Chander Gupta
When a friend recently quipped that “sixty is the new forty”, the elliptical comment piqued my interest to scratch below its surface. Paraphrased, it means that a 60-year-old person in the present times is at par, in terms of energy and passion, with a 40-years old counterpart in earlier times. It also implies that people now appear much younger than their calendar age.
Youthfulness is aided and prolonged inter-alia by medical advancements, salons & spas, and internet-enabled seamless flow of information. Hardly any of my colleagues, whom I watched retiring around the period of my own retirement five years back, looked 60 years in age. Even in my own instance, whenever I told people of my impending retirement, they would not believe me, deceived as they were by my younger looks.
In other words, the generation gap has been bridged by better healthcare, wider use of improved cosmetics, and faster flow of information, etc.
Earlier the older generation consisting of our parents and grandparents was labelled as old-fashioned. ‘The older generation’ used to be wary of contemporary trends and latest technologies. My grandmother never touched the knob of the radio that arrived in our household during 1960s.
Our parents did not splurge so much as we do on our dresses and on our tresses. Our grandparents spent even lesser. Not anymore. A 60 years old person nowadays is as trendy and fashionable as an adult younger by few decades.
Salons and spas have sprung up in every nook and corner to give physical exterior a facelift. Dyeing of hair and facial massages impart a younger look.
The advancements in medical sciences have narrowed the age gap. Eyesight is not impaired by cataract anymore. With medical intervention not only the cataract is removed, rather with implantation of sophisticated lens eyesight get much better. Knees are getting replaced. Sophisticated dentistry not only preserves our teeth much longer but also gives us a reason to smile.
Information Technology is another big equaliser. Internet has created a level-playing field where merely being younger yields no advantage. Information is available to one and all on equal footing. Social Media has also diluted the age gap to some extent.
An age gap of 15 years in adults is almost a zero gap. A mom of 45 looks just an elder sister of her 20 years old daughter. Two adults with 20 years gap in their ages can easily be buddies and engage on same wavelength. A person of 50 exudes the same energy, same keenness, and same confidence as a person of 30.
A 60-year-old father has almost the same level of physical fitness as his 30-year-old son or daughter. I can tell from my own experience that I bond well with persons even two decades or younger to me, provided they are somewhat like-minded.
Curiosity to learn, keenness to travel, passion to pursue hobbies, and uninhibited approach to fun, keep the heart young forever.