For This Senior Citizen, Life Starts At 60...

For This Senior Citizen, Life Starts At 60... At 69, RG Desai got his law degree, he then wrote five books, now he's off to the US to study the Vedas. Retirement comes in with an unhealthy load of fear. Retirement and old age become synonymous with life's full-stop. and with full-stops come endings. But there are people who, like old wine, get better with age. A testimony to this is RG Desai whose life began at 82, and he has walked through the wonderland of post-retirement gracefully. For those of you who perceive retirement as a doomsday of sorts, take a cue from Desai's recent book: The Best Is Yet To Be - the title is inspired by a Robert Browning poem Rabbi Ben Ezra. Desai's agile gait and alert gaze belies his age, and not only has he authored five books - mainly on India's ancient wisdom, but he also attended the Government Law College at the age of 69. Ask him if he felt awkward to be the oldest student in college and he quips: "When I entered the classroom I was mistaken for a lecturer. Young students thumped their desks and gave me a hearty welcome. But teachers weren't too happy to have me as a student. They were always out of their depth with my barrage of questions." He fought his first case for a friend in the High Court, and he is presently dedicated to taking up public causes. "I'm taking up cases concerning customer- unfriendly practices followed by banks and the hostility of public hospitals toward poor patients," he says. His quest for knowledge didn't end with a law degree. At 82, he is all set to visit the Indology Department at Harvard University in the US. "The department has a library dealing with the study of ancient India, and I want to work on the Vedas," he says. While most senior citizens worry about money, Desai has a simple recipe to handle finances in his twilight years. "All your working life you should build up resources in such a way that you do not have to depend on your children or society for money, and liberate yourself from the need to make a living," he says. Follow this recipe says Desai and when you're at the threshold of old age, you can quote Robert Browning, and sing the lines John Lennon wrote: "Grow Old with me. The best is yet to be. Face the setting sun, when the day is done…." 10 Commandments For Living Happily: Use your time wisely Enjoy by giving Learn to understand death Add value to your life Simplify your life Keep learning Set new goals Reach your full potential Stay involved, stay detached Find new roles FROM: Nisha Wadhwa