Random forays: Retirement is truly a new beginning

The bold retiree of today will thus not allow himself or herself to sit back and relax with a dozen newspapers, once breakfast is over. He or she will start up an enterprise or learn a new skill or even take up a practice such as law or teaching. He will be off to work at 9 o’clock just as he used to forever.

The thing about retirement is its inevitability. What is not as certain is the nature of the second act or second innings, as some like to call post retirement lives.

Both sorts of human beings who enter the portals of the retirement zone are entitled to their own perspective, of course. There is no universal answer to life’s choices. (Representative Image/HT File)

Some retirees live life anew, with renewed fire and enthusiasm, with passions aflame for new pastures and newer endeavours. Their age does not really matter to them, what matters is the pizzazz, the verve, the nerve!

The bold retiree of today will thus not allow himself or herself to sit back and relax with a dozen newspapers, once breakfast is over. He or she will start up an enterprise or learn a new skill or even take up a practice such as law or teaching. He will be off to work at 9 o’clock just as he used to forever.

There are of course those who have slogged so hard in their careers that they just want to hang up their boots and ‘chill’ in the sun or shade as the case may be. They are quite content to bask in the glory of their halcyon days and cuddle their grandchildren, whenever the latter choose to arrive.

Both sorts of human beings who enter the portals of the retirement zone are entitled to their own perspective, of course. There is no universal answer to life’s choices.

I know of a dozen retired government officers and CEOs who have taken up new consulting assignments after the age of 60. Still others have gone on to launch companies which have prospered by benefiting from their class and experience.

Mentoring youngsters has also become one of the main roles of retired officers, and with heartening results. The youth of today is truly befuddled by the varying forces of pulls, pressures and expectations, and can certainly do with some mentorship from vastly experienced individuals.

There are also those who take up creative pursuits like singing, painting, photography or writing, which were hitherto out of bounds due to the busy nature of their careers. Many a retired government officer has today shed the straightjacketed mode to flower as a multifaceted human being, post retirement. Even the apparel, which such an officer sports, usually undergoes a metamorphosis. There is more colour, less formality and much more effervescence in his persona today, than when he was the secretary sahib, or whatever.

Some find it tough to get back to driving a car, having had the benefit of being chauffeur driven for over three decades. Parking one’s vehicle in a busy city is an even bigger pain, more often than not!

VK Kapoor, a former IPS officer, has proved to be a torchbearer of sorts for several retired officers who might otherwise have felt that they had been ‘pushed off a cliff’ on superannuating from service. He peps up ex-colleagues on a regular basis and counsels them not to live in the past, but to adopt new-fangled ways to keep themselves busy. Sarban Singh, a retired IAS officer, has taken to writing his memoirs with meticulous detail these days. His sunny disposition and musical bent of mind have always made him a popular colleague among officers. Today, retired officers like them continue to cheer up their brethren even when the going seems tough.

Aditya Prakash, former chief architect of Chandigarh, once performed a mono-act at the Tagore Theatre, an iconic building, which he himself had designed. The title was ‘Zindagi retire nahin hoti’ or ‘Life does not retire’ and I found it a very apt viewing for all those who feel a little morose at having crossed a certain age, which means that their active career days are over.

Life, after all, does not have a use-by date. Until one has to depart. A career professional from any realm of endeavour will ultimately call it a day. But with life expectancy and general health levels going up dramatically in modern times, a new career can well begin after retirement. The best part is that expectations are fewer and the chances of taking an afternoon off to spend with those cuddly grandchildren are pretty high.

There is every reason to dive deep within and discover a new you!