YOU ARE NOT OLD

  THINK  YOUNG

Dr. T. Rama Prasad.                                                                                                         

“When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege

it is to be alive – to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love.”

--Marcus Aurelius

          

 Age is just a number.  The adage seems to perfectly sum up the exploits of the ace Indian tennis legend, Leander Paes, who, at the age of soon-to-be 45 years, claimed a record-breaking 43rd Davis Cup doubles win in the Asia Oceania Group tie against China yesterday (April 7, 2018).   Perhaps, this win may be used as new ammo ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics ... he has long been the gold standard for longevity in Indian sport.  Never say 'retired' !  In 2015, he was  looking forward to the US Open, after being in the professional circuit for 25 years and playing in six Olympics and winning two Grand Slam titles in 2015.  

When one is like that at 45, why do the ordinary, who need not compete in tournaments, feel stressed, aged and weak ?  Why not they be more alive and kicking ?  Of course, we all die, sooner or later ... but we should not go on think about it unnecessarily -- it only advances the date !  

The continued improvement in the game of the world famous football player, Cristiano Ronaldo (33 years -- 2018) prompted the Portugal coach, Fernando Santos, to say that Ronaldo is like 'Port Wine' which gets better with age.  Of course, in sports, 30 plus is 'old age'.  Mental faculties may continue to improve after the age of 30 in many individuals.  Physical or mental, it varies from individual to individual ... some age earlier and some later, physically and mentally as well. 

OLD AGE  redefined by WHO

THINK  POSITIVELY

 Why are you old ? ... because you are thinking you are old !  You are not old ! Think positively.  Ageing is a complex multifaceted phenomenon that comprises of tangible and intangible aspects of our life.  When you are old, to be happy you should be emotionally healthy,  taking joy and sadness in a balanced way. Don’t sweat the small stuff.  Live a good lifestyle -- diet, exercise, sleep, etcetera and just look beyond the mundane.  Take things easy as you are just passing by this meteoric journey. Every soul on earth, virtuous or vicious, shall perish, mostly before the 100^th birthday.  Enjoy the little pleasures that are always around you.  Be alive and kicking, but don’t crave for things beyond the horizon. Don’t expect 70% efficacy in your 70 year-old machinery. Don't go on complaining to your doctor that you are not 100% fit.  Be happy that the systems are still working to some extent. Think positively even while in a wheel chair.  Keep your spirits up even in adversity.    Do your best and take things as they come.  Along with age should come the equanimity to accept both the happy and the sad alike.  Don't get cocooned in concrete jungles, reach out to nature -- see in the video below how I was moving about in a plant nursery in Singapore in June 2019 looking for energising specimens of nature.  Do what you are passionate about.  Think like I think: "I am 70 years young + 6 years old !" 

Age Periods Of Human Life

Authors

·       Akhmet Dyussenbayev

DOI: 

https://doi.org/10.14738/assrj.46.2924

Abstract

In 2015, the World Health Organization under the United Nations officially revised the age standards. A person is now considered young before 44 years of age. According to the new age classification, the young age is from 25 to 44, middle age is 44-60, elderly age is 60-75, senile age is 75-90 and long-livers are after 90. This international standard is made without taking into account the objective regularities of the development physiology and psychology throughout the whole life in the course of rapid growth in youth, smooth development in mature age and the subsequent gradual aging of the human body.

 

USA  Supreme Court Justice, aged 87 in 2020, says that she is fit to her job inspire of being treated for cancer for the fifth time !!!

"  'Old is Gold'.  ALL  THE  SAME,  nothing shines and survives for more than an expected period of time,  even the Earth on which we are living.  Earth (whose present age is around 5 billion years) has an estimated period of survival for another one billion years only !  But let's not be sorry for what's coming.  We are what we are today, full of value, notwithstanding the inevitable features of ageing, as echoed in the VIDEO clip below.  "  --  V. S. Rajyalakshmi,  September 30, 2022

                                                              In Singapore in June 2019

The above video was taken on 15.01.2019  at the age of "70 years young + 6 years old" !!!  It is the Pongal (Sankranthi) Day when I created this roadside garden and gave it as a Pongal gift to the public.

At the age of 80

(Plants make you feel younger,  though they may not make you younger.)

       This reminds  me of a conversation.  A child was brought into my chamber by her mother for consultation.   The conversation went on like this:

"... Doctor, your father treated my father during his childhood."
"It's unlikely  ...  did he treat him in Andhra Pradesh ?"
"No, no  ...  in the Perundurai

Sanatorium hospital."
"It can't be  ...  my father never practised in Tamil Nadu."
"Oh, what's your age, 
doctor ?" 
"May be about 3 times your age -- 70 years young + 5 years old !"
"Sorry sir, then it must be you who treated my father .. I thought 

 you are your son !"

GROUND  REALITIES

AN  INTERESTING  READ :

" ... SEENAGERS

I just discovered my age group!  I am a Seenager.....(senior teenager)

I have everything that I wanted as a teenager, only 50 years later.

I don't have to go to school or work; 

I get an allowance every month.

I have my own laptop and I don't have a curfew.

 I have a driver's license and have my own car.

I have IDs that gets me into bars & the wine store.  Life is good! 

You'll feel much more intelligent after reading this,  if  you are a Seenager.

Brains of older people are slow, because they know so much. People do not decline mentally with age; it just takes them longer to recall facts, because they have more information in their brains. 

Scientists believe, this also makes you hard of hearing, as it puts physical pressure on your inner ear.

Also, older people often go to another room to get something and when they get there, they stand there wondering what they came for.  It is not a memory problem;  it is nature's way of making older people do more exercise.

So there ... I have more friends I should send this to, but right now I can't remember their names. So, please forward this to your friends; they may be my friends, too.  Cheers!

Oh!  By the way, as the year progresses, please take special care of yourself and avoid injuries, because spare parts for old models are no longer in stock, as most of us are the 40s, 50s or 60s models .

The warranty period is long over and the expiry date is due soon.

Caution is better than a fixing. 

We have to remind yourselves that 

We are a ‘Limited Edition’ ..." 

This is the group photo of my classmates, all near the age of 80, taken on 24-1-2019, at a get-together at Visakhapatnam on the occasion of the Diamond Jubilee celebration of our Andhra Medical College MBBS batch of 1959.  To know more about this function and the batch, click on :  https://drtramaprasad.blogspot.com/2017/04/amc-batch-1959.html 

The age of the banyan tree seen through the window must be much more than 100 while the age of those sitting (I, my sister Nirmala & my better half Rajyalakshmi)  in the reception area was near 80.

Near the age of 80

COMPLEXITIES  INVOLVED

          Every now and then we see news reports and a plethora of ads of anti-ageing agents , scientific and unscientific mostly.   Just amuse yourself, don't fall a prey to the commercial traps.  A plethora of multiple factors are involved in health and ageing process --  genetics,  individual constitution, life style, environment, domestic harmony, social cohesion, cultural traits, economic status, positive thinking, group orientation, self-esteem, diet, exercise, sleep, universal health insurance, social security, etc.  One of the recent studies showed that genetically engineered mice with extra copies of four ‘Yamanaka’ genes lived 30 per cent longer (Salk Institute, California, 2016).  In another study of these genes, all the animals died – some due to loss of the identity of the adult tissue cells, and others due to cancer !  Some genes like DNA 5178 and ND2-237Met genotype may make one live longer, through protection against certain adult onset diseases.

        We have seen children in slums growing up into robust healthy adults even with little health care.  And we have seen children from affluent families falling sick quite often inspite of good hygiene and healthcare including a laundry list of vaccinations. Individual constitution and genetics may play a greater role than lifestyle and environment.  I am not fastidious -- I eat whatever is available -- cold or hot, spicy or bland, less salty or more salty,  tasty or not tasty quite unlike some snobbish food-centrics who roll out a print out of menu of the day everyday to the cook; eat at whatever time it is possible;  exercise unconventionally  wherever I am;  go up and down stairs fast; work morning to midnight and beyond;  sleep mostly four hours a day;    no pills and no ills status;  75 + age.  I am not saying that one should ignore the well-known guidelines for good  lifestyle and health.  They do help,  to some extent or a great extent depending upon individual's constitution.  Read my 'Scribblings' on 'Food, exercise & sleep' and other subjects on health and diseases, on this blog.

Photo taken on Deepaavali Day (18.10.2017).

Teacher:   "Who said he is 75 years old ?"

Student:   "His birth certificate, sir !" 

HOW  LONG  IS  LONG  LIFE ?        

       The global average male life expectancy is 69.1 years,  73.8 years for women, and 71.4 for both sexes combined, according to World Health Organization report 2017.  Longest is the long life for Japanese  --  Japanese women’s life expectancy is 86.8 years and that of men is 80.5.  Significant budget allotment for public health contributed to a health and hygiene conscious culture ... and their food and exercise habits -- they eat small quantities of ordinary items and exercise is built into their day-to-day life.

UNALLOYED   BLESSING

            One need necessarily not be happy about increased longevity.  Increased ageing population and shrinking working age population threaten the financial and social underpinnings of health care.  Many aged people spend their last 8 years living in ill-health,  often bed-ridden.  It is a tough challenge to pay for the bills of the ‘non-productive’ community and also to prolong “healthy life expectancy.”

YOU  ARE  ELIMINATED  !   (reprinted from WhatsApp chat)

[8:36 pm, 01/08/2023] AMC Krishnam Raju Sydney: Four Stages of Elimination in Life

At 60, the workplace eliminates you. No matter how successful or powerful you were during your career, you'll return to being an ordinary person. So, don't cling to the mindset and sense of superiority from your past job, let go of your ego, or you might lose your sense of ease!

At 70, society gradually eliminates you. The friends and colleagues you used to meet and socialize with become fewer, and hardly anyone recognizes you at your former workplace. Don't say, "I used to be..." or "I was once..." because the younger generation won't know you, and you mustn't feel uncomfortable about it!

At 80, family slowly eliminates you. Even if you have many children and grandchildren, most of the time you'll be living with your spouse or by yourself. When your children visit occasionally, it's an expression of affection, so don't blame them for coming less often, as they're busy with their own lives!

At 90, the Earth wants to eliminate you. Some of the people you knew have already departed forever. At this point, don't be sad or mournful, because this is the way of life, and everyone will eventually follow this path!

Therefore, while our bodies are still capable, live life to the fullest! Eat what you want, drink what you desire, play and do the things you love.

Remember, the only thing that won't eliminate you is the WhatsApp group. So, communicate more in the group, say a hello, maintain your presence, be happy, and have no regrets!

[8:36 pm, 01/08/2023] AMC Krishnam Raju Sydney: 

Wonderful write up.  The utter reality of elimination.  One shouldn't ELIMINATE oneself from WhatsApp as at the fag end of life, WhatsapPAL would be the only PAL one will have !!!  --  Dr. T. Rama Prasad

[8:36 pm, 01/08/2023] AMC Krishnam Raju Sydney: What a wonderful philosophy human beings goes through before joining our gods and ancestors . Be kind to other earthlings during life span . -- Krishnam raju, Sydney.    

RETIRE  AT  50

          We Indians bite off more than we can possibly chew and go on working and over-working even on weekends as the remuneration is proportional to the turn-over of the work, leading to stress related diseases and family disharmony.  In this respect, we don’t follow the West whom we ape so much. After all, we live for a very brief period on this earth, but most of us behave and plan as though we are permanent residents on this planet and go on building physical assets. We go on working frenetically 24/7 until the rules or nature says ‘quit’.  Don’t wait for that.   Retire at 50 and enjoy the rest of the life. I wrote the following in the E-paper of The Hindu in response to the comments on the article, “Believe me, you’re not old!” (The Hindu,  October 22,  2011 -  www.thehindu.com/opinion/open-page/article2562900.ece):

“ … I had gone through all the above comments which make me think that how one spends the old age is a matter of circumstances. Young or old, one has to cope with a multiplicity of factors in life. Kids are taken care of by the parents as assets, whereas elders may be treated by their children as liabilities, in general. If health and wealth are good, there is nothing to worry about old age. So, dear youngsters, your health in your old age would be as strong as you would make yourself through decades of disciplined lifestyle, and then you would be  as young as you  feel during old age. Regarding the wealth, set realistic goals and achieve targets of wealth to take care of you for half a century after you cease to 'work for earning' at the age of 50 -- yes 50, that is the age after which you should be free to do whatever gives you pleasure for the rest of the life, may be monetarily gainful or not, without the economic compulsions to work like a donkey….”

from:  Dr T Rama Prasad

Posted on: Oct 23, 2011 at 21:15 IST                                 The Hindu  E paper

The "70-year-young + 5-year-old" with the young Perundurai Medical College students on  28.09.2017.  Still working, morning to midnight -- for pleasure, not for money.  The money generated out of the work is used for charity.  Perhaps, the pleasure of giving keeps me 'fit' !  These girls knew of my pleasure in giving when I gave them Rs.6000 though they suggested (after a lot of persuasion to let me know of their expectation) an amount of Rs.5000 for their 'Cultural Festival' ,  the first of the events conducted at the new auditorium of the medical college in front of which we are standing in the above photo.  You may see more photos in the 'Scribbling' titled 'Perundurai Medical College ...' on this blog.

DON'T  BURN  THE  CANDLE  AT  BOTH  ENDS

            The 24x7 work culture has taken a huge toll on the mental and physical health of the workforce.  It has been so exhausting and burnt out that a recent HSBC survey found that 61 per cent of the Indians aged 45-plus want to retire in next five years.

            Four young and dynamic doctors are reported to have died within 48 hours in Tamil Nadu (2023) due to stress-induced cardiac problems.   Dr Gaurav Gandhi (41years,  young dynamic interventional cardiologist), ,Dr. Vijay Suresh Kanna (38years,  young active MD physician), Dr.Sathis Kumar (46 years, young brilliant ENT surgeon) and Danush (a 24-year-old final MBBS  student from Stanley Medical College, Chennai)  passed away suddenly.  They were actively doing their duties in their respective hospitals.  All of them were known to be fit, athletic and didn't smoke or drink alcohol.  They were workaholics. They took pride in overworking and earning good name fame and money.

USE  OR  LOSE

When you grow old, don’t idle your brain and body.  Keep as active as your health permits, both mentally and physically, to help yourself and the society around.  Think positively that ‘YOU CAN’;  never doubt ‘CAN I ?’.  You are as young as you feel. Age is only a number. Use your brain and body, otherwise you will lose them sooner !  Use or lose.  You are not old --  http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/open-page/believe-me-youre-not-old/article2562900.ece.  “…   Old or young, it’s all in the mind.  It doesn’t matter much.  And, of course, it doesn’t mean you can run a race at any age either.  But, death has no great respect for excellent health.  One can die in the pink of health…” --  http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/open-page/old-or-young-its-all-in-the-mind/article4564877.ece.  And diseases also have no great respect for young blood.  See the children  queuing up to have treatment at clinics.

One need not become stavik and fade away into spiritual pursuits as long as the flesh and mindset are on the healthy side.  This is not to say that spiritualism and senility go together.   In fact, most of us are insensitive to both.  It only emphasises that elders have to resist youngsters muscling into their fiefdoms with gusto, and continue innings by remaining at the crease.

'Active' senior citizens relaxing in a park in Singapore in 2014

GOING  STRONG  AT  100

 Look at this 100-year-old Fauja Singh (nicknamed as “Turbaned Tornado”) of Indian origin who set a new Guinness World Record of being the oldest person to complete a full-distance marathon of 42 kilometres in less than nine hours last week (Oct. 16, 2011) at Toronto ! Again at 101, he finished on February 24, 2013 a marathon 10 km race in 1 hour, 32 minutes & 28 seconds in Hong Kong. 

          A 102- year old man, Joe Binder from New York  is still working as a valet at Mario’s Restaurant,  and he has a 48-year old girlfriend !

          There is one "Old Jazz Band" in China --  a band with an average age of 82 (63 to 97) plays Jazz music around the year at the Fairmont Peace Hotel in Shanghai, described as the oldest Jazz band on the planet.  It made an entry into the Guinness World records.

On January 11, 2016,  117 grandchildren attended Krishnammal’s funeral in Dharmapuri District of Tamil Nadu.  She was 113 –year-old and lived a normal healthy life until 10 days before her demise.

732 – YEAR - OLD - INDIAN !

According to an official reply to an RTI  (‘Right To Information’) query a 732 - year - old  Pushpa  Sahu became the beneficiary of a cycle under a State welfare scheme for women (Chattisgarh, India) in 2013.  As per the Chattisgarh Labour Department, 6,231 beneficiaries of the sewing machine scheme and 1,368 beneficiaries of the cycle scheme were aged above 100 years, including the 532-year-old Usha Jamgade (http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/732yearold-gets-cycle-under-welfare-scheme/article6278743.ece ).  Incredible India !

    

       “To me,  old age is always 15 years older than I am.”

                                                                   --Bernard Baruch

The first outbreak of COVID in the world was reported in China on the very next day (31.12.2019) of taking the above photo on 30.12.2019 !!!

                                                                                                                                 

ABODE  FOR  ELDERS

“United Nations forecast that the world’s population of “over 60 years” is all set to double in another three decades, leaving our planet much “wiser” with over two billion people aged 60.”   In India, the elderly population has risen from 5.63 per cent in1961 to 8.3 per cent in 2012.

Where should retired people stay ?  Half a century ago, this question would have sounded absurd.  Things have changed.  There have been drastic changes in family dynamics.  The young adult is too much preoccupied to care for the elderly.  He/she leads a highly stressful lifestyle in this highly competitive materialistic world with little space for peace and harmony.  Joint families are vanishing.  Nuclear families have sprung up.  India is not prepared well for the elderly despite the existence of schemes such as the National Policy on Older Persons, the National Old Age Pension Programme, the Annapurna Programme, etc.( http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-openpage/the-greying-of-india/article6093684.ece  ).  

STRANGERS  UNDER  THE  SAME  ROOF

Curiously, nowadays, some economically well-off elderly couples do not want interference in their day-to-day lifestyle by their children and hence prefer to stay separately in their own home or in ‘old age’ housing units.  For the same reason, youngsters also are preferring to live separately as nuclear families. Happiness is a state of mind.  It all depends on the mindset, affection and attachments. Wavelengths of thinking of parents and children never seem to match these days!!  

WOES  of  the  OLD

Quoted below are some published expressions by some elders:

“I want to maintain my independence and individuality and I want to walk with my head held high.  If we were to live with our children, I have to depend on them even for a cup of coffee.  In such a situation, I don’t live,  I merely exist.  I love my children, but money is the most reliable plan for old age,” says P.S. Raghavendra Rao, aged 80 years.  “I have been the homemaker here for the past 30 years. Two years after my daughter-in-law stepped into this home,  I feel that I am given a pink slip,” says Mrs. Madhavan.    “There is not enough love and care in these places (even high-end luxurious old age community homes).  Phone calls, Skype conversations, remote care-giving, and rushing to India when a parent falls sick are just not enough,” says Mathew Cherian, CEO, HelpAge India  --  http://www.thehindu.com/features/magazine/retire-without-hurt/article4862888.ece.  There is one more article of interest connected with the problems of senior citizens:    http://www.thehindu.com/features/magazine/retired-but-not-hurt/article1701582.ece.  Some in-laws lament that they are not fortunate in getting a good daughter-in-law;  some daughters-in-law rue that they deserve better in-laws. I cite an example.  Two senior citizen parents told a court that both their sons and daughters-in-law had made their life “hell” and that they refused to leave their house.  Giving a judgment in their case, the Delhi High Court on November 29, 2016 ruled that a son, regardless of his marital status, has no legal right to live in the self-acquired house of his parents and can reside only at the mercy of the parents up to the time the parents allow (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/Adult-son-has-no-legal-right-to-stay-in-parents-house-rules-HC/articleshow/55696669.cms ).

        And here is an excerpt from an article which is self-explanatory (in the times of CORONAVIRUS  CRISIS - 2020):  " ... At Vaishnav Charitable Trust, a home for the elderly in south Delhi’s Kishangarh area, Leela Das 74, put her situation down to the “greed” of the younger generation. “You [the young] threw out your parents and family to accumulate money, jewellery and property but all your power now can’t keep you safe from a virus,” she said. “So when people ask me to take care, I tell them you take care--I have seen enough of this world. ...”  ( https://www.indiaspend.com/vulnerable-lonely-residents-in-delhis-old-age-homes-struggle-with-self-isolation/    )

These comments make the scenario of yester years redundant.  Those were the days when age carried clout in India.  Youngsters would touch the feet of elders to greet, talk to them deferentially and look after them wholeheartedly with utmost care.  “Respect for elders is a major component in Indian culture,” says the website ‘ www.indianchild.com ’.  The modern version is crisper in respecting elders: simple – Hi, uncle / Hi, aunty / Hi, mom / Hi, dad,  if not Hey, man … !

                      “The river is always old.  The water is always new.”

                                                         Sadguru Sivananda Murty

THIS  IS  AN  ABRIDGED  TEXT  OF  MY  'SCRIBBLING'.        THE  FULL  TEXT  WILL BE POSTED LATER.     --  T. Rama Prasad