Mithila wants to open old-age home, help Alzheimer’s patients

The pandemic has affected lives of everyone in varying degrees, but it is the plight of the elderly that perturbed Mithila Palkar. The actor was upset to see a number of videos of senior citizens being abandoned by their kin. “I saw a video of an old man who was abandoned, and living on the streets. My heart sank when I saw those videos,” she shares.

Palkar, who is close to her parents and grandparents, laments the heartlessness of those who leave their old parents to fend for themselves. “It is not my upbringing, so I can’t fathom how someone would do so. If anything, I am overprotective of my parents and my grandparents; they have to tell me to leave them alone (laughs)… Our parents were there for us when we were young, we should be there for them in their old age,” the 28-year-old asserts.

Keen to help, the actor says she wants to open an old-age home. “I also want to help those who suffer from Alzheimer’s and dementia. But, it is a raw thought which occurred to me. I will have to understand how things work in that space, it will take time to materialise. I will start research to understand their needs and how to help them by connecting people who are doing so. There are many NGOs doing tremendous work in this sphere, I will collaborate with them and get some experience first. I plan to visit old-age homes, learn about their needs and work in that direction,” she concludes.

Heartbroken to hear old parents were thrown out of the house by their children in the pandemic. MITHILA PALKAR, Actor