Big B And The Art Of Caring
There can be no two opinions that society in general has to look after the needs
and comforts of the elderly and the disabled while designing residential and commercial buildings, says
Those who know Amitabh Bachchan closely say that the tallest actor of Bollywood was a very caring son too. He was reputed to be a doting and loving son who saw to it that his parents faced no difficulty at his Mumbai home in their old age. Even when they were not that old, he reportedly convinced them to leave their Gulmohar Park home in Delhi and stay under his constant care at his spacious
Mumbai home. That was in the late 70s "Don" was just released, and shattering all box office records when Big B decided that he could not leave his parents under the care of his employees.
Even without becoming a mega-superstar in the celluloid world, you too can look after the needs of your old parents or physically challenged family members. Mind you, you would not have to spend huge sums to become a very caring son or a caring daughter to make life easier for your close relatives when they need you the most. Even without Father's Day or Mother's Day, you can present them some basic facilities in your home.
Architect and teacher Ajay Monga says that if there are elderly people in your family, you can make certain advance planning while taking up construction work of your home. An architect can give you advice on needs of the old members of the family.
With the advice of an architect, you can take several measures that can be put in place to make the movement of the elderly hasslefree and easy. A barrier-free design with easy and convenient passage to different sections of the home is crucial. Basically, they should be provided an obstruction-free movement.
"The room of your parents or old members of the family should be well ventilated and the windows should come with easy-tohandle shutters and curtain strings. The storage facility in the room like almirah and cupboards also has to be worked out in a manner that they do not call for much stretching or exertion in operation," J K Jain, an architect and head of DesignArch e-homes, says.
You can also provide them hand rails wherever possible including along staircase, in
bathroom, kitchen and on the way to the entrance. This will offer some support in their movement. Adequate attention should be paid to the placement of the switches to operate light, fans and appliances.
The night lamp, television and fan or airconditioner controls should ideally be located within arm's reach from the bed so that there is no demand on their physical movements. Jain also says that telephone cable points should be positioned in such a way that the instrument can be placed close by and there is not much cable hanging along on which they could trip.
There is even greater need to look after the comforts of disabled members of the family. Dr Najma Rizvi, formerly of School of Planning and Architecture, says that even though real estate sector has taken huge strides in India, still not many real estate firms make accessible buildings. For instance, there are not many building where one can find lifts in which a wheelchair can enter. She suggests that cabinets should be fixed in bathrooms, bedrooms and kitchens at a height which will not give jitters to a disabled person.
Sanjeev Shrivastava, CMD of
Assotech group, candidly admits to the fact that even now, not many building are made considering the interests of physically challenged people. He, however, says that now all the prestigious real estate firms hire the best architects and they ensure that provision is made so that the lives of old and disabled can be made a little easier. He adds that, now, all the newly-constructed buildings have bigger lifts so that a wheelchair can easily get in.
A senior official of Ansal API is of the view that we do not see many disabled-friendly buildings for the simple reason that our town planners and architects hardly get any intensive training in creating such type of residential buildings, malls and commercial complexes during their college days. "They have to take a very sensitive view of disabled people while making a building. It is high time that both architects and town planners think on these lines" Javed Abidi, executive director of the National Centre for promotion of Employment of Disabled People, says.
Experts claim that the winds of change are certainly blowing in the real estate sector, albeit a tad slowly. Builders are now thinking for physically challenged people also, they say. The likes of Ansal Unitech, DLF, Tata housing, SVP Developers and others make their commercial and residential buildings accessible for physically challenged people. They also provide a wheelchair if required.
Activists of disabled rights point out that apart from lifts, ramps and other necessary things, new buildings must have bathroom doors wide enough so that a wheelchair may pass through it too. As doors are not yet designed that wide, it is a nightmare for the disabled to use bathrooms. As far as giving training to architects and town planners to consider the special people while giving final touches to their projects is concerned, some feel that "if a person is sensitive, he does not require any course. He will do it on his own. For those who are not sensitive enough to the needs of disabled people, they won't change even after doing a special course on accessible buildings." Abidi says that one has to understand that architects are professionals. If they are told to make necessary provision for the disabled people they would follow the requirement. It has to be treated like a fire-safety certificate.
The silver lining is that some of the big corporate houses too are now working hard to make their buildings easy to use by the disabled.
All said and done, there can be no two opinions that society in general has to look after the needs and comforts of the elderly and the disabled.
Courtesy by : Times PropertyDtd: July 3, 2010
For more information about real estate, real estate india, Indian real estate, property, property in india, Indian property, property for rent, rented property, apartment for rent, rented apartment, flats for rent, rented flats in delhi, property for sale in delhi, apartments for sale in delhi, flats for sale in delhi homes for sale in noida, flats for sale in noida, real estate in noida, investment option in noida, real estate consultant in noida, realty firm houses in noida, residence in noida, residence in delhi, residence in gurgaon, flats for rent in gurgaon Log in to http://www.zameen-zaidad.com/ And http://www.propertycafeteria.com
by: nitu
Spartacus: Blood And Sand Are You Not Entertained? Successful Entertainment "the Phantom Of The Opera" The Art of Copying - Understanding photocopiers Few Tried Ways To Find The Best Pawnbrokers North Hollywood Enthralling World Class Entertainment At Singapores Marina Bay Sands Masse Entertainment will issue TERA in North America and Europe The Rise Of Fee Charging Brokers Chicago Art Institutions An Innovative Art That Displays Your Functional Skills Caravan Holidays - How To Keep The Kids Entertained Chinese Art Catching Up With The Contemporary an aesthetical way to look into the art of view A Definitive Honeymooners Manual In Having A Entertaining Retreat In Mexico City