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Age Matters

If the stern majesty of Queen Victoria  defined  the 19th Century, the  20th Century  royal icon was  the captivating youth and fragility of Princess Diana. Youth was not a subject of social concern before the 20th Century.  The term “teenage years” did not make an appearance till 1941. Today one could say the hourglass has reversed and it is old age that has receded into the shadows.

Old age once associated with wisdom and power, is today seen as a disability. The stereotype of an older person as passive, insulated from the everyday demands of life, is reinforced in popular culture, advertising, the fashion industry, and television dramas. The workplace, education, even the art world, place faith exclusively in the under 35s. In 1992 the advertising mogul, Charles Saatchi and his brother Maurice, began promoting young artists, an influence that spread across the art world. It is difficult to imagine a Rembrandt  today, making  more than ninety self-portraits meticulously recording his ageing process from youth to the last year of his life.   

The seeds were sown as far back as Oedipus and Aristotle, who both saw old age as the helpless loss of virility. Polonius in Shakespeare ‘s Hamlet declares  “When the age is in The wit is out”.  
Yet many studies conducted show that while the elderly brain works differently from that of young people, it is as effective when it comes to decision-making. It is believed that once past the age of 25, age becomes subjective – one is as young as one feels.  In a report David Robson writes “‘subjective age’ may be essential for understanding the reasons that some people appear to flourish as they age – while others fade”.

It always intrigued me that when my father spoke of childhood memories, it was as if he was that young person again rather than recalling a distant memory.  This can be a source of anguish. The scientist Lewis Wolpert wrote “How can a seventeen-year-old like me suddenly be eighty-one?”  Sigmund Freud  was shocked  when he realized  that the elderly gentleman  he saw, was in fact his own reflection. T.S. Eliot’s J Alfred Prufrock  laments “I am old… I am old…” and Thomas Hardy wrote in anguish “ I look into my glass,/And view my wasting skin,/And say, ‘Would God it came to pass/My heart had shrunk as thin!’

This anguish has been imposed on the elderly by society that uses terms like “retirement”, requiring them to step aside to make room for the next generation. It’s a phenomenon of a modern economy driven society. In many societies the elderly have a constructive role, especially for grandchildren as a bridge between their heritage and their future. The Native American elders are the decision makers, the South Asian have a prominent place in the family and community, as they do in Japan, China and almost all African and Eastern societies. In martial arts and yoga, age increases power.

There is a growing movement to restore the cultural space of the elderly. The UN has started celebrating the International Day of Older Persons to acknowledge the contributions to society made by those over 60. One should remember that many of the elderly today were the fiery rebels of the 60s. The geographer and historian, Jared Diamond, suggests that the usefulness of the elderly in society determines the respect and value they are given. In 1905 the life expectancy was 49 years, today it is 78. After retirement from work, a person can expect almost twenty years more of a productive life. 
 Fortunately, in creative fields there is no retirement. Poets, writers and artists continue to produce as long as their Muse inspires them. 

Durriya Kazi
May 13, 2019

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