Tours

The activity has a vision to “honour the past and to inspire the future” by the senior citizens of the society with two primary purposes – beneficial use and pleasurable appreciation. The tours are beneficial to the senior citizens because these are physically, socially, mentally, emotionally and spiritually rewarding. The tours give an opportunity to the participants to explore the place where they have always wanted to be but the circumstances kept them away from achieving the same.  The activity brings them close to their peer, builds social ties. The tours have proven to be an opportunity for the senior citizens to show the others “what they can do". Enhancements of inner perceptual and/or spiritual life are an experience. The tours are pursued for senior citizens to find peace, enjoy life, relax, and rejuvenate. These are an answer to the problems of isolation, boredom and neglect with growing age resulting in a state of emotional vacuum. Heritage places were therefore a norm in the bygone era, whereas today while the desire still remains, the elders seldom find ways of realizing this desire. Therefore pilgrimage/heritage tours for the elderly were conceptualized.

THE FIRST TOUR
As an inaugural event, realizing that the Senior Citizens who are residents of Homes for the Aged in Delhi/NCR are desirous of visiting the pilgrim centers of Haridwar and Rishikesh, a free of charge tour was organized for the elderly residents of old age homes and members of the senior citizen associations. 
HelpAge India VishokanandVridhh Ashram, GanjDaranagar, BijorDistt served as the base camp, where these elders met members of Senior Citizens Associations from Dehradun, Mussorie and Bijnor as also Sr Management of HelpAge India. The next day the elders were taken to Hardwar for a holy bath at the Holy Ganges during the Kumbh, maintained to be the auspicious period for ritual baths. They also visited Rishikesh and Lakshmanjhula. 
On the final day on their way back to Delhi they also visited the heritage site of Hastinapur , that was a central hub for political, cultural, and spiritual learning. The HastinapurTeerthKshetra (Heritage Centre) located in Meerut District of Western Uttar Pradesh, also referred colloquially as Gajapur, (Gaja – Elephant) perhaps due to the number of elephants that used to live on the banks of the river Ganga. The place was ruled by an illustrious king ‘Hastin’ of ‘KuruVansha’ (Vansha -Dynasty) who ruled here for many years, and thus the name ‘Hastinapur’.