Where are the stamp collectors and pen friends?

When I sit brooding over the past, I remember the hobbies that I used to pursue in my childhood and wonder how those have vanished from the lives of the kids of today. One of these was stamp collection, also known as philately. I used to hunt for and treasure my collection of used stamps that I would remove carefully from envelopes. Some would be from letters that would come to our address, others would be exchanges with class friends. If I had more than one stamp of the same motif, I would preserve them for possible swapping. It was easy to get hold of postage stamps of India but, for foreign stamps, I had to rely on other sources.

And, one of such sources was making pen friends in foreign countries.
For this, the magazines in the public libraries like the USIS and British Council were great because they used to publish notices for pen friends. There would be details of those who wanted pen friends and could be contacted. Those days there were no fears of getting duped or being taken for a ride. It used to be a simple way of life and no one had to read too much in between the lines. People were straightforward and honest. And, since using telephones to contact anyone outside the country was out of the question due to prohibitive costs and non-availability of facilities, pen friends had to depend on communicating through letters. Therefore, making pen friends meant opening the door to lay hands on foreign stamps.
The sad part is that all those tiny things that used to make life so attractive have been transformed into animate objects – the personal touch is missing.
No one sends letters any more, they resort to e-mails which do not require stamps.
And, why have a few pen friends when you can have hundreds of them waiting for you to link up in the chat room- identities are immaterial. You may think the other party to be just what you want but the ‘she’ could actually be a ‘he’ who has disguised his voice!!
In case you decide to meet ‘her’ in person and make a trip to ‘her’ place, you may fall into some well laid out trap where your life could be in danger. (to be continued …)

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Mangoes are forever

Ripe mangoes and mango cakes or amsatta

Plan for retirement and live life to the fullest

Retirement is an inevitable part of the life of any person who is employed. His work life may have been full of roses, he may have always been on cloud nine but, once he retires and relinquishes his post, he has to part with all that he used to claim as a part of his life.
Therefore, one has to plan for his retired life, a life of an abundance of time when he need not get up in the morning and worry about whether his subordinates have competed their assigned tasks and whether his boss has some more surprises up his sleeve. Retired life should be that period of one’s life when he can sit back comfortably and enjoy all that he missed during his hectic work life.
And, to do this successfully, he has to plan much before that fateful day comes.

There are stories galore of men who have retired but still cannot forget his work life and would make a trip to his workplace just to keep in touch with old friends, colleagues and even the furniture and the doors, windows and walls. To them, retirement is the end of the road.
One gentleman, a school teacher, had built his house in such a location so that he could see the school building from his room.
In contrast, many others look upon retirement as the beginning of a new road. They pursue hobbies, go traveling, involve in social causes and ensure that whatever knowledge they have acquired in their life time is shared with others and does not go waste.
One usually plans for his money because that is the most important area where one has to focus – a healthy bank balance is always one that assures security and acts as a confidence builder. Therefore, people usually make investments during their employment so that they can reap the benefits during retirement.
The bottom line is that one must remain active in his retirement days – an idle mind is the Devil’s workshop and allowing the mind to wander into the past will only add to one’s loneliness. The past is a closed chapter, it will never return, so why sigh and add to your miseries.
It is a miracle to be alive, therefore, live life today and enjoy the fragrance of flowers, the chirping of the birds, and the gurgling waters of the stream. (to be continued …)

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