family.Whenweate,weservedhimfirst.Whenyoung
peoplecameintohishome,theybowedandtouchedhis
feet in supplication.
InAmerica,hewouldalmostcertainlyhavebeenplaced
in a nursinghome.Health professionalshavea formal
classification systemfor thelevel offunctiona person
has.Ifyoucannot,withoutassistance,usethetoilet,eat,
dress,bathe,groom,getoutofbed,getoutofachair,and
walk—theeight“ActivitiesofDailyLiving”—thenyou
lackthecapacityforbasicphysicalindependence.Ifyou
cannot shop for yourself, prepare your own food,
maintain your housekeeping, doyour laundry, manage
yourmedications,makephonecalls,travelonyourown,
and handle your finances—the eight “Independent
ActivitiesofDailyLiving”—thenyoulackthecapacity
to live safely on your own.
Mygrandfather could performonly some of thebasic
measuresofindependence,andfewofthemorecomplex
ones.ButinIndia,thiswasnotofanydireconsequence.
His situation prompted no family crisis meeting, no
anguisheddebatesoverwhattodowithhim.Itwasclear
that the family would ensure my grandfather could
continuetoliveashedesired.Oneofmyunclesandhis
familylivedwithhim,andwithasmallherdofchildren,
grandchildren, nieces, and nephews nearby, he never
lacked for help.
Thearrangementallowedhimtomaintainawayoflife
thatfewelderlypeopleinmodernsocietiescancounton.
The family made itpossible, for instance, for him to
continuetoownandmanagehisfarm,whichhehadbuilt
upfromnothing—indeed,fromworsethannothing.His