RIFLE RANGE BOY

Vijay 69 (Hindi, 2024) Director: Akshay Roy To be sure, there is another movie called Thalapathy 69. That is an untitled, yet-to-be-released 69th film by Tamil movie star Vijay. This 69th venture would be his last, as he has embarked on a full-time career in Tamil Nadu politics. This is a motivational movie aimed not only at senior citizens but also at the rest of society.  I vividly remember my father chatting with his friends when I was probably 15. Their common friend had died suddenly after an apparent heart attack. After the expected condolences and the sombre tone of the conversation, somebody cut in to say, "... but he is 54 and is due to retire next year!". It was then perfectly normal for someone past 50 to die. See how things have changed in 40-over years. Recently, a dear friend, aged 63, succumbed to a coronary event. This happened even when being under the keen watch of a cardiologist. His friends had this say, "63 is not the age to die. He went off too soo...

Live to 100 (Secrets of the Blue Zones) Netflix, Docuseries   We always complain that life sucks and hope our next life will improve. If rebirth is not an option, then perhaps less time in purgatory or hell. For that, however, we have to leave our mortal bodies. That nobody wants. Instead, we cling to our dear lives as long as we can, 80, 90 or beyond a century. Society has always revered our senior citizens. We may be giving our salutations to the years of experiences they have learnt and life lessons they have acquired in their time on Earth. With increasing life expectancy worldwide, we noticed there are certain zones on the globe where people not only lead long lives beyond 100 but happy, independent ones. Endurance cyclist Dan Buettner, who has cycled the world many times over, has a keen interest in this subject. In this 4-episode documentary on Netflix, he identifies areas (Blue Zone) on the map with the most centurions, makes a trip there, interacts with its people and ex...

The Bacchus Lady (2016) Director: E J-Yong Bacchus was a new word to me. It actually refers to the Greek god of wine, sometimes associated with Dionysus. Following the 1997 Asian financial crisis, many elderly people found themselves needing to fend themselves. The Miracle at Han River, following years of economic boom following the Korean War, left a country so entwined in the material chase that the traditional Confucian values had lost their appeal. Many young Koreans had emigrated, leaving their elders at home. South Korea is said to be having one of the worst social safety nets amongst OECD countries for its senior citizens. OECD (Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development) countries comprise intergovernmental economic organisations with 38 nations founded in 1961 to stimulate world trade and stimulate economic progress. Its precursor, OEEC, was started in 1948 following the implementation of the Marshall Plan to develop post-WW2 Europe. The poverty rate of elderly peop...

Landscape with Figures" by George Tooker (1992 ) Trapped in pigeon holes? I have known Uncle K7 for more than thirty-over years. Ever ready with a gleaming smile, he enjoys having long banter with me every now and then, I think. Periodically, during draggy family functions, we would often be nooked at a corner to discuss his life and times as a young technician in the world of espionage. Working in the Malaysian Field Force as a sergeant, he was in the frontline trying to intercept communist's radio communication using the then avant-garde British and German technology .  These family gatherings were nothing more than marking of attendance akin to a Mafia family meetings where the same crowd meets, again and again, to reinforce who is who in the family's hierarchal ladder.  My interactions with Uncle K7 over the years opened up my understanding of mortality, immortality and the purpose of life. Through him, I realised the need to discover, re-discover and continue learn...

Kominsky Method (miniseries, Seasons 1 -2; 2018-19) Netflix People may have led different lives using separate yardsticks as guides to pave their journeys in life, but as they sail towards the tail-ends of their shelf lives, their concerns are the same. They worry about how they would spend the remnants of their human existence. Appreciating that end is nigh, every mild ailment is perceived as the coup de grâce. Many of the familiar faces grace the obituary column. They wonder whether the life that they led could have been better. Regrets start trickling in. So do guilt. The dilemma of 'what ifs' and 'if only' starts playing in their minds. After some soliloquy, they would probably realise that given the circumstances, that was the best they could do. Invariably, the question of offspring would stream in. The elders would go all out to pave a safe path for the young to pursue. Unfortunately, Nature dictates that the next generation would rebel. Perhaps this is to...

Radiopetti (Radio Box, Tamil; 2015) I used to wonder why the humming of the radio was the constant background of my home as I was growing up. At the first break of dawn, if Appa had the choice and not for Amma's nagging, it would start with the early morning chanting of Subrapaatham and just breeze through the day and night until transmissions ended. Yes, there used to be a time when even broadcasters called it a day,  mostly at the stroke of midnight. At that time, the radio announcers' songs and rants sounded more like a nuisance, as my sisters and I were busily cramping our cranial vaults with facts and notes to regurgitate in the next tests. Nobody could understand Appa's fixation with his cranky radio box, which he later graduated to a transistor radio. It was not that the devices were manufacturing Top 40 hits. Sometimes, only white noise or high-pitched zapping sounds emanate when he tunes in to the short-wave bands from Kuala Lumpur or Singapore.  But he cont...

Admit it. One cannot remain in the limelight forever. Everyone has their temporary sojourn in the hall of fame, after which they would have to relinquish their baton the next Johnny-come-lately. One cannot stay perched on top of the pecking order forever. Professional decline generally happens in all professions, some earlier than the others. Athletes commence their declines quite early, whereas teachers, writers and researchers lose it much later. Peak performances of many professionals rarely happen at an advanced age. Not everyone takes the dimming of the spotlight gracefully. Charles Darwin 1809-1882 Charles Darwin was just 27 when he returned on the Beagle with his discoveries in botany and zoology. From that time, for the next 30 years, he was the go-to scientist who published the famous 'On the Origin of Species'. After 50, Darwin hit a brick wall. Not keeping up with mathematical calculations that were so important in later researches, he became irrelevant and ...

Uncle Hooi at his best © The Star I remember the barrages of concerned pep talks from my family members when they discovered that I, at the tender age of 43, slowly started indulging in competitive distance running. In not so many words, they were obviously trying to tell me that I would just drop dead by the roadside to be found by passersby as if I were just roadkill. Another old friend, obviously overweight and looking much like Peter Griffin of the 'Family Guy' fame was even generous enough to offer free anaesthetic services as and when I need a knee replacement.  As a last resort, my family went ahead and gave me a 'stress test - CT angio' combo as a birthday present on my 50th birthday. When the cardiologists gave a clean bill of health after silently cursing under his breath for wasting his precious time from his more deserving patients, they essentially gave up and let Nature take its course.  This must have been what Fauja Singh must hav...