Age and Prejudice.A tribute to Dad’s best friend.

Age is something that creeps up on every single one of us. As you read this, you are a few seconds older. Some people just exist, dragging their weary souls behind them. And some people really live life to the fullest. Age does not get in their way, obstacles do not get them down for long and they emerge stronger, happier and they have grown.

What is it that separates these go-getters from the others? Why is it that some people are so weary and down-in-the dumps where as some people are bubbly, positive, cheerful and great to be around? I had mentioned this in my post ‘ radiators and drains.’(in case you do not know what it is please do click on link)



Mr. Prabhu is one such radiator. I feel so fortunate that he came into my life and feel very enriched that I share a close relationship with him. He is an amazing person. He is so energetic, dynamic, lively, spirited, tireless, vivacious ,zippy and so full of life. He is one of those very few who have really succeeded in cocking a snook at so called ‘age’. He is a total non-conformist and a bachelor-boy at 73.Also my parents' best friend. He and my dad used to get along like a house on fire and were inseparable. (see the picture showing dad and Mr.Prabhu)


If I wasn’t already married (with two kids as well!) he is definitely the kind of man I would have fallen in love with!

He left a small village in Kerala when he was just 23, and moved to the big bad city of Mumbai, where he lived for 48 years, and worked for a British company, at a senior management position. After that, partly because of my dad and partly because of his own reasons, he moved back to Kerala—a kind of ‘returning to the roots’.

After observing many people, I have realized that it is just attitude and thinking, that makes all the difference. You can be old at 22 or you can be young at 73.You can either accept defeat, and get plagued with self-doubt and ‘what-will-people-say’ or you can sport a ‘this-is-how-i-am-take-it-or leave-it’ attitude. You can dare be different—or you can choose to confirm.

The important thing is to have an alert and open mind. The quest to keep learning. A child is always curious. The child’s desire for knowing is unsatiable—he loves to explore, he discovers and is pleased with new things. It helps to cultivate those qualities .(It also helps to have regular exercise and a healthy life style—but I shall leave that for another post!) You grow old when you feel you have seen it all and you know it all.

After all, as Mark Twain said “ Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you do not mind, it does not matter.”

And in the end, it’s the chutzpah that you have that makes all the difference. If you had met my dad or Mr.Prabhu you would agree. One hundred percent.