My father retired at 52. I was 18 then and vividly remember his last day in office. When he came home in the evening, he sat on the sofa and said, ‘ I feel I have become old now’. We all agreed. There was no chance of disagreement with father in our times. But that was 34 years back. Times have changed.

I turned 52 today. I too declared that I feel that I have become old. The moment I said that, my 18 years old daughter was up in arms against my declaration. She said I have no right to make such unilateral declaration. She said that they, as a family, would decide when it was time for me to declare whether I am old or not. I was shocked at this outburst. She then hugged me and said, “Dad, you are still young”. I smiled at her and decided to work on my looks so that I could belie my age effectively.

I started going to the gym and after every brief exercise, I would look at my miniscule biceps. I started using the dye to give my hair a salt and pepper look. It gave me instant ten years reduction.I stopped clicking my full pics so that the fat around my belly and other places could be kept out of frame. Whenever there is any article in the newspaper or magazine which says age is just a number, I read it twice and force myself to believe that the author and my daughter are right in a way. I changed my wardrobe to have every bright colour in it and also included the contemporary styles. My daughter was elated at this change and proud of her “still young” father. Times have changed, so have I. Stay with time stay young.

** I will let you know when my daughter and family allow me to declare the onset of old age.