"When Will I DIE?" (proceeding from bifocals to trifocals & dentures to death)

When Will I DIE? Havent we also thought about it?Yes,Perhaps....Even i thought about this while i was on a field visit during my college days.We know that no one can predict this with any degree of accuracy - not even the best of doctors or life insurance actuaries.The uncertainty about whether there is an after life and what it will be like continues to be a mystery.I still remember those scenes i saw there.

Iron benches on the floor of a semi-pagoda style double storeyed,well extended and spacious house with many rooms;each room holding two to three beds,marble and mosaic floors with carpets,plant pots,aquariums,walls so wonderfully decorated with traditional paintings and wallpapers of Jesus and Krishna and so on.It definitely had adequate space for outdoor and indoor recreation as well.Indeed a cool and calm atmosphere and clean environment with much greenery.The only difference from a five star style was the lack of ultra modern gadgets and luscious meals with high carbohydrate and fat;but the humans here does not need these but something else..something which wealth cannot buy.I needn't explain more as we can easily make a wild guess...its all about an Old Age Home i visited during my final year at college.

.....elderly people depending on eachother for companionship and silently grieving over the loss of contacts with and influence over their children ;the love and care they often longed for.As i moved through the verandah asking the inmates to join the programs conducted for them in their assembly hall i met a grandpa in his late 70's with whom i got attached in minutes.His eyes was lusterless ,it pleaded mercy and asked me to stay there.i sat next to him on the iron bench as he slowly started to speak about his family.His hair waswhite and bristly;double chinned,skin wrinkled,dry with dark spots and warts here and there all over;tough nails , long nose and with a very broad smile.His father he recalled was poor but a craftsman who was proud of the barrels he made and lived with his sn till his last breath.He too had dreams and wishes of seeing his grandchildren ,taking them for outings on weekdays,telling them stories till they slept......

 Wishes never understood by his own blood....his own children.

 As i continued to walk throg the verandah i found a granny sipping coffee as she read the newspaper all the way through and finally looking at the obituary column and being gratified at not finding her name there.The sad stories which they share had these in common- disabling illness,injuries,accident proneness,above all unfavorable social attitude towards them weakens their zest of life and leaves them with thought of "When Will I Die?"

 I have heard that old age to be the golden age..golden era of life....but in what aspect do we say so?Their friendliness ,warmth,experience,open mindedness,skill in getting things done for their children and grandchildren are really to be treasured.....if they are rightly looked upon.

   Their illness,loneliness and terrorts make the aged easy prey to a growing army of charlatans in whom their vulnerability arouses instincts not of sympathy but of greed.                           

 "Young is beautiful and old is ugly"attitude of the new generation leads to our own impending doom.Nobody can predict whether You And Me would also be thrown to such institutions in the future?Time has strong and unseen wings .....we too will reach our 30's,40's 50's and finally the Golden age....the Dreaded Age Of Today!!!