APROPOS to the popular column ‘Loud Thinking’ of Editor Vijay Phanshikar on self-renewal, (‘Self-renewal, the secret of continued excellence — III’) published in ‘The Hitavada’ CityLine on July 12, it aptly celebrates eminent personalities like Prakash Padukone and Lata Mangeshkar, who stayed relevant through lifelong learning and effort. But it also made me think of a troubling opposite trend — retired people who reached great heights in their careers, yet the moment they retire their world changes and things change completely.

 

Instead of mentoring others or staying engaged, many engage themselves entirely in daily chores, poojas, and pilgrimages, treating retirement as an exit from all responsibilities. While reading the column with great interest while on a vacation in the US, I could feel that such people relevant once and forgotten now, risk becoming ‘like fossils or frozen carcasses’. Spirituality is valuable, but it should not become a replacement for continued contribution. Even Dr Abdul Kalam kept teaching and learning till his last days. Post retirement too, people have decades of wisdom to offer. Retreating fully into rituals, rather than renewing themselves for a new role in the society, is a loss — both for them and for us.