AN ARTICLE PUBLISHED IN HARMONY MAGAZINE SEP-10 ISSUE
FORWARD MARCH
For some ex-servicemen in Kerala, retirement is a way to a new life. Nisary Mahesh recounts her visit to the Sainik Ashram in Kakkanad, where pensionless veterans are rehabilitated with a sense of dignity.
Smartly turned out as always in crisp shirt and trousers, complete with peak cap and white canvas shoes, 92 year-old A P Peters loves chatting about the little things in life. His comrade, 90 year-old K M George, seems a little distracted though his face lights up every now and then. However, T K Bhaskaran, another nonagenarian, wears a charming innocence and is all ears to Peters.
Peters, George and Bhaskaran are bound together by more than friendship; all three were once members of the British Army of India. And after retirement, they have had no independent means of support. Today, along with five other war veterans and a few ex-servicemen the trio call the Sainik Ashram at Kakkanad in Kochi their home.
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| Photographs: Sivaram V |
For some ex-servicemen in Kerala, retirement is a way to a new life. Nisary Mahesh recounts her visit to the Sainik Ashram in Kakkanad, where pensionless veterans are rehabilitated with a sense of dignity.
Smartly turned out as always in crisp shirt and trousers, complete with peak cap and white canvas shoes, 92 year-old A P Peters loves chatting about the little things in life. His comrade, 90 year-old K M George, seems a little distracted though his face lights up every now and then. However, T K Bhaskaran, another nonagenarian, wears a charming innocence and is all ears to Peters.
Peters, George and Bhaskaran are bound together by more than friendship; all three were once members of the British Army of India. And after retirement, they have had no independent means of support. Today, along with five other war veterans and a few ex-servicemen the trio call the Sainik Ashram at Kakkanad in Kochi their home.
