Let's wash off our sins... and dump grandma. Huh?

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/02/130223-culture-travel-religion-india-maha-kumbh-mela-world-women-widow-hindu-festival/

This is horrible! Tens of thousands of old people are abandoned...

Quote :

People come to Allahabad to wash away their sins in the sacred River Ganges. For many it's the realization of their life's goal, and they emerge feeling joyful and rejuvenated. But there is also a darker side to the world's largest religious gathering, as some take advantage of the swirling crowds to abandon elderly relatives.

"They wait for this Maha Kumbh because many people are there so nobody will know," said one human rights activist who has helped people in this predicament and who wished to remain anonymous. "Old people have become useless, they don't want to look after them, so they leave them and go."

I first read about this years ago, but it still shocks me every time I've read it since. It seems horribly cruel, disrespectful, unloving and cowardly. I have subzero understanding for how anyone could do this to their parent, grandparent or any elderly relative for that matter.

I just hope that I don't become a burden on my kids.

Perhaps it is an Indian culture thing... where it is not considered dishonorable to cast off your parents.

All I can say is that it was an honor to take care of my mom for the last few years of her life.

Eric wrote:

I just hope that I don't become a burden on my kids.

Perhaps it is an Indian culture thing... where it is not considered dishonorable to cast off your parents.

All I can say is that it was an honor to take care of my mom for the last few years of her life.

At least for women, it's not an Indian cultural thing. Below is quoted from the article, and from what I've learned from my Indian and Tamil (also Hindu) friends, it is definitely not the case... the families cared for their elders in their own homes until they passed, much like we do. To me it seemed much better than we do because it seemed to be sort of cultural taboo to put them into hospice or an old folks' home... or that was how I perceived it anyways. But then there are stories such as this that tell a whole different story.

Quote :

According to the Hindu ideal, a woman should be looked after until the end of her life by her male relatives—with responsibility for her shifting from her father to her husband to her son.