A blessing of sorts

KOCHI: Loneliness and boredom struck Dr R Venugopal’s life after he retired from his profession as a paediatrician. It was at this juncture that Bless Retirement Living, which will celebrate its first anniversary on Saturday, turned a blessing in disguise for him. Now, he lives a fulfilling retired life.
Dr Venugopal is one among the 13 permanent residents who have been enjoying a blissful retired life at the Bless Retirement Living. Lija Jijo, executive director of Bless said the company was started by a group of friends and provides premium class facilities to its customers. “We have a lot of activities here, including yoga, a full-fledged library, book review sessions, cultural activities and also other outreach programmes,” she said.

Lija highlights that Bless follows an eco-friendly model where organic farming is practiced. She said that many retired members who had always wanted to involve in organic farming but couldn’t due to job commitments are actively engaged in it now. Women interested in cooking are into baking and other cooking activities too, she added. The 40 families who are temporarily residing at the Home will be shifted as permanent members soon.

Dr Venugopal said that Bless Retirement Living has given him a platform to bring out his talents. “I like to give seminars and take awareness classes. Through the outreach programmes conducted at Bless, I give classes on ‘Role of a mother in child’s life’ and other topics related to behaviour of children,” he said.
Dr Venugopal mentioned that the place provide its residents an opportunity to visit various pilgrim centres including Kashi and also takes them for outings around Kochi. Since people residing at the Retirment Living are of the same age group, they bond very well.

Jijo highlighted the same opinion and noted that they intend to provide a community living through their company. People above 55 are the residents and most of them are retired doctors, professors and civil servants. “Many of their children live abroad, while some of them are widows,” she said. Proper medical care is also offered by regular monitoring and four qualified nurses are appointed in Bless to keep a check on the resident’s health, she added.

G Sudhakaran, Minister of Public Works and Registration will inaugurate the first year anniversary of Bless Retirement living. This will be followed by cultural activities by the residents including drama and music.