BY KAVITA CHHIBBER & JASJIT KHAN

They filled the interiors of the newly expanded Bhojanic restaurant to its fullest capacity-their faces filled with animation, joy and excitement at this not very frequent opportunity to meet and mingle with those who come from the same generation, and have similar stories and experiences to share.

June 22nd marked the celebration of the Fathers’ Day luncheon for the senior citizens of Atlanta under an initiative spearheaded by Raj Razdan and supported by her core group of volunteers. The idea took shape at a board meeting of the Indian American cultural association more than a decade ago, when a program for Senior citizens was put into place to be headed by Raj. Today Raj is the Executive Director of Senior Citizens Program, Inc. a 501-C-3 Tax Exempt organization.

“We started with a Mothers Day luncheon in the first year,” recalls Raj, “ and we had only 30 people, but we put up a full 2-3 hour show for them with dance studios around town participating in the show. Dr Bhagirath Majmudar and his wife Uma put up a play and we also had a fashion show.” Today, says Raj, they have 400-500 senior citizens on their mailing list but only less than half show up because of lack of mobility.

“Unlike New York or India where public transportation is very accessible, the distances in Atlanta and lack of easy accessibility to public transportation, leaves the senior citizens dependent on their children and their availability and more often than not the kids are tied up. The current generation is unable to drive.”

For those who made it to the June 22nd event, it was a day filled with fun, great food, music, games and prizes and warm conversations. For some, like DinaNath Mehta, it was a welcome change from taking care of a wife who has been battling paralysis for the past 3 years. “I don’t go out much, except for working at the Dekalb county jail and occasionally playing Bingo”. Mehta’s daughter lives here and when she can drive him around he gets to enjoy occasions like these. His son lives in New York and he misses being in the Big Apple due to easy access to transportation. “I would go to the gurudwara and other events there quite easily. Here I’m dependent on my daughter,” says the ex external affairs ministry official for whom life moves at a snail’s pace at times. Moments like these are special and very welcome.

Mrs. Pushpa Wadhera who has lived in the US for 17 years and has a great network of friends says she wishes someone would buy a bus for Atlanta’s senior citizens and donate it to Raj and her group, so they could arrange for all of them to commute easily to events like these.

Shakuntala Ahuja, says she has been coming and going from India and back and misses that mobility. She loves events like these but wishes that people would not sit in their own regional cliques. “The Gujaratis sit with Gujaratis, Punjabis sit with Punjabis. I wish everyone would mingle. Still it’s really nice to see people in our age group and older than us sit together, have a meal and exchange thoughts, ideas and memories.”

Pandit Vishnu Bhatt a well known Priest says he cannot give enough praise to the way the core team has hosted these events. “It is very heart warming to see that the volunteers’ team consists at times of the crème de la crème and they serve us, pick up our plates with such affection. It is deeply touching.”

Dr. Amita Dave’s father has been very sick and in and out of hospitals, and yet he sat there looking joyous and handsome, even though he could not speak much. He was so happy to be there with his wife and his two daughters.

For Surinder Malhotra and his daughter Archna Becker of Bhojanic, this has been a 10 year commitment. “My grandfather passed away 10 years ago and my mom wanted to do something in his memory. We decided then that we would sponsor the Fathers’ Day luncheon every June in my grandfather’s memory,” says Archna.

Surinder adds that this event has never been a burden for them but always a pleasure. “Last year one gentleman came up in our crowded restaurant and blessed us and said next year you will have double the space here and strangely we did so well that we expanded to twice our old size. I believe firmly in the blessings of elders and I think the seniors leave so happy from here that their blessings have made us prosper.”


“This is our community, and our people,” says Archna, “We are here because of our elders and the hard work they put in to lay the foundation so we could prosper and this is the least we can do for them. So we pull all the stops and make them feel very welcome.” Surinder feels very happy that so many restaurants and other sponsors have followed their lead since they became the first permanent sponsors 10 years ago. The restaurant provided scrumptious appetizers, a delicious main course of many dishes and three different desserts.

Raj Razdan says there are several challenges that remain. Her dream is to some how get a building for the senior citizens, because she is always scrambling to find a big space. “The restaurants are not that big now to host the increasing number of people. I have annual sponsors today but the cost of food is rising, so I’m now hoping to get corporate sponsors as this is a non profit initiative.

These seniors have so many trials and tribulations and really need to have some form of entertainment and enjoyment. They look forward to getting out of the home. Transportation is a big issue. For example, the local promoter of shows Mark Premji always volunteers to give subsidized tickets to these citizens but who is going to bring them at night to the venue? I had once arranged and paid 2000 dollars for an event at ekal vidyalay/Gandhi foundation but only 30 seniors were able to make it. I felt really bad. I’m also having a problem crossing county lines. My senior citizens are scattered all over and if I host an event say in Cobb, I cannot invite senior citizens from Fulton and vice versa. Also we can’t host events on weekends because these centers are closed. So it becomes even more crucial to have our own centers.”

Raj Razdan now does an event for the senior citizens every month, and says she makes it a point to call as many children and tell them to block the dates now that she the itinerary for 6 months charted out in advance.

Following are the dates for forthcoming events

July 20 or 27
August 31
September 28
October 19 or 26
November 9
December 7