‘The family
is the shock absorber of society, to which the bruised and battered individual
returns after doing battle with the world,’ wrote Alvin Toffler in his classic
‘Future Shock’. The breakdown of the joint family has led to a loosening of
extended family relationships. The large, amorphous, supportive joint family
that supported a wide variety of people and bestowed unconditional love for the
crippled, the old and the helpless, has been reduced to the nuclear family
where everyone is in sharp focus.
It is our
mission to restore the family to its traditional role as a place of rest and
healing, in a new paradigm. There should be one person in the family who can
cushion the blows of the outside world. Someone who is not too busy to listen,
gives support, and manages the daily tasks of living. This could even be a paid
caregiver or cook. Networking with parents, in-laws, neighbours, domestic help
and friends is the key for working couples.