Every Friday for the past four years, a group of Indian-American seniors has gathered weekly at either Clinton G. Martin Park or Michael J. Tully Park to practice yoga, and share a meal and conversations in their native languages.
“This way they’re with their friends,” said Dr. Dipali Pandya, who works with her husband, Dr. Himanshu Pandya, in administering the Milan Senior Program for the seniors.
The program, which is operated by the Herricks Indo-U.S. Community, is intended to get Indian-Americans to “come out of the house and socialize,”Dipali Pandya said.
After an hour of power yoga, Pandya said the seniors have free tea and snacks usually followed by a guest lecture on a health topics such as pain management and drug safety.
Last Friday, Pandya delivered a lecture on a dental topic followed by a free lunch with seniors serving the food to other seniors.
Other activities include bingo once a month as well as special events.
This Friday, the seniors will celebrate Halloween. And Pandya said the seniors also celebrate the Hindu festivals such as the recent Navrati festival honoring the goddess Durga and upcoming Duvali, the festival of lights and spring festival of Holi, a spring festival of color.
“A lot of them get to dance. They have fun with that,” she said, with the Herricks Indo-U.S. organization providing the live music.
Pandya said the group’s membership includes 500 Indian-American seniors and the weekly Milan gatherings typically draw about 120 people each week.
Nanual Jethani, a Milan member for the past five years, said he regularly attends the weekly programs and enjoys the yoga “very much.”
“We do a lot of activities here. We do religious activities. We socialize. We serve free tea and lunch,” Jethani said.
Jethani, a former civil engineer, said the group also makes visits to local Hindu temples. In a distinctly non-traditional vein, they have also visited Atlantic City.
Sumark Desai, president of the Herricks Indo-U.S., said many of the seniors don’t drive and without the program’s help they are isolated in their households.
“There was no intellectual stimulation. They couldn’t be driven anywhere. Here they can be themselves,” Desai said.
He said the board of the Herricks Indo-U.S. Community came up with the idea in 2009, partly inspired by the Town of North Hempstead’s Project Independence programs for seniors. They contacted representatives of the town to set up venues for the seniors and transportation, and Milan – which means “coming together” – was born.
“There’s no pizzaz. The fact that people come to it makes it a success,” Desai said.
Kirit Punchamia, a member of the Herricks Indo-U.S. board who has lived in New Hyde Park for 22 years, said the program began with 50 or 60 members has grown quickly.
“Among them, they have new friendships and have become very close. They never knew each other before,” Punchamia said. “They know everyone now. It’s small but it helps.”
The meeting venues and transportation are provided by the town along with a $2,500 to $3,000 contribution to the group, Punchamia said. Herricks Indo-U.S. raises funds to cover additional costs.
Desai said language is a powerful bond for the seniors. They enjoy the simple pleasure of speaking with each other in their native tongues – something they couldn’t always do at home, he said.
Desai said a half dozen regional Indian languages can be heard in the animated din that characterizes tea time, including Hindi, Punjabi and Gujrati.
“It’s like a migration of birds. There are all different languages spoken there,” Desai said.
A new emphasis on language has emerged from a member of the group, Dr. Bharat Shah, a Great Neck resident who has been a Milan member for three years.
In addition to making medical presentations, the retired pulmonary specialist said he wanted to share his library of 1,500 books in Gujrati, Hindi and Sanskrit.
So he’s started what he calls a Library Without Walls, bringing a selection of books from his library each week and lending them to fellow Milan members.
“I want to bring the books and the people together,” Shah said.
