books for them to read, a sitar to play with whenever they feel like doing it, exposure visits can be arranged for them, they can be taken for afternoon walks by the volunteers, where there would be a proper heating arrangements for them in the winters, pick and drop to and from the center, where the youth can visit them and benefit from their life experiences and radio Chitral once in week if not possible once in a month broadcast an interview of one of the elders on regular basis, these are just to name a few facilities that would be available at the sitting place.

I have a plan for such a day time sitting place by the name of “elders circle” or “elders entertainment center” to be established in Chitral town to start with, this is my father’s idea, he is supporting me and really excited about it and I want to give it a practical shape, therefore I request the District Government, Tehsil Government, government functionaries, all the Chitrali people living within or outside Chitral or abroad, all the civil society organizations to help me out in whatever way they can to make this dream a reality. The support can be in any form, even a word of encouragement from your side would be a driving force to start up the planning process for such a noble cause.
P.S:
My idea to establish such entertainment sitting place in a respectable manner for elders is not like a senior citizens hostel in the western countries. In Pakistan especially in Chitral we have our own very rich culture. We the people of Chitral consider it ibadad to serve our elders.

My idea is only to provide an opportunity of entertainment, proper medical treatment of elders, pick and drop facility and many more other facilities as mentioned above to the elders. Nowadays the children of elders go to their workplaces, to universities etc and the women folk inside the house are most of the time busy with their housework and the elders feel lonely at homes and also the mentality of elders is that they wish to exchange their views and experiences with an elder.

Falak Naz Taj
Chitral.

11 Feb 09