Posted:
https://epaper.dnaindia.com/story.aspx?id=43058&boxid=28961&ed_date=2013-4-09&ed_code=820004&ed_page=6nnikrishnan
Real to Reel
Taking a leaf out of a social organisation's initiative of providing a platform to single senior citizens to remarry, Punarvivah is set to get one such character Suraj Pratap Scindia played by Chetan Pandit remarried. The show as the title suggests is about remarriage and started with Yash (Gurmeet Choudhary) and Aarati (Kritika Sengar)'s second marriage. Now Yash has convinced his father Suraj also to remarry after the death of his first wife Gayatri. During the Holi function, when Yash expresses his wish for his father to remarry, with Radha played by Dolly Minhas, the entire community goes against Yash and starts ridiculing him. So his father decides to move to an old people home where he has been a big donor. However, on his way home, he learns that Radha is forced to marry a banyan tree. Hence he goes to rescue her and agrees to marry her. "These days remarriages of senior citizens is not such a taboo subject. There are reports of senior citizens remarrying. And why not? Old age is the worst age to lose your partner. Life gets so lonely and depressing. Television has the biggest reach and can be used for change in social mindset for betterment," says producer Sumeet Mital who has tackled the subject of divorce and remarriage in the serial.
CU
CU
this is in response to this social organisation that was talked about
- Live on , love on
300 aged above 50 interact at unique matchmaking platform; 20 find partners
Maitri Porecha BIJLI VIGYAAN - P123 (MAIT)umbai: Nita Parekh and Shantilal Mehta had eyes only for each other on Sunday evening. They cared little that they were both in their sunset years. Cupid had struck, and how!
Parekh and Mehta, both in their mid-70s, were among the 300-odd people who attended a unique matchmaking initiative ' the Senior Citizens Jeevan Saathi Sammelan ' held for those aged 50 and above at Dadar. What set it apart from similar platforms was that it explored options of live-in relationships and companionships.
"My husband died in my 50s. I then drowned myself in work. After my children moved away, I felt the need for a companion with whom I could spend time, like playing cards, watching a film or simply taking a walk," explains Parekh.
The two have decided to date.
Some others, like Bharti Variya, 56, and Mahesh Kanabar, 54, knew that they had met their soul mate and decided to get hitched. "My 32-year-old son parted ways with us. I stay with my elderly parents who are in their 80s. I have found a loving partner in Bharti who has agreed to look after my parents," smiles Mahesh, a businessman from Kandivli.
Of the 300 people, 20 found partners to either date or marry.
"Every participant met three others in three hours to discuss possibilities of relationships. It's not easy for everybody to make a decision of a lifetime in a few hours. So, setting up a matchmaking bureau is also in the pipeline," says Ahmedabad-based Natubhai Patel, founder of Vina Mulya Amulya Seva, which has arranged 75 marriages and 25 live-ins amongst the elderly in India.
Sailesh Mishra of Silver Innings Foundation says the initiative was prompted by the need to help the elderly fight off loneliness. "We got close to a thousand calls enquiring about marriages and live-ins. Most of them had lost their spouse or were divorcees. They complained of loneliness; some cried and others were on the brink of turning suicidal."
Mishra explains that once the marriage bureau is up and running, lawyers will counsel on issues like inheritance.
maitri.porecha@dnaindia.net
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