Kakkar: It is often said that social media has subdued real-life communication. Children these days are glued to their smartphones to be “active” on social media. There is no such thing as hanging out and chatting with the elderly in the family. In many homes, the elderly suffer from loneliness. However, the elderly people in Kakkar village of Punjab located along the Indo-Pak border have come up with a new idea to mitigate this problem.
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The village elderly in Kakkar, which has a population of around 3,500, has taken an initiative to throng to the Gurdwara to prepare the 'Langar' (food for charity) and distribute it among the people. Earlier, it would be only on special occasions the elderly turned up at such langars. However, sensing the loneliness and lack of communication back home, the village elderly thought why not turn such periodical occasions into a daily routine?
Given that everyone enthusiastically participates in the 'Langar', they thought it would be good if they met like that every day. For the last one year, the elderly in Kakkar village reach the Gurdwara at dawn to participate in the 'Langars'. On the sidelines of the 'Langars', they chat and discuss the daily matters of their life.
Everyone returns home rejuvenated in the evening. While only locals of Kakkar used to meet at the Gurudwara at the outset, people from 10 surrounding villages also joined later to catch up with their friends. The locals believe that when they all have fun together, their health problems go away.
