Not too long ago, India households were largely extended families, brothers and their families living under a single roof, often with elderly parents being the head of the household. My own father grew up with cousins, uncles, and aunts in his maternal grandparent’s home. Sometimes there were upto 50 people in the house.
For many families, 50 is considerably small. I know of some people who’ve grown up with 80 or 100; and a few years ago, I met one young woman from Bangalore who still lives in a household of 400!!! (Though she did say that in her parents’ generation, the family decided to divided the property into individual homes but they all still lived side by side, and all functions were performed together.)
Leaving parents used to be looked down upon. Old age homes were for destitute, low income elders who could not take care of themselves, and became “burdens” to their children and families.
So during Covid, when I moved to Serene Shenbagam, and told people I live in a senior’s retirement community, they were taken aback. Many assumed that I was a home manager or staff member, and thought I was teaching them yoga (to point, I did teach yoga and art therapy to the seniors for about 2-3 months. Later, I started taking some of them on hikes or drives in the countryside, but that was purely out of my own interest and theirs, just for fun or for our own personal purposes).
Serene Shenbagam was my home for 2+ years during Covid. I was a bit apprehensive about coming here during Covid, but anything beat big, bad Bangalore, where I was stuck to my flat 24-7, and then some.
In the time I was here, I developed a love for this place which I have been unable to pen in writing. This blog post will merely skim the surface, the tip of the iceberg of my feelings towards my beloved Kovai. This one is more about the residential community I lived in.
housekeeper and staff member of Colombia Pacific Communities
Serene Shenbagam is a sanctuary for seniors, an agraharam for the Tamil Brahmin community who strove to reach the heights of administrative, academic, engineering, medical, and other professional spheres. Many of the owners and residents were born in the 1930s and 1940s, just around the time of India’s Independence, while some of the more recent incumbents are slightly younger, in their late 50s and 60s. Themselves from well-off renowned families, they educated their children, who often sought greener pastures in bigger cities and countries that could provide opportunities for growth.
My parents invested in this property around 15 years ago upon the insistence of one of their dear friends who had retired from the United Nations. (My dear Balasubramanium Mama, who did not buy a property here himself, passed away of old age and other issues in his 90s, sometime during Covid.) While they haven’t been here themselves, since they didn’t have a tenant at the time, they were able to offer me the space to get out of the concrete jungle, and I jumped at the opportunity.
Serene Shenbagam is one of dozens of such communities in Coimbatore, some owned by parent company Columbia Pacific Communities; others by Ananya’s Nana Nani or other corporations; and some privately run. Thousands of seniors come here for a few months at a time, or a few years; or even just live here permanently.
More about Serene Shenbagam, its community, and this region of Kovai, in future blogs…. this one is already too long!