Life@60

We are a class of ten ,a mix of men and women, average age group being 60 plus. We are learning Sanskrit at this ripe old age, that divine language which the Hindu Gods speak, so they say. What unites us is our love -a love for the language that defies age and reason. What else can explain as to why S limps into the class bearing the pain in her knees, D squinting at the black board with her failing vision and the way P barges into the class apologizing for being late .( She baby sits her grand daughter) Our teacher is a 30 something young man who is as eager as his students . We are a studious lot eager to lap up as much as our aging brain permits us to do . Let me admit at the outset that when it comes to learning, it is not all that divine. It has its moments of agony. The language is terse and not easily digestible. Grammar is tough and confusing ( “Only in the beginning”, assures our teacher) The more I try to learn it the more evasive it becomes.

But all of us are having fun.

Seriously, life @60 need not be serious at all. We can be adventurous since we are no more in the rat race. We can give family a break, our career a break, explore the unexplored ,do what we always wanted to do but didn’t have the time or energy. It is the time to rediscover oneself. It is the age to explore and experiment. Like my friend M did. ( May be she was 50 or something at that time) She chucked a well paid job, migrated to US and plunged into spirituality and spiritual healing or something like that. The point is that she dared and is living life king size. On my 60^th birthday M wrote to me quoting Tennyson “ ……. the best is yet to be . ” You bet !