Infectious Octogenarians

“Age is an issue of mind over matter.  If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter,” says noted American litterateur Mark Twain.  This adage is certainly proves true when I see the optimism exuded by octogenarians whom I chanced upon to meet. 

One bright morning while ambling across the road, I stumbled upon to meet a tall man with fair complexion, exquisitely dressed with a short and T-shirt and a cute hat on his head.  It was almost an accidental meet but as it goes ‘you are never fully dressed without a smile’ and the man whom I met was very true to this saying that not only did he dressed well  but also wore that charming smile on his face defying his advanced age.   He introduced to me as Mr. Jayasimha Rao, a technocrat and an aluminous of IIT Kharagpur.  His affable and friendly nature struck chord with me and over the last couple of years despite our age gap our acquaintance thickened and I have become almost a weekend guest to his home.    

Mr. Jayasimha Rao is a man of many interests and at 84 he is full of life. He is widely travelled and as an engineer, he worked in many parts of India and his wanderlust even took him to most of part of the world as well. And this wide travelling experience of him developed a broad outlook to life.  His amiable nature has won him many friends cutting across gender.  He is also very delightful conversationalist and one of our shared interests is literature.

Rao, being a bibliophile, owns his own small library at home,and he recollects how he had an opportunity to meet many of the masters of Kannada literary world of yesteryear. He happened to meet Masti Venkatesh Ayyiengar at a club in Basavanagudi  and revered DVG was a regular visitor to his maternal grandfather C Vasudevayya’s  house, who was also a well known name in literary circles in those days and  DVG had a special bond with him. 

Among Rao’s cherished memories are his chance meeting with Ram Manohar Lohia at Secunderabad Railway Station where Lohia was standing in front of a tea shop without much fuss when Rao greeted him and Lohia smilingly returned his greetings with folded hands.  And Rao also had a brush with Gandhiji when he was at Nandi Hills for a fornight’s stay.  Mr Rao says, he was then around 10 years old went with his brother to see Gandhiji at Nandi Hills. And he fondly remembers that occasion and quips “Gandhi was a great man”.   

Mr. Rao has no regrets for weakening body and says it is a natural corollary to the old age.  At his twilight years, Rao’s enthusiasm never diminished and he is all prepared to buy a SAMSUNG GALAXY TAB to get in touch with his two grandsons who stay in Dubai.   

One Sunday morning, I ran into a stocky old man, who was in search of Shankar Mutt in the Malleshwaram area and I was just in time when he was looking for someone who can guide him in his effort reaching the temple.  We struck a conversation and after knowing my antecedents, he revealed his name as Mr. Genshan, a retired HAL staff college employee and he is in his eighties and a resident of Mathikere and has come in city-bus to attend a religious sermon at the Mutt.  

Stocky Ganeshan with his protruding stomach and holding a balance stick in his hand was a restless soul.  As I guided him his way and walked along with him our discussions revolved around philosophy and growing disparity between dualism and non-dualism but Genshan’s balanced view provided that all roads leads to same destination and we mortals only fight each other without understanding the essence.  

Ganeshan’s interest in the English language brought us further near and he told he regularly conducts grammar classes for private coaching firm and even travels many parts of the city on teaching assignments.  He is barely managed to walk but his spirit is un-daunting, entering into crowded buses to reach out to places for his work and he told of late he also started learning Sanskrit and planning to take a foreign language course too. He gave an option if I was to see him that he would be available at a temple for his Sanskrit classes in the afternoon during weekdays. What amazed me is the man’s zest for life despite his bodily inertia that is not allowing him move forward with ease but he is not giving up and it made me feel shy that many times we assign reason of age for our lethargy and indolence.

Another grand old man whom I happened to meet is Mr Rangarajan, he is also an octogenarian with extraordinary positive of frame of mind.  When you see him, his appearance is deceptive, he walks straight miles together, and reads in tomes without spectacles, slim and tidy, and no complaints of health whatsoever.  What is striking in him as a person is he never discus about old age, ailments instead he discuss about real estate, business, politics etc.  He was a banker by profession and now he conducts classes for banking schools all around India and recently he travelled to Singapore on the same assignment and he was full of praise of that country especially about its traffic discipline and respect for the elderly and women.

Rangarajans stay at Singapore was a week or so and he is now looking forward for another opportunity to visit that charming Singapore.  By the way, he has promised me to visit my home once to explain about the AIG AXA life insurance, as he is also an agent and works part time and says this vogue occupies him meaningfully in terms of time and money.

While walking on Banglaore’s famous M G Road, in a surprise encounter, I met Mr.V Isvarmurthy, an oxford educated veteran, bubbling with full of energy.  Mr. Murthy is an erudite scholar and an inveterate optimist.  At his age, any other ordinary mortal would have confined to home reading some scriptures to while away the time.  But he is of different mettle, travels abroad often, reads latest books written on economy, polity and literature and writes scholarly articles, blogs and tweets and above all manages his own BPO business and his love for life is unbound and energy is indefatigable.

Other prominent octogenarians who impressed me most are Dr. G S Amur and Dr. Chennaveer Kanavi. Both are noted figures in Kannada literary world as well.  Dr. Amur in his nineties travels frequently from Dharwad to Bangalore and attends literary functions and on some occasions as chief guest and he does not even takes help from organizers while speaking, and he walks up to the mike and by standing for considerable time delivers his speech and at that advanced age, Dr. Amur's discipline and devotion towards life is commendable.  Dr,Kanavi is also no exception when it comes to enormous enthusiasm and he too travels  to this day all over Karnataka to attend literary programs and his immaculate white attire of Nehru shirt and pajama with a genial smile on his face are symbolic to his persona.  

  

I was reading somewhere that the two beautiful phases of human life are childhood and old age.  A child is free from all human short-comings such as anger, choler etc., and sees the whole world with equanimity and pure love, and so is the old age, as man attains maturation with passing years and experiencing vicissitudes of life, his mind becomes ripe and pure.   Thre is a saying, A man growing old becomes a child again and these words are very apt when I see the child in the infectious octogenarians whom I  met or seen with an act of providence..