Lighting up the city

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: It was a night to remember for the elderly crowd who gathered at Manaveeyam road on Sunday evening. Alive, a charity foundation focused on solving various challenges, organised Chakkara Mittai, an event for the aged and elderly in the city.  "It was like going back to the 70s. I feel so much younger now," said 67-year-old Kanvashram Shyama.

According to the organisers, the event is a precursor to the making Thiruvananthapuram a senior-citizen friendly city.The elderly people sang, danced and read stories for the crowd. Chakkara Mittai also proved a platform for them to meet old friends where they shared contact numbers and savoured memories of school and college life. Some of them including Ammini and Thankamani took their passion for music to another level by performing on the stage along with Sankari Bai teacher who played the violin.

It was not just the elderly who enjoyed the performances. The youth also savoured the time spent with the elderly. According to them, it was a refreshing experience to listen to songs from the 1970s. "The event was very unique. We have seen a lot of youth performing on Manaveeyam road but this was different," said creative designer Arun Prabhakar.

80-year-old Padmini Gopinath, from Jagathy said the event was a platform for them to showcase their talents."I'm looking forward to more programmes like this for elderly people in the city."

The organisers of the event said they will meet the Mayor to discuss making the city elderly-citizen friendly. "This will include setting up elderly friendly traffic lights, public transport system and handrails in government offices are some among them," said Cycle Prakash, an organiser. The campaign is scheduled to be held in January.