The other day, Old MacDonald had a Luck, E-I-E-I-O, he successfully completed 88 years on this celestial piece of real estate called Earth.
When asked about his Vintage year of wine production, he happily said 89 Minus, rather than 88 Plus, just see the spirit this Army Veteran ...
While this is a post about Ageing but then, occasionally personal pictures and discussions do get used because of having pro-bono advertising models in the house.
88 not-out is not uncommon in today's date, many people are hitting at least 90 plus runs in general; the larger point of debate is, while we all want to make a century, but then at what cost? Is hitting a century and being caught on the boundary or being run out more important than getting out at 75-85 as clean bowled?
Ageing is typically proportional to the dependency levels, and especially beyond a certain point dependency on others becomes a single line rather than like a snakes and ladders game or two parallel lines which gets narrower with old age.
It is typically between 75-80 years of age when the hand over of responsibilities starts happening between parents and children.
Banking work, house management, medication management, hospital visits, bill payments etc, are gradually handed over to the next of kin as if the oldies are saying, all yours buddy, now it's your time to age.
India has a very complex Elderly Care fabric which is woven in such a manner that at times it's difficult to find appropriate solutions for all.
Some people are lucky; they have financial and health safety nets like pension and insurance, whereas on the other side of the rainbow it's completely like the dessert, no matter how deep you dig, you will never find gold at the bottom of the rainbow.
While at a National Level we are somewhat struggling to find the middle path of creating sustainable solutions and impact for our senior citizens, but then in my opinion it's still a long walk down the alley.
Coming back to the Birthdays of these young people who are like 85 years Plus, the best part is, they really do care about wanting to be acknowledged as living beings rather than put out like an old broken record. Seniors too want to see the occasional cakes and candles (even if it's a 5 minutes quick delivery tea cake).
And that is where we as an industry, families, communities, and all stakeholders should be working on, we need to move ahead from the Darwin theory of basic survival to the new age needs of, Basic needs also include, wellness, well-being, inclusion and being appreciated for the past and what a Senior can still contribute to the society.
Pankaj Mehrotra
Founder - Elderly Care India
