Of getting old and being old

There was a conversation with one colleague couple of years back that I keeps ringing in mind. He was mentioning about a mutual friend who had quit his regular job and had taken up independent consulting offer with an European client. He was relocating to that nation and his remuneration was somewhere around 6 to 10 crores INR per year factoring the then exchange rate!! That colleague coolly mentioned that we don’t know what might happen the next minute while we keep planning for the future. He was philosophical about the uncertainty of life and not knowing when the end will come, quoting texts from Bhagavad gita and from one guruji whom he was following with all his heart. The fact that his rants sounded more out of jealousy apart (sic) it kind of did turn prophetical with pandemic letting loose its wings in couple of months. On a side note that European friend received his European salary on India currency was a happy story altogether different. But the reason I keep remembering that conversation was about, being prepared for the eventuality, if at all that is eventual. 

All major texts and teachings keep insisting the fallible nature of our life and death being an undeniable truth, which should always remind us of how little time we’ve and why that should be spent on good/positive things. Its been 14 years since my dad passed away and I haven’t come out of that grief yet. Considering how early he left us, I am very conscious of the times I spend with junior. Not in a morbid way, but at times I wonder, what my absence may mean and impact. How much ever one can try to plan a mitigation, it remains intangible and not fully comprehendible. Philosophy and material instincts clash at this point and logically, people tend to hoard. But the fact that, they wouldn’t be around to govern the same, whether it reaches the intention for which/whom it was accrued, is a sad reality. One thing that I aspire to be is to leave some pleasant memories for junior to cherish. I always take pride of the fact that how my father was always the most lovable, cheerful person within the family and even with his acquaintances. Considering my personal profile and the personality I carry, chances are pretty less of junior hearing such things about me. Possibly, that is something I aspire to change in coming years or how much ever time it may be. This birthday was probably the most calm one I ever had where every wish that came in brought in a genuine sense of warmth and fulfillment. The fact that some of the banks where I never have any association and some financial institutions managed to spam my personal mailbox was both concerning from a data privacy perspective and scary at how much AI/bots are ruling the roost these days!! Different topic for a different day.