It’s a special day at Sevashram, a day for the board to meet and a sacred day for a Satyanarayan puja. It’s spring and still cool enough for the residents to have brought out their best saris for the special occasion.

At times like these, I remember my 112 year-old grandmother, who wanted nothing more than for our family home to be filled with all her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. I recall thinking, “I wish everyone could share their old age in a happy and carefree environment.”

My dream was to come true, but not before a long detour in my career. I grew up in the restless period of rising nationalism, where all of us young people were looking for our ideal causes. My brother and I latched on to communism as the perfect solution. It was at the age of 20 that I joined my brother in his garment manufacturing unit at Machilipatnam. After working for eight years, I relocated to Hyderabad and joined a magazine called Yuva as full-time editor, publisher and manager of the Yuva Book Depot. I had a very fulfilling stint there but, a few years later, the owners wanted to shut shop. I stepped in and rallied the staff who were to be laid off to restart the press under a new banner—a cooperative effort that resulted in the Progressive Press Private Ltd set up in Balanagar, Hyderabad, in April 1970.

I must have done something right because we flourished. I revamped everything and eventually left it all to my two sons and wife so that I could start building my dream of setting up a comfort zone for older people. I was 60 and the time was right to take the plunge.

In 1992, I moved into a small, rented apartment in Madinaguda in the Old City. I took in three senior citizens; I had one woman to clean the place while I did the cooking and serving for them. B Mohan Rao, a well-known philanthropist, donated one acre of land, 35 km outside the city area, for my retirement home and a number of very kind people donated money. By 2001, we moved into the premises.

Over the years, the number of silvers at Sevashram has grown. We have 20 rooms for residents and three for staff. Six rooms are occupied by single women while six have double beds. There are a total of 19 women and four men.

One of our oldest residents is Y Raghavamma, 97, the widow of a doctor whose children live abroad. M Durga Lakshmi is 58 but she has been in the ashram for 23 years, ever since her husband died. She works as a resident manager. S Katnamma, 75, has been in the ashram for more than 16 years. Each one has their own unique story; most of them revolve around indifferent kids, kids living far away and the sort who have no time for their parents.

Outside, the sun is going down. The fountain in the garden has been switched on, a cue for everyone to come and sit on the stone benches. At 85, I couldn’t be happier having done what I set out to do. Now my only desire is for someone to step forward and take over Sevashram so that I can retire in peace. My wife and children want me to come home.

—M V Bhadram, Hyderabad

Photo: Shyamola Khanna
Featured in Harmony — Celebrate Age Magazine
August 2017