Old Age Blues

Whatever be the blessings of old age, there is a load of physical and mental concerns we all need to carry and it shows in many ways. Forget the usual anxieties on health, senility, personal grooming, managing time, family or financial insecurities, etc. These are commonplace. But what shows up increasingly, particularly among our members, is the sense of acceptance – of coming to terms with the finality and a reluctance to take on the future.

Srichand Arora

On the positive side, there is also the incomparable exuberance to make the most of our ‘borrowed time’. Every birthday or wedding anniversary is celebrated in the Club with renewed gusto, especially when it is some jubilee. For example, Srichand Arora’s promise to host a grand party (see post of May 19) on his 50th wedding anniversary three years from now, has generated heightened optimism all around.

Geeta Sardana

It gives us something to look forward.
Likewise, everyone gets on an overdrive the moment Shekhawat announces a picnic or an outstation trip, no matter where it is headed or what the cost might be. As Nahid Khan famously says, “Who knows whether we would ever be able to go another time.” This is the common refrain and it summarily puts a lid on all the glitches, arguments, even fights during past trips. And we live for another day – forgiving and forgetting. No wonder, the Club trips have become so popular.
Yet, there would be someone like Geeta Sardana who has sleepless nights wondering what will happen to the money accumulated in the Club kitty (by way of subscriptions) once we are no more. “Just watch out,” she cautions all members. “One by one, we’d kick the bucket and all the money in the bank shall remain unspent. Does anybody know what will happen to our money?”
Still, it was important for her to put in her annual subscription before most others – just as long as she knows she ‘belongs’ – yes, to the Club.