As usual you must be having some very important programme today also,” my wife said a bit sarcastically. “Oh! I forgot to tell you I am going out to see the superhit Malayalam movie How Old Are You starring Manju Warrier.”
She walked up to me, looked into my eyes and asked, “How old are you?” That, of course, was a reminder of my age—eighty plus one. “Don’t you feel ashamed or at least awkward to stand in queue in front of the ticket counter along with youngsters? Almost all of them must be between 17 and 30”. As usual, I remained deaf to her question and stepped out.
I often thought that it would have been fine if my wife (who is seventy plus) too was interested in movies. Then the octogenarian husband and septuagenarian wife could have gone to the movie house together. But alas! She hates movies.
I had been a movie lover since my college days and I am still going strong. Now, when I stand in queue, I look around to see whether the youngsters are staring at me as the odd man out. No. They don’t mind this old man and they mind their own business. That, of course, is a great relief. My better half’s bitter words that I should feel ashamed are therefore totally unwarranted. She doesn’t realise that it is such entertainment that still keeps me young at heart.
Not only movies, I still enjoy dramas, music concerts, dance performances, comedy shows, group discussions, etc. We have a Thursday club consisting of fifteen senior citizens, seven of whom are sexagenarians, five are septuagenarians and three octogenarians. Every Thursday evening, we get together and discuss every subject under the sun, from North Korea’s nuclear threat to GST on masala dosa. Occasionally we go on tours. Then there is another group of twelve retired government officers of the education department. On the second Friday of every month, we meet and enjoy endless reminiscences of good old days.
I am an active member of an arts society, a cultural organisation which arranges regular programmes such as dramas, ganamelas, magic shows, etc. I am also the editor of the society’s monthly publication. What a pity it would have been if I were always to sit on my easy chair, grumbling all the time, quarrelling with my wife, finding fault with daughters-in-law as some old fellows do.
Being busy, enjoying entertainment programmes, meeting my friends, going on senior citizens’ tours and practising morning meditation keep me young at eighty-one.
Email: jaypee307@gmail.com