Hai All In january, I too visited Premalayam, the old age home for poor and neglected old women, in Eluru, twice. Once on jan 1st and another time on Jan 10th or so.
One of our family friends, from US has sent a cheque of 10K for premalayam. To give that, I went there once. Its running very well now. Here all the old women help each other to goto dining hall, or while going out for a walk. If some one is not in a position to wash or clean the plates, some other one is doing that for them. There is no special cook, or washerman, or gardener there. Yes, there are some people working there to who help them. But most of the time they do their tasks themselves. the committee people send vegetables daily in the morning and other cereals on the first of every month. At Least one of the members daily visit the ashram.Yes its called ashram, premalayam, premaku nilayam(The Caption!!!) They collect 3000 from the donors on their birth days or wedding days and on that particular day ,every year ,all the maammalu wish the particular donor during their breakfast lunch and dinner. Surely the wishes will reach them and some of them even come to the ashram on that day and spend their time with them. We stayed there in the initial days and my mother used to do all the cleaning for the very old ones. It used to be a small one then. Now it has grown to accommodate more than 30 people and all systems are in place now for vegetables to cereals to cooking and cleaning. So its running nicely. They are growing vegetables there and some times there will be so many vegetables fruits n flowers that they give them to the visitors and committee members too!!!!!!! Initially there used to be many quarrels among the maammalu and as they dint have any activity and have lot of idle time. Now they started gayatri mantra chanting. Its a continuous process.From early morning to late evening , mantra will be continuously chanted.One after the other sits n does it. As its going on, others either will be silent or participate in it. Now the environment is good. They get to walk in the garden and as it is amidst fields, they get lot of free place around to just walk too. Every week end, one jai baba amma, a homeo pathi doctor, and also commitee member, visits and not only gives them medicines but makes them laugh a lot. Entertains them very much. I thought of writing this long ago. But some how ........... There is a site premalayam.org But we are not updating it at all. I have to do it. But as usually I am not getting time.:(( I am not sure if this is the correct thread or not....But I dont want to start a new thread If at all we are going to kolleru, premalayam is on the way. Ok lets see, when u come to eluru I will take u all there. ArunK
