The geriatric generation of Bangalore, touted as India 's high-tech city, are not only victims of old age problems, but also of a modern society, which has little time for caring these genteel souls.

As the remaining vestiges of a lost generation, the elderly men and women of a city that was once a pensioner's paradise live on borrowed time.

With the burden of past, full of hardships and sacrifices, haunting them, the noble residents of old age homes lead a vegetable life.

What a curse to live longer in these hard times for these old men and women when all they need is a bit of love and care after they have been forsaken by a heartless kith and kin!

If their forefathers and grandmothers were fortunate to have spent their evening of life in the midst of near and dear, thanks to the hoary Indian tradition of joint family or dwelling in clustered homes in the countryside, migration to urban ghettos in search of greener pastures has been their undoing, as they have become a pariah of their own nucleus families.

While job-oriented education and a pampered city life would have made their progeny prosper and flourish, it is loneliness, dejection and destitution that is to their lot even as death beckons some of them in the shadows of old age.

Left to fend themselves in the company of other unfortunate compatriots, they are at the mercy of lesser gods, who, as Samaritans, shelter and tend them to live another day in the fond hope of bringing back smiles and a whiff of happiness in an otherwise dreary life.

After years of sweat and toil, irony of fate brings these ageing mortals together under one roof to dwell in a spirit of camaraderie and share their fond memories of happy days, sorrowful nights and ruminate over trials and tribulations in their chequered life.

Though compulsions for seeking refugee in an old age home are as varied as they are present at any given time, their plight is a sorry reflection of the state of affairs in a country that is known over the centuries for its deep family values, veneration for elders and genuine concern for the needy, especially the older generation.

Rapid urbanisation and globalisation have only compounded the problem of countless elders who have suddenly become a liability to their own grown-up children in old age.

Adding to their woes are an indifferent society and a callous government, which have neither willingness nor policy to provide shelter or succour to ease the burden of existence in the old age with myriad health problems.

It is merciful that a few philanthropists, humane organisations and chivalrous institutions are still around to rescue these frail entities from being abandoned and give a fresh lease of life to bear the agony of living longer with illness or disease that are a fallout of ageing process.

Away from hearth and home and alienated from their kith and kin, life in an old age home is a challenge as well as an opportunity. A day’s life in such a makeshift place without the caring touch of near and dear can be eerie for these hapless!

With peace, happiness and comforts of own house becoming a thing of past, the charm of life is conspicuously missing. Their cup of woes is filled with tinge of sadness, ennui and gloom.

In the company of strangers and unknowns who share their own fate, the geriatric manage everything on their own and attempt to beat monotony by following the routine activity from dawn to dusk in a mechanical way to live another day.

Fighting the ageing process and battling with old age symptoms, these noble souls pray that such a fate may never befall on their progeny when they are long gone from this world!

As aptly said, even a 1000-word piece cannot reveal what a single snapshot of these old men and old women in their 60s and 70s depicts in black and white, with the interplay of light and darkness.

Captured vividly by ace Bangalore lensman K. Venkatesh, the moving portraits depict the vicissitudes of life in a home away from home!

With an uncanny eye for detail and offbeat angles, the veteran photo-journalist attempts to stir our society’s conscience and awaken the powers that be from deep slumber to the harsh reality of modern times where the older generation is left to the mercy of gods and the Generation Next is too busy chasing dreams and fantasies! Have a Heart!