Managing Director of the BMTC, Syed Zameer Pasha, was the guest of honour. Akash Passey, the Managing Director of Volvo India, was also present on the occasion. A shiny red Volvo bus stood outside waiting for its passengers, who listened to guests speak as they enjoyed some hot beverages. Three Volvo buses were deployed to transport over a 100 members and volunteers of Ashvasan to Club Cabana for their day of merriment.
Sohanjeet Randhawa, a spokesperson for Volvo told Metrolife that the day would involve group activities, fun and games. “We hope there will be a lot of singing and dancing. The organisers have promised us it will be a great day and that the elders would enjoy more than even young people could. I think they will. They are more enthusiastic than young people,” he said.
After a short AV about Volvo was aired, Passey spoke about the company and why they had decided to fund this programme.
The other guest Pasha spoke about how the BMTC is attempting to become more senior-citizen friendly. He said that four seats are reserved for them in every City bus stating that the BMTC was “committed to service.” “We would like to lead the change,” he added.
Lalita Ubayanker, founder of Ashvasan, spoke on behalf of the elders who were invited. She said, “This is a day of celebration for us. In 15 years, this is the first time such a thing has happened. This exemplifies what social responsibility can achieve.” This event which took nine months to design nevertheless seemed to have everybody in the gathering with a sense of well-being. Randhawa said, “You don’t do something for a long time and when you finally get around to doing it, you wonder why you waited for so long.”
Asked if there were any plans to make this a regular event, he said, “We’ll take feedback and publish a small booklet to circulate among people. We will also use this to see if we can better the experience.”