I’m now face to face with a Hamletian dilemma to continue blogging or put a full stop to it. I’m an old man of  91 running. There is a discrepancy about my official age and actual age. I was born in Burma. My father was in a flourishing business. In 1942 during the Second World War we had to flee from Burma on foot through hilly route leaving everything behind. Whatever class I studied there became nil after coming back to my own country as a penniless refugee. I had to start from class one onward.  So my age was adjusted accordingly and began to build my career from scratch. Necessity of Birth certificate was not in vogue in those days.

After retirement I resorted to blogging on a variety of topics that strikes my mind to keep me mentally active till I meet with inevitable death. In my view, it has the added prospect of warding off dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

Corona has changed the world in a way that man could never imagine in the past. It brought the whole world virtually to a grinding halt. I didn’t touch the topic because none escaped from the deluge of news and views on Covit-19. I was careful not to burden anyone with another opinion of mine on the subject. 

Initially, I used to churn out 2/3 blogs in a week. Gradually it tapered to 2/3 in a month. It may decrease still more in the coming days. Now I’m in the grip of the dilemma to continue it or call it quits forever. Today longevity is on the rise worldwide. I also feel that my age has overshot the expiry date. Who knows I may cross even the century mark. That’s a reality.  I was conscious about my health indulging in some physical activity since student life. You must keep your machine running. As a result shrinkage of muscles in old age has been halted to a great extent.  People don’t think I’m a nonagenarian.  But I lost the power of walking due to negligence. I pass all day sitting at the computer table throughout. That crippled me. Despite the shortcoming I take care to do 30 minutes of workout six days a week. That helps me otherwise to remain active somewhat. I think keeping sedentary all day, 30 minutes workout at the end of the day is not enough. I had to stop using dumbbells recently after suffering a fracture first on the right wrist and then on the left due to slipping on the marble floor after coming out of the bathroom with wet feet. I’m trying to relearn how to walk now. The outcome is uncertain due to age factor.

With age mental strength also goes down considerably. It’s natural. Like physical activity your brain needs mental exercise too to arrest diminishing thinking power and memory loss. Neuroscience claims that due to neuro-plasticity, loss of neurons with age can be reduced or even replenished. Brain exercise can generate new neurons.  There are numerous brain exercises available. I have chosen solving Sudoku puzzles and blogging.  Sudoku enhances concentration, cognition and memory; blogging keeps the clogged thinking processes in running condition. None can reverse the natural aging process of decay. It can only lessen the rate of decay.  It needs a conscious effort on the part of the individual concerned to keep it in check.  That brings me to the dilemma: should I continue or leave it for good. 

After much deliberation, I decide not to stop it altogether but to continue as and when I feel like to prove that I’m not yet dead. Do you support me?