SENIOR CITIZENS IN CHENNAI ARE RECLAIMING TIME THROUGH HOBBIES AND LEARNING

As more community-driven spaces mushroom across the city, Chennai's seniors are turning to unconventional hobbies to make the best use of their time

- 

At the Tamil Nadu Government Music College, under the shade of blooming mango trees, a group of senior citizens are gathered to practise the age-old Tamil martial art form, Silambam. They cautiously learn footwork and combine it with the circular movement of the bamboo staff while the instructor, also a senior citizen, walks around the group often correcting his students' form. For these few hours, age is not a point of discussion here.

Chitra Subramani, a 60-year-old former dance teacher, was among the senior citizens who signed up for the course. “I have always been interested in learning different kinds of art forms, not just dance. The Tamil Nadu Government Music College opened up the Silambam course while I was still working, and I applied to join just for fun,” she says of this one-year course with certification. The Music College also has other folk art form courses like Oyilattam and Thappattam in their curriculum which are open for senior citizens now, thanks to a recent revision of age restriction for students.

Whether through structured classes or personal exploration, an increasing number of older adults are choosing to stay engaged. While previously, elders often took up hobbies like knitting, weaving and indulging in daily soaps, the retired generation of the 21st Century are deciding to spend their time with martial arts, water sports, visual art or educating themselves about finance.