The Amberwood Estates: the Seniors’ Diaries , livre ebook

Partridge Publishing Singapore - Salma Hamid Hussain

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77 pages

English

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The novel touches on today’s rapidly-changing landscape, in which, despite the undercurrents of pessimism, and incidence of elderly abuse, encountered by “Empty Nesters,” who may be financially well-off, but despite emotional deprivation, there emerges a bright picture of the empowerment of the mature population. They come across as the repositories of rich experience, and valuable advice for the next generation!
The theme of the book is to provide hope to the elderly, that they will not be left to “fade away into the sunset,” but will enrich the lives of the younger people, with “the light of their amber glory!”
For the seniors, whose lives are enriched by a gamut of activities, for boosting their emotional and physical health, their lives are highlighted in various episodes, against the backdrop of “Amberwood Estates,” a sprawling Housing complex—the brainchild of Afshin, her husband Akhtar, and her mother, Asiya.
Amberwood Estates is a veritable utopia for the elderly, motivated by a curriculum for boosting their physical and emotional well-being. These include classes in Reiki, Tai Chi, cruises, cultural activities, and social gatherings.
The novel begins with the objectionable treatment of a mother, who had devoted her whole life to her children, after she was widowed young. She had worked hard to facilitate their higher education, so that they could live luxurious lives. The daughter-in-law, Elham, is an avaricious and insolent person, who does not care for her mother-in-law’s comfort, or her quality of life, despite the fact that her son had provided her an opulent lifestyle.
The mother is rescued from her squalid life by her daughter, Afshin, who lives in Kuwait. Afshin’s neighbour, Sarah, is a forward-looking lady, who has set up a seniors’ club for Assisted Living. With Sarah’s guidance, Afshin sets up a similar, Seniors’ Housing complex in Karachi, in her home country, Pakistan. It gains so much popularity, that dignitaries from various countries visit it regularly, and similar clubs are mushrooming all over Asia, and the Middle East, due to Sarah’s, and Afshin’s pioneering efforts. Sarah and Afshin were awarded a Special prize for their humanitarian efforts.
In the Book, the lives of other senior citizens are highlighted in various episodes, with individual circumstances of parents being abandoned by immigrating offspring, who are endowed with hope of a better lifestyle at Amberwood Estates. The lives of some of the elderly residents become intertwined at times, and some surprising unions take place at the end!

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Fiction

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Publié par	Partridge Publishing Singapore
Date de parution	13 avril 2023
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781543772920
Langue	English
Poids de l'ouvrage	2 Mo

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0200€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

THE AMBERWOOD ESTATES: THE SENIORS’ DIARIES

PREDICTING A BRIGHTER FUTURE FOR THE ELDERLY

Salma Hamid Hussain

Copyright © 2023 Salma Hamid Hussain . All rights reserved.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

www.partridgepublishing.com/singapore

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Illustrations by: Sajida Majeed, Pakistan

ISBN
ISBN: 978-1-5437-7291-3 (sc)
ISBN: 978-1-5437-7293-7 (hc)
ISBN: 978-1-5437-7292-0 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2023901764

03/31/2023

CONTENTS
“PARADISE REGA INED!”
“PARADISE—THAT WAS LOST”
“CHINESE CHEC KERS!”
‘”M IRROR, MIRROR ON THE WALL…”
“SOULS AP ART !”
“A CRY IN THE WILDER NESS”
“SATURDAY’S SPECIAL SP ORTS”
“MOST UNL OVED!”
“THE GRAND FIN ALE !”

“PARADISE RE GAINED!”
It was a hot and humid day at the Karachi airport, as Afshin rolled her luggage trolley to the exit, and looked around for her brother’s car. She recognized her brother’s chauffeur of many years, waving out to her. He came forward and took her luggage, and loaded it in the car.
Afshin was a bit disappointed that her brother, who was an executive in a multinational company, had not tried to make time to receive her. Instead, he had sent a message saying that an unscheduled meeting had come up, and he would see her at home later.
As the car sped along the familiar route, Afshin was lost in her reverie. She was anxious to meet her mother, who seemed to be getting older, and was trying to cope with her health problems. She had spoken to her mother on Skype a few days ago—thank heavens for modern technology, she mused—and had been alarmed by how frail she looked, and had appeared a bit disoriented. That is why she had decided to pay a visit.
Her mother, who had been a vibrant, astute career woman, as well as a versatile homemaker, was a perfectionist. She was an indefatigable multi-tasker, even before the term was invented!

Afshin was glad that her brother and his wife were taking care of her mother, and hoped that she was happy. Afshin entered the house, and was greeted by her niece and nephew, aged 8 and 5 respectively. “Where is Ammi [vernacular for ‘Mom,’] ? Her sister- in-law, Elham hugged her cursorily, and said that she was in bed, as she had been under the weather. “She is looking forward to seeing you.”
Afshin dropped her bag, and ran to see her mother. The room seemed very neat with new covers on the bed, and a vase of fresh flowers on the bedside.
“Salaams, Ammi, so nice to see you!” Her mother’s face lit up as she hugged her daughter. There was a strong smell of disinfectant, but Afshin felt assured that her sister-in-law was keeping everything hygienic.
An hour elapsed, as the mother and daughter caught up with the news. Afshin could not fail to notice that her mother looked weak and tired easily.
“Are you eating well, Ammi?” “Yes, dear. Elham sees to that,” her mother replied in a stilted voice. Elham had laid out a futon so that Afshin could sleep in her mother’s room.
Her brother, Zeeshan, came in and enjoyed talking to his sister about her family, and their life in Kuwait. Afshin was tired from her journey, though a short one, but she made sure to put a jug of water on her mother’s bedside. She applied some coconut oil in her mother’s hair, as she used to do, when she was younger, and rubbed some balm in her mother’s arthritic hands. Gradually, her mother dozed off.
Afshin lay in her bed, but felt a strange sense of unease. She could not fathom what it was, and attributed it to the stress of travel. Eventually, she fell into a fitful sleep.
Suddenly, she woke up with a start. Against the dim nightlight in the room, she saw her mother’s silhouetted figure trying to get up with her cane in her hand. Afshin rushed to her side and, asked if she could help her, presuming that she was going to the bathroom.
“Sorry to wake you, Afshin, I just checked my blood pressure, and it was a bit high. So, I was going to get my tablets from the other room.”
“I’ll get them, Ammi,”
“No, dear, you would not be able to find them.”
“OK, then I will come with you.” She did not want her mother to trip and fracture a bone, so she held her mother’s elbow and accompanied her.
Her mother stopped near the staircase, and entered a smaller, dingy room. Afshin switched on the light, and her nostrils were
assailed by a strong smell of menthol balm. There was a low rickety bed with crinkled sheets. In the dim light, Afshin saw some cobwebs on the ceiling, and a medium -sized cabinet with a pane of broken glass, which held some boxes with strips of tablets. Some clothes were hanging from the pegs on the wall.
“Ammi, why do you keep your medicines here? Why not in your room?” Her mother did not say anything, but fumbled in the shelves, and pulled out a plastic box. She then took out some strips of tablets and said: “Let’s go back, you need your sleep.”
Afshin guided her mother to her bed, and helped her to take the tablets after reading the instructions on the box. As she lay on her bed, Afshin felt wide awake. Why were her mother’s medicines and belongings in that musty room? Why was there a pervading smell of menthol balm all over it? Soon, she heard the azaan [the call for prayer] from a nearby mosque, so Afshin got up to pray, taking care not to wake her mother, who had drifted off to sleep.
Afshin fervently prayed for her mother’s health and safety. She began reminiscing how her mother—who had been widowed in her thirties-- had looked after her as a child, giving her the best of education abroad, a wonderful life, and did not let her want for anything, despite her meagre resources. She, herself, must have had to do without, but she never let her children know it. She had worked hard, and now, when she needed someone to take care of her, she was alone and unhealthy. I must tell Zeeshan to hire a maid specially for Ammi, she thought, and dozed off.
The next day was a busy one, with visits by relatives and neighbours, her niece and nephew being dropped off to school, interspersed with chats with her mother, and her efforts to make her mother more comfortable. She found an electric massager which her mother had bought, but had never used.
Despite her mother’s protests, she plugged it in, and gave her mother a massage. “It will help in blood circulation, and take some
stiffness out of your joints.” She had heard about ginger tea, so she made some, and gave it to her mother. She decided to try some herself, and found it quite refreshing.
The maid who helped with the cooking and cleaning in her brother’s house, was a garrulous young woman, prone to gossip! She told Afshin how her brother’s wife, would not give her mother lunch till late in the afternoon, even though she herself, kept snacking. This made her mother feel ill and weak. “Please don’t tell madam, I told you !” Afshin promised not to, but was concerned that her mother would become hypoglycemic.
When things quietened down, Afshin went back to the dingy room, and looked around. The little cabinet with the broken pane, had some holy books, an album with family photographs, a file with her school reports, and other keepsakes.

The room was dimly lit, and had a musty odour. It was not very well-ventilated and quite small. She heard some voices outside in the corridor, so she hid behind the curtains which had not been washed for a long time. She heard her sister-in-law, Elham, talking to her brother.
“Why don’t you take the money from your mother’s pension, if you want to keep a maid for your mother, as your sister suggested?”
“No. It is my duty to look after her, when she has paid for 40 years of a very luxurious life and education for me.”
“The maid will need to eat, and a place to sleep. After Afshin goes, we will have to ask Ammi to vacate the guest room, as my sister’s family is coming to visit…’
Afshin was startled, when she realized that her mother had been shifted to the guest room, just for her visit, and actually languished in the dim musty room, where she was standing now! Tears welled
up in her eyes a