Ageing gracefully

Is the number of greying heads increasing or dwindling? Statistics reveal that the ageing population is going up in many States in India. However, this may not appear so on the streets. What can this be due to? Oh, you mean the black hair dyes? Yes, this industry has prospered beyond imagination and has become an obsession with the population. Their popularity may have arrested the surge of greying heads on the streets. But, turning grey has other linkages too. Remember, melatonin is a hormone most living creatures produce, but only in darkness. And this hormone is primarily responsible for your black hair. What happens now is that with gigantic leaps in artificial lighting, most human settlements are driving away darkness. As a result, you get your silver or grey hair earlier than due. I can remember that in my childhood days, nights were totally dark. There were no streetlights, but people were able to see more with their bare eyes. Lots of bright stars, planets, the milky way, and shimmering light from the moon - all this made sure that that half of our life was something to look forward to, to concoct tales upon and to enrich the imagination. Does the present young generation see the romanticism of nights the same way? When they want to watch the stars, or know about the phase of the moon, they reach for their mobile phone or other electronic gadgets. More information on stars, planets, comets and galaxies would now be readily available on their fingertips. Impressions on spending a night in an open tent under a star-studded sky or the sheer ecstasy of moonlight bathing in a stream - how do we translate these firsthand experiences? Human life thrives on the juxtaposition of opposites: light and darkness are two such parts that make a whole. But the wide use of artificial lights, and the insane promotion of night life by even small towns have in a way turned this natural blessing, meaningless. The smell of welcome food used to drag us home during evenings. Today’s masalas and the pungent smell emanating from roadside kitchens may guarantee what they call “authentic street food”; however, our digestive system suffers from stale food, camouflaged and sold with alluring smell. We used to be taught in school that “fear of loud noises” is an instinctive fear in man, carried over from centuries past. Now, this has been reversed. Today’s high wattage sound enhancing systems ensure that music reverberates throughout one’s body. The sense of touch continues to be one of our powerful senses. Even after all other senses fail, the sense of touch remains active before the last whistle is blown. In a way, we have succeeded in making this primitive sense a commercial asset. What all types of touchscreens act as sensors now! The other day my friend was speaking of the predicament of his aged aunt. As head of the family, she wanted to authenticate the ration card with her thumb mark....

Preview: ~500 words