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Blossom the “real” in you ….

The situation of war between Russia and Ukraine; ignited my mind to rewind my 34 years old memories of having four months training in the steel industry of the then USSR. On January 04, 1989, I along with three colleagues landed in Moscow having the temperature of minus 27 degree centigrade!!!. The first sight from Airport to place of stay was amazing to watch long queue for buying ice cream and there was no sign boards of any kind for offices / residential complexes / markets on both sides of roads; every thing just the plain buildings with numbers. It is only when you enter the building you can know what is inside else find from the directory by the number of building and lane. Our interpreter explained that as the temperature keeps going below zero degree centigrade, the ice cream sale keeps going up proportionately. Moscow also had the world’s most beautiful three tier metro rail system with each station having a unique architecture. At that time Russians had very high regards and respected the Ukrainians as highly learned community of very sophisticated people. Ukraine had enjoyed the laurels of being the knowledge reservoir with lot of research facilities and academic institutions. The people were enjoying living in a most beautiful country of entire USSR with nice cultural heritage and cordial fellowship with neighbours. My tenure of stay was just two weeks in Moscow Russia and three and half months mostly at the Kirvoy Rog Steel Plant and short visits to Kiev (capital city) and Nepropetrovisk in Ukraine. Protecting national boundaries was earlier justified for safeguarding the natural resources, economies, intellectual property, culture, patriotism and so on. Sequel to the formation of United Nations; gradually during preceding seven decades: the knowledge flows, economic activities and harnessing of natural resources in the global market place are becoming borderless…thereby dampening the importance of national boundaries except for retaining their cultural identity.

In the year 1999, United Nations envisioned an elevated stature for citizens upon attaining the age of 60 years amongst the society of all ages. Thus we all got conferred with super stature as seniors in the society; without any pre qualification requirements, performance tests, examinations etc.,; just on the time line of dawn of 60th birthday of our entry into this amazing world.

At youth stage, imbibed with respective family values and an academic foundation; we perform on various tasks during the productive career spanning three to five decades and earn our livelihood as well. We all have attained the grey hair stature; by acquiring many skills and rendering the competent services in varied fields for over three to five decades that is unique to each one of us. While performing on various tasks in given systems; we get tuned to work place infrastructure, colleagues, support services, facilities for performing on various activities plus also perks to have good leisure time / fun & fellowship through clubs, car allowance, magazines, leave travel and more. The functioning within the given situations keeps adding in our mind a feel of being worthy on many counts. Our social status also gets recognised by the position that each one of us attains over the timeline. The hierarchal growth continually keep empowering our mindset. Many times our mind and bodily actions takes initiatives to showcase our stature through self praise. Here begins the first milestone of entry into the world of ego and slowly an exit from the real self. Over the period of three to five decades each one of us turn out to be matured competency unique personality of different kind. Some considering themselves as “Sarvagun Sampanna” (An illusion in all accomplished qualities) and some as “learners”. These matured persons on the dawn of their 60th birthday automatically get regarded as senior citizens.

While we feel happy to enjoy all the tangible & intangible benefits of being senior citizens; there are reasons to retrospect on the expectations that the society of all ages develop in this social fabric. At this juncture, concurrently with an elevated social stature; each person also exits from the position / facilities / perks / ambiance of place of work wherever each one has been working in an organisational system, stops getting the financial compensation of his services, other facilities, perks etc., except for the pensioners. Most of us find it difficult to appreciate the impact of these detachments on  our intellect-mind-body. We continue to live in the dream world of earlier life that was prior to attaining the status of senior citizenship. The more we continue to live on the baisakhee (harvest festival) of past glories, more we invite the ripples and lose the sanctity of real self as senior citizens. At this juncture the senior citizens leave the footprints that are either commanding respect or encountering isolation and become a separate segment detached from the society of all ages!!! Many forms of abuses such as emotional, psychological, physical, verbal, economic exploitation, neglect that are prevalent now in the society; presumably some of them are the by-products of the deeds  / unmet expectations of senior citizens as well.    

Like Love has many facets, an ego too enjoys having many facets too!!!….while the first one blossoms your inner self the later creates the barriers and hibernates your real self!!! Culture is expected to function as an instrument of pleasure, not the torture….we the custodians of culture need to keep on nurturing...as an intergenerational gesture of good will… Experiencing the influence of egoist seniors is something like social inclusion obviating hugs!...togetherness with physical distancing!!… an induced cultural diversion!!!😄….

Life moves on with many incidental coincidences....some woven by white thread some by black thread...all that is to be treated some thing like breathing....take in and take out....for a pleasant voyage of life...either by respecting diversities or ignoring the dislikes…. We walk sometimes upright and disguise our fragility of having heart exposed!!!! Blossom the real in you…to obviate living in a world that no longer exists!!!

Manohar Lal Baharani

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