There are two stages of a man’s life after the age of 60. The first is when both husband and wife are alive and the second is when one out of them surrenders to the Almighty. The first stage is the most glorious period of their life when both of them enjoy life together and remain in perfect bliss. The second stage is pathetic, which could be due to aging, misbehaviour meted out to them by the family members or living in solitude. Circumstances inject lot of sanity into them and they continue the struggle of life.
When both of them are alive, they feel intense love for each other, and think about the well-being of each other. Such were the emotions of a man who got his wife admitted in the hospital, when she was in a serious condition. A woman on the adjoining bed was feeling pathetic for this lady whom she thought was in a desperate condition. She prayed to God to let her die and not suffer like that. The man listened to her utterance and said,” you have no right to say like that. She is my wife and my liability. I don’t want her to leave me alone. Presently she is sick but will be alright in few days. She responds to me positively, and I am thankful to God that we are still sharing our thoughts. I can feel her touch and enjoy the satisfaction of her company.” The woman apologized, and their talk started out as hot discussion and ended in tears and recriminations.
The love between the couple at that time was eternal, having two bodies with one soul, and they were altruistic in their behaviour. He sat on her bed fearing God to play foul. Sometimes elderly couples behave indifferently while jolting the other excessively, and making the atmosphere charged. Even at that time an idea comes to their mind to let the other ride a high horse to feel satisfaction of superiority, and later calmness prevails between them after an agitated provocation. It was the time in their life where the love chopped of everything which was undesirable, and later they felt themselves in the end of their life’s long romance and were in perfect harmony.
In the second stage a woman dies, surviving her partner. The emotions run high at this difficult moment. I remember an incident when an elderly man took his wife to the hospital for some minor ailment. Their house was under construction and while going to hospital in their car they showed her the construction asking whether she would suggest any addition alteration. The woman answered that she would not be coming to live in that house. Her remarks pierced the heart of his partner and he felt severely drained. They reached the hospital and got her admitted, and on the third day he brought her body back home, lamenting profusely as if she would hear him and awake to life. Friends and relations consoled him but he was in utter confusion and after cremating her body he felt completely devastated. Anguish and grief gripped him tightly. He placed her photograph in a small make-shift temple and worshiped her along with other idols of Gods, thinking she had surrendered herself to God and had become a part of Him. Time is the greatest healer and he ultimately realized that one of them was to leave and it is good that she had gone first otherwise she would have to suffer the agony of solitude, as I am suffering in her absence. “I am waiting for the summons and I may leave at any time to join her in our heavenly abode,” he told his friends while sitting in a group.
Sometimes a man dies leaving his wife in desperation. The woman folk have the power to bear the intense shock, because of some difference in their constitution and behaviour. They love their men intensely. Initially they feel physical love for them which turns to eternal love with the passage of time. Women want to grow under the shadow of their men and feel satisfied. They produce their offspring’s and their love is divided between them. In case they are forced to live alone by the will of Almighty, they miss them significantly but realize later that it was to happen someday or the other. Their children take care of them but in some cases when they remain busy in their own families, women feel ignored, and remember their partners wishing them to be alive. There is no alternative except to pray for chill in their mind, forgetting the pain of separation. When they are left to struggle alone their feelings become so intense that they find solace in the company of their elderly friends and relations. In case there is any financial difficulty and the children spare the much needed care, the Government has made laws to give them relief, but they would prefer to suffer rather than seek protection from the court by defaming their beloved ones in the eyes of others.
On particular occasions the seniors become stubborn and in some cases they want to rule the roost, which the younger generation doesn‘t approve. At this age they don’t pass on the flagship to the next contender due to their egotism, and continue interfering in their affairs. This frenzy leaves the children in a tizzy. Sometimes good sense prevails and they learn to live and let live, and allow the children do something willingly and thus peace prevails in the house.
The truth of life is death and there is no doubt about it. You will feel totally dependent on your beloved death which will help you to reach your heavenly abode. At the cutting edge of your life, she is the only source that will take care of you, and will keep you away from the mortals who are playfully mischievous.
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