On The Edge Of Age

A burgeoning elderly population poses challenges for predominantly young India

- Siddhartha Mishra

ALPHA, omega, tau, proclaim the signs on the highway. Beyond the Greater Noida sectors named after Greek alphabets, a dirt underpass branches off from the spanking Eastern Peripheral Expressway to the dusty village of Bisaich. It is located on the fringes of the National Capital Region, but is a world apart from the neighbouring upscale sectors.

However, Bisaich, which gets power supply for only half the day, has something in common with Japan and Scandinavia—many of its residents are old or getting there. In the courtyard of a house close to the Baba Mohan Ram temple, eight men between 50 and 70 sit around a hookah, immersed in animated conversations. When asked about the elderly population, they estimate that three out of 10 people in the village are above the age of 60.

Sadi Ram, a 74-year-old farmer who has lived here since he was born, is reclining on a khaat. He is a proud father of six children—five boys and a girl—all of whom are married and don’t stay with him any longer. “If they don’t work, how will they fend for themselves and feed us,” he says. Two of his sons have set up a car-repair shop in Delhi and send Rs 8,000 every month for his expenses. Three to four bighas of land isn’t enough to feed him and his wife, who was in Noida at that time with her daugher-in law. Sadi Ram didn’t go there—he can’t move like he used to because of a spinal condition.

Four houses down the alley, 70-year-old Desh Raj sits on a charpoy. His house is not cemented and there is not even a ceiling fan in the room despite the temperature edging to the mid-40s outside. Smoke from a hookah suffuses the air. He doesn’t respond much to questions, but breaks into a chuckle when asked if he puffs on the hookah regularly. A farmer all his life, he grew jowar and wheat, but is unable to anymore. “