India’s First and the biggest lifestyle solutions show for Senior Citizens kicked off at Hitex

Hyderabad, December 15, 2018: UNMUKT Festival, India’s First and the biggest lifestyle solutions show for Senior Citizens inaugurated today at Hitex. It is open to the public from 10.30am to 7 pm. The entry is free and all are welcome. It is a two-day event and will conclude Sunday evening. Monimita Sarkar, the founder of Unmukt Festival said this unique festival is expected to draw participation of 8000 elders in two days. It is featuring 60 stalls. Some of these include solution providers from the Health & Wellness, Senior Housing, Home Health Care, Finance & Legal, Technology and Lifestyle segments, both from the corporate and NGO sectors. The festival features 35 workshops, panel discussions, and demos. All these were availed free of cost. Google conducted series of Workshops on Online Safety for Seniors both in English and Telugu. These workshops will also be held on Sunday. These workshops will be held at different timings all through the day. Monimita Sarkar, Unmukt Festival Founder graced the occasion and gave opening remarks. Dr. K.R. Gangadharan, Chairman, Heritage Foundation & Former President, Intl Federation on Ageing gave an “Overview of Senior Care in India.” Heritage Medical Centre is a home away from home is the first private Indian hospital for the elderly that has grown in size and expanded in scope since its inception in 1994. The Hospital’s Heritage Eldercare Service is a pioneer in providing service for the aged in India caters to both, their physical and psychological needs, thereby offering services in diverse fields. Speaking on the occasion he said you don’t retire. It is just a state of mind. Your actual life starts after sixty. Sixty years is not the old age. Indians get old when they become 60, but other countries talk about it only when they reach 80years said Dr. K. R. Gangadharan, Chairman, Heritage Foundation quoting finding of study conducted by London School of Economics. Elders need three things from government—one health security, two income security and caring informed Dr. Gangadharan. Ageing is not a burden. It is the best period of a person as he can do, pursue whatever he or she wants without any responsibility of the family, he said. Mathew Cherian, Chief Executive, HelpAge India gave “A Social Perspective on Ageing in India” HelpAge India voices the concerns of elders to help them live a more dignified life. Established in 1978, its mission is “to work for the cause and care of disadvantaged older persons and to improve their quality of life”. HelpAge advocates for their needs such as, for Universal Pension, quality healthcare, action against Elder Abuse and many more at the national, state and societal level, with the Central and State governments. Lewis R. Shomer, Chairman Abilities Expo, the world’s leading exhibition and trade show for people with disabilities; Savita Mahajan, Mentor and Advisor for Unmukt Festival; Vijaya Lakshmi Prabhakar, Craft and Culture Enthusiast & Advisor for Unmukt graced the inaugural function. Seniority Co-founder, Mr. Ayush Agrawal says, “Basis recent studies, the Indian population continues to age exponentially and many misinterpret the country to be populated with youngsters. Senior citizens have evolved to have diverse needs and this change has enabled the elder care industry to thrive today. We at Seniority.in have pursued the need to provide comfort and convenience for the elderly, offering innovative and high-quality products for seniors and their caregivers across the country. Unmukt Festival gives an opportunity to bridge the gap. The festival has many unique products and services especially developed for elderly people. Who says Apps and Websites are only for youngsters says Aparna Thakkar from Mumbai. An engineer turned entrepreneur, Aparna founded empowerji. She developed an App with the same name which teaches Seniors how to use everyday Apps and Websites using simplified videos. The App is available in English, Hindi, Marathi and Gujarati. Soon it will be launched in Telugu. Among other workshops they conducted for Seniors include: Master Phone Settings; Guide to Facebook; How to Book a Cab; Online Shopping; Cuber Security etc and others. There is nothing body to teach them the technology at home. That is why are running these workshops. All these are free of cost she said. Dr. Rohini of Brinnova Transitional Care centre spoke about how city is fast adding transitional care facilities. It is a place that is bridge between Hospital and Home. It is the place of handholding while healing, recovering. According to experts, the city has 20 transitional care facilities of which six are very active and have a combined 200 bed capacity. Some of these transitional care facilities include: Suvitias, Appokos, New Life, Cure Rehab, Active Life and SIA. Friends company showcased India’s leading disposable hygiene products—Adult Diapers. Ostrich Mobility displayed all terrain wheel chairs. We couldn’t improve the roads, so we improved wheel chairs it claimed. Electronic beds that allow a person to do more than just sleep were showcased. Seniority. in displayed novel and innovative products for the seniors convenience. Notable among them include nail cutters with magnifying glasses and special spectacles that enable our old people to read with bending their neck etc and more Clusters LLC showcased soft magnetic balls to teach elderly to lift weights. These soft balls are introduced instead of dumbles to train seniors in small small weight lifting training to improve their fitness while on the move. Apollo Hospitals showcased SEHAT, a health card for Seniors. ICICI bank showcased Senior Club, a special bank account for Elderly. Zero-G Beds were showcased. These beds adjust to the comfort to the individual. These beds are claimed to alleviate commonly expressed problems like Bachache, Arthritis, Varicose Veins; Sleep Disorders; Bed Sores, Snoring etc. the bed costs Rs 95,000/-. Anita from Brahmakumaris spoke on Future Without Fear. The festival is officially endorsed by HelpAge India and Heritage Foundation India, the event is also partnered by Google, Apollo Hospitals, Nobel Hygiene, Harmony Celebrate Age, Guardian Capital Investments Advisors and Silver Talkies. Some of the exhibitors include Aditya Birla Capital, ICICI Bank, Seniority.in, Himalaya, Saket Engineers, ARDSI, Blue Water Alkaline Solutions, Clustas, Dr. Saxena, Forza Freedom, Smiley Kiddos, Zero-G Beds and many more to create a one-of-its-kind platform that will introduce exciting new opportunities and choices to senior citizens Nobel Hygiene pioneered the concept of adult diapers in India. Himalaya is a drug company works with a vision to bring Ayurveda to society). Seniority.in is India's First Retail Destination that offers products for Senior Citizens). Harmony Celebrate Age is a magazine published by The Harmony for Silvers Foundation, founded in 2004 by Tina Anil Ambani. It is organized by KWC Conferences, a pioneer in India’s Professional Conference organizing industry and Showmex It is not an event, we are spearheading a movement to make our elderly people age gracefully and enjoy old age to the fullest, announced Monimita One-third of our life is spent in old age. Life is not over the moment you are retired. You may be retired, but, you are not tired. Life is not over if you are 60, 70 or 80. You can still enjoy, Monimita added. There are many inspiring senior who is at the unbelievable age of 70, 80 and 90 are doing wonders, participating in marathons. Living as standing examples to many of us and our youngsters, she informed. The fabric of our society is changing. Children are moving away from parents for greener pastures. Parents are forced to stay and live on their own, she said. That is why Unmukt Festival will address six key segments—Health & Wellness; Home Health Care; Senior Living; Lifestyle, Finance & Legal and Technology, Monimita shared. Entry to the event is free and all are welcome. For more information, people can visitwww.unmukt-festival.com, Monimita informed. A significant section of seniors today are independent, financially stable, well-traveled, socially connected, and as a result, have well-developed thoughts of how they want to spend time after retirement. Unmukt is not only for seniors, but it also by seniors and of seniors, Monimita shared. Seniors are using technology wisely. Most of the Facebook and WhatsApp users are Seniors she said.