Mumbai: 65-year-old widow finds love for second time during the pandemic

For the past 10 years sexagenarian Jyotshna Vora has lived alone at her Kandivli home with only memories of her late husband for company The walls in her house are lined with photos of her childrentwo daughters who are married and a son who lives in Dubai In March when the nationwide lockdown was imposed she was now to be confined to her room an immediate prevention from the Coronavirus infectionJyotshna Vora 65 admits battling loneliness after the passing of her husband She met Harish Patel 68 in the lockdown through the NGOBut I became lonelier than ever before I would go about crying all day until one day I decided this had to stop Vora 65 recalls She found out about the Ahmedabadbased NGO Anubandh Foundation and quickly made a call I wanted to get married again In a few weeks I was shown three suitable profiles and that is how I met Harish Patel I think it was meant to be As soon as we decided we wanted to spend the remaining part of our lives together we told my kidsSuratbased Patel 68 lost his wife to COVID19 in May Vora came into his life just in time After my children gave us their blessings we held a reception with limited family members We even went on our honeymoon to the Statue of Unity in Gujarat Vora laughsVora and Patel may have found their happy ending but scores of seniors are battling loneliness and depression in the Coronavirusled lockdown Since the start of the pandemic studies from the United Kingdom the US Austria and the Netherlands have shown that senior citizens have been most severely hit by the isolation Before the lockdown about 30 million European adults often felt lonely according to the European Commission and 75 million saw friends and family just once a month The lockdown has forced people to stay indoors Some senior citizens lost their partners during the pandemic and some others much before that But not everyone wishes to die alone So they want to carry on with their lives with a new partner I think that is beautiful shares Natvarlal Patel founder of Anubandh FoundationPatel who started the NGO in 2002 says that the COVID19 lockdown has encouraged hundreds of elderly people and their children contact him to arrange for a suitable match A retired central government officer Patel adds I remained glued to my phone in the lockdown as I kept receiving calls from single seniors So far I have received more than 200 personal CVs from across India A majority of them are retired defence personnel living in Delhi Gurgaon Punjab and Bihar Some others are businessmen and former sportspersonsPatel also received inquiries from overseas I worked with the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation I got inspired to start a marriage bureau after witnessing the devastating emotional impact the Gujarat earthquake had on people Scores of people had died and several others had become homeless and alone So I thought I needed to step in and find them new partners for life he addsTill date the foundation has helped 165 elderly tie the knot In the lockdown Patel has helped 11 persons marry a second time In July alone six got remarried with the help of the foundation The NGO also organises conferences in major Indian cities to spread the word among the elderly My wife passed away in 2014 I was lonely and so I contacted the foundation It was through them that I found Dipa Pandya and I was mentally ready to marry her by 2016 We are happy in each others company and have decided not to have children I have her all for myself till the rest of my life smiles Kandivlibased Milan Doshi 59Keep scrolling to read more newsCatch up on all the latestCrime National International and Hatke newshereAlso download the new middayAndroidandiOSapps to get latest updatesMidDay is now on Telegram Click here to join our channel middayinfomedialtd and stay updated with the latest news