Aging is an issue of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.

There is no cliché that could be more accurate. We cannot stop from growing old chronologically. It is an inevitable part of life which should be embraced with a light heart and years' worth of wisdom and planning. But because of the prevailing myths & beliefs in our society, it arches our eyebrows over old age and hence, a few look forward to the twilight of their life and it brings in its wake - deteriorating health, loss of vigour, restricted mobility, increasing dependence on others, not to mention a sense of foreboding and anxiety.

According to the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, the elderly population in India is going to rise from 11.5% in 2025 to 19% in 2050. They have also stated that the old-age dependency ratio (65+ per 15-64) for India in the year 2020, was 9.8 ratio. Old-age dependency ratio (65+ per 15-64) of India increased from 6 ratio in 1971 to 9.8 ratio in 2020 growing at an average annual rate of 1.00%. They have also projected the old-age dependency ratio for India to increase to 11/100 by 2025. Now, as the population is increasing, the demand for earning livelihood is increasing and becoming more tough, making the younger generation leave their homes and settle in distant urban localities to earn and send money to their elderly parents. As a result of which, unlike older times, elderly people are gradually becoming lonely and staying in solitude in their houses. As people get older, they get vulnerable to different medical and psychological problems.

At Deusa Foundation, we aim at creating a society where people aren’t so worried about getting old, where there’s less stereotyping of older people, more intergenerational contact, and more opportunities to see older people as assets. We have to seriously challenge our long-standing assumptions of age and start resetting our own preconceptions about ageing. We need to open up our minds to the opportunities a longer life can bring.