Health is an important issue for senior citizens above 60

A person gets a new lease of life once he reaches the age of 60. By then, the individual has gained enough experience to know what is right and what is not. He has to manage not only his health but his wealth as well. Some of the following factors decide how he would pass his twilight years. He has to be choosy about his food habits and avoid anything that might look attractive but could have ill effects on the body. Diabetes is common among this group of people and they should not succumb to the temptation of items loaded with the sweet stuff. Another common complaint is about blood pressure and the heart disease. By the time he has crossed the threshold of 60, he must have passed through periods of breathlessness, inability to have sound sleep, perspiration etcetera. These indicate trouble if ignored. Nowadays, home kits are available to check blood pressure and blood sugar levels in the comfort of your home.

In India, hospitals offer attractive health packages. However, the best policy is to take care of your health by yourself. The human body is, after all, a machine that runs 24X7 and has to be given due care. In order to ensure the longest possible service, it needs to be pampered. All around us we see men in their 80s who go for morning walks, who use the stairs instead of the elevators. They want to exercise their bones and muscles in order to keep the mechanisms in working condition.


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Senior citizens in the world of smart phones and credit cards

Today a person becomes a senior citizen when he or she crosses the age of 60. It is an accepted norm and with life expectancy increasing, there are thousands of them around us. Most of them can perform their work independently without assistance from others. Very few of them use walking sticks for support. In the past, such individuals used to be written off. Those days are history. Of course, they have had to learn new tricks to adapt to the changing times. These are gadgets like the smartphone, debit and credit cards, online banking, online shopping etcetera. They have mastered the arts.

They know about Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram etcetera. The concept of joint family exists by exception. It is now the age of nuclear families and the children set up separate establishments. The young generation maintains regular contact through smartphones or video calling. Writing letters are primitive and the sight of the postman is rare. Those who ring the doorbell are usually the delivery boys with the items ordered online. The items could be burgers or footwear. There was a Bollywood movie starring Sanjay Dutt on senior citizens. It was “Lage raho Munna Bhai.”



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Mamata Banerjee, the Trinamool Congress TMC supremo from Bengal wanted to wage a war by creating a new front of small regional parties. She did send across teams of her loyal followers to Manipur and Goa while she herself went to Uttar Pradesh. She had meetings with the Samajbadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav. However, her efforts went in vain. Political parties should realize that it is not easy for a regional leader to sway the sentiments of the locals. Any state has its unique problems and an outsider cannot change their line of thinking or provide solutions.

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Prime Minister Scott Morrison of Australia declared a national emergency because of the death of 22 people along the east coast due to floods. He described it as - "This is a major catastrophe... of national proportions." Many persons had to be rescued from flooded regions. The emergency would ensure ready availability of emergency powers. The country faced wildfires in 2020 that destroyed the vegetation and wildlife. Heavy rains led to the emergency in the states of New South Wales and Queensland. It seems members of the community stepped up rescue efforts and helped to keep the death toll to a minimum. The authorities carried out mass evacuation from areas that endured the highest floods ever recorded.

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Five Indian states had been to the polls for the Legislative Assembly 2022. The counting of votes is on and the states are Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Goa, Uttarakhand and Manipur. All eyes would be on Uttar Pradesh, where there is the Ram Mandir, Taj Mahal and other historical monuments. It has 80 parliamentary seats that makes it an important state when it comes to the issue of being in power at New Delhi. Obviously, the stakes are the highest in this state. BJP is already in power here and would like to ensure that the status remains. AAP has high expectations in Punjab. It could create upsets for the ruling Congress party. As far as Goa is concerned, BJP is already in power. It had formed the government five years back even though it got fewer seats than the Congress. Right now, the BJP is confident of retaining its hold through alliances. In Manipur, BJP snatched power from the Congress in 2017 in spite of having fewer seats. Here also the saffron brigade hopes to continue to be in power. There is likely to be a tight race in Uttarakhand also.

Votes have been cast, counting is on and fingers are crossed. Once the results are declared the leaders would get into action to ensure that their empires remain safe. In states where the figures are satisfactory, there could be the tussles to get prominence in the hierarchy.

Home delivery cooked meals – an example of work from home

Necessity is the mother of invention. Home delivery of cooked meals is a concept born out of necessity. As the joint family system broke up into nuclear families, the question arose of how to manage the kitchen. It needs investment of funds for utensils, gas oven, microwave heater, refrigerator etcetera. Then they should have knowledge of cooking and the time to cook. Right now, time is at a premium for many because in most families, both the husband and wife have to meet deadlines at work. Hence, there has to be a source of food. One option is to order them online. The other option is to go in for home delivery of cooked meals.

The story of a popular Bengali TV serial is on this subject. A young girl who lives in a slum sets up such a business and manages to build a mini empire. She procures raw materials from the local market. These include vegetables, fish, chicken etcetera apart from rice, lentils, spices, cooking oil. She has a team of local girls who help in the cooking and a handcart to deliver the meals. Her operation is within a small area. It is, in short, a mini edition of well-known brands like McDonald’s, Zomato and Swiggy. Many individuals like her have joined the bandwagon and have become their own masters.

The fast food culture in India

People eat food for various reasons. They do so when they are hungry, when they are in a celebration mood, or when they want to let down their hair and experiment with new cuisine and food outlets. The street food culture has spread because at times, people get fed up of dining at home or in hotels or restaurants. They want to enjoy their foods in the open and in the company of strangers. Thanks to the social media, this variety of food has flourished. You name it and they have it. They have very little overheads, hence can offer foods at unbelievable prices. Their patrons love to go to the street-side food outlets with others in queue. The menus offer South Indian items like dosa and idli to North Indian items like chana bhature, and biryani to egg based snacks. There are also the universal favorites like golguppa or fuchka and bhel puri or jhal muri.

The popularity of fast foods has encouraged them to set up their own and unique business models. Any person who operates one of these outlets tries to offer something unique. He wants his customers to keep coming back. He does not need to rope in PR teams – his foods do that. He has the uncanny ability of maintaining an inventory that will never run short of the ingredients. Each of them is a successful businessman or a business woman. Yes, many women are also into these ventures.