The beautiful city of Chandigarh has often been associated with a calm, cool, retired sort of mood. No other place offers quite the same environs for those who’ve hung up their boots. The Chandigarh school of retirement is unique, successful and worthy of emulation by other cities. Retirees are quite the flavour of Chandigarh, in many ways, even though the northern micropolis has moved on to become abuzz in many other ways. Thus, while young professionals abound today in Chandigarh’s offices, cafes, malls and theatres, the older lot are found jostling for their own space in all sorts of queues.
The adage which went something like, ‘Chandigarh is a city for the retired and the (well) attired’, might not exactly be true today. The youth have taken over the city and its ethos to a large extent. Business is flourishing, night clubs are palpably throbbing and the dating scene is abloom. What used to be a laid-back, sarkari-type city is today a city of emerging start-ups, commercial opportunities and myriad entertainment options.
Yet, and forthrightly so, retired folks feel more at home, even today, in the tricity of Chandigarh, Mohali and Panchkula, than almost anywhere else in the land. Former defence services officers are most noticeably the ‘happening’ segment of the retired community here. Impeccably turned out and chivalrous to the core, these fauji types are verily an adornment to the city’s culture. Traffic has burgeoned and civic services are often found floundering, but Chandigarh remains the place to live in.
Therefore, one can spot dozens of grey-bearded gentlemen, turbaned or otherwise, seated along with their still lovely better halves at the Golf Club, the lake cafes, or even sundry other restaurants. They enjoy their evenings, and undoubtedly their mornings too, while finding old friends and new ones, to share a pat on the back or a warm hug, as if of old. There’s a certain comfort level to life in Chandigarh which compels many professionals to return, once their heyday is over elsewhere, or even before.
{{/usCountry}}Therefore, one can spot dozens of grey-bearded gentlemen, turbaned or otherwise, seated along with their still lovely better halves at the Golf Club, the lake cafes, or even sundry other restaurants. They enjoy their evenings, and undoubtedly their mornings too, while finding old friends and new ones, to share a pat on the back or a warm hug, as if of old. There’s a certain comfort level to life in Chandigarh which compels many professionals to return, once their heyday is over elsewhere, or even before.
{{/usCountry}}The Chandigarh dilemma, to which I have alluded at times in this column, forces others to actually remain in their ‘crease’ and forego temptations of career growth, over Chandigarh’s sheer quality of living. At a typical glittering Chandigarh ‘do’ last week, the topic of conversation veered around the deterioration of this and that in society, as also the fact that the City Beautiful was no longer what it used to be. Then commenced a discussion on which Indian city could today give it a run for its money, and the conclusion was that Chandigarh still represents the mother of all comfort zones.
Loneliness and the empty-nest syndrome do present painful situations to elderly citizens here, but where do they not? Chandigarh largely provides a connected, if not integrated, sort of community which offers a greater sense of security and ease of living than any other. A laughter club was doing its stuff one morning, very early. Chandigarh’s gardens are usually the scene of such healthy goings on, just after dawn. But on this day, a sense of solemnness was in evidence as well. The efforts of the members at rousing themselves to laugh energetically were falling short. And the reason was that their senior-most member was in hospital. The fact that the 90-year-old returned to join them after a week meant that their decibels touched record-breaking levels, thereafter!
Such is the bond that the elderly form with warm-hearted juniors and their compatriots. And for some undiscernible reason, such bonds are more in evidence in Chandigarh than in any other major city. There is something about their morning walk with friends, the crispness of the air, the ease of driving around, and the accessibility of most services that keeps the old folks in high spirits, most often. Speaking of high spirits, many seniors enjoy their drink too. And they’re not shy of pulling the leg of even former bosses, at late-night parties. The resultant guffaws are probably better for the heart than the ‘elixir’ being downed, but this is not the time for that debate!
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