Whether a war is won or not, it brings in its wake quite a few veterans and war widows — each with a tragic tale to tell. Tamil Nadu has nearly 31,500 widows of ex-servicemen including war widows whose husbands have laid down their lives in various theaters of war to defend the motherland. In order to start an old age home for war widows and orphaned old civilians, the Ex-Servicemen wing of the State government and War Widows Welfare Association along with Helpage India started a home in 1994 and named it 'Nimmadhi'.
At present, there are 17 people in the home — both war widows and ageing ex-servicemen. Kalyani, an administrator at the home said, “All the people here are aged between 60 and 80. We have to treat them like children at times. They are provided with hygienic food at regular intervals. Also, physiotherapy treatment is given to all in the evenings. They are provided with separate lockers, individual beds and other provisional items. The women here also prepare vadakam and homemade products and sell it to make some extra income.”
At 90, A Ramamurthy who is a World War II veteran rued the loneliness, “No visitors have come to see for the past few months and yet I feel like staying at home. They take good care of me very well and ensure that I eat at least a few morsels.” Kalyani said, “Ramamurthy is the pet of all the people living here. He's quite humorous and keeps everyone happy, even at this age." GMK Samy from Tirunelveli and Viswanathan from Tiruvarur are veterans of Japan and Pakistan wars. They both served as technicians in repairing the war instruments during the war. Even they are quite happy ekeing out the remainder of their days here. Godawari, one of the inmates of the Home, said, “I feel good staying here and we are like brothers and sisters. We don’t feel like staying in an old-age home, instead, it feels like a home of our own.” The good news is that they have planned to accommodate at least 50 persons in due course of time.
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