lived here since he was born, is reclining on a
khaat. He is a proud father of six children—five
boys and a girl—all of whom are married and
don’t stay with him any longer. “If they don’t
work, how will they fend for themselves and
feed us,” he says. Two of his sons have set up a
car-repair shop in Delhi and send Rs 8,000 every
month for his expenses. Three to four bighas of
land isn’t enough to feed him and his wife, who
was in Noida at that time with her daugher-in-
law. Sadi Ram didn’t go there—he can’t move
like he used to because of a spinal condition.
Four houses down the alley, 70-year-old
Desh Raj sits on a charpoy. His house is not
cemented and there is not even a ceiling fan
in the room despite the temperature edging
to the mid-40s outside. Smoke from a hookah
suffuses the air. He doesn’t respond much
to questions, but breaks into a chuckle when
asked if he puffs on the hookah regularly.
A farmer all his life, he grew jowar and wheat,
but is unable to anymore. “Inko is taraf lakwa
maar gaya hai (He’s paralysed on this side),”
his nephew says, pointing to his uncle’s right.
Desh Raj is a bit of an outlier for his time—he
didn’t get married. His brother’s children now
look after him.
Bisaich presents a microcosm of what is hap-
pening across the country—although more than
50 per cent of Indians are below the age of 25,
the population of baby boomers is significant.
Child ren are migrating to richer pastures while
parents fend for themselves or rely on money
sent by their kids. Healthcare is expensive and
awareness about problems that creep up in old
age low. An RBI report from August 2017 says
that in 2016, a mere 23 per cent of the popula-
tion was saving or planning for retirement.
It is a problem which will only get worse as life
expectancy continues to increase. According to
the National Policy on Senior Citizens 2011, the
demographic trends indicate that between 2000
and 2050, the overall population of India will
grow by 55 per cent whereas the population of
those above 60 will increase by 326 per cent. The
number of 80+ will swell by 700 per cent, making
them the fastest-growing group. According to
cen sus data, 10.7 crore people were above the age
of 60 in 2011, that is, 8.6 per cent of the popula-
tion. This figure will rise to 21.1 per cent in 2050.STRIVING
SENIORS
(clockwise from top)
Sadi Ram, 74, is a
farmer in Bisaich,
Uttar Pradesh;
Pradeep Vashisht,
64, is a doctor;
Rajkumari, 75,
works as her
daughter’s assistant22 July 2019 OUTLOOK 45