In retirement, most people have nothing much to do especially when it comes to putting pen to paper. People join clubs and groups to spend time at leisure and feel that they belong to that group.
I regularly take part in the activities of two local groups, “Redbridge Asian Mandal” and “Redbridge Gujarati Welfare Association.” Where I meet with peer groups and participate in their activities.
The other group that I feel that I belong to is the letter writers of Asian Voice’s “Readers Voice” and Gujarat Samachar’s “Amare pan kain kahevun chhe” columns. But for these two columns, I would lose my command in English and Gujarati.
I hope to continue to write for these columns till I really become old in the tooth. Hopefully, this will enable me to keep my marbles for longer and the brain to continue ticking.
In these days and age when people live much longer, the grey cells in the brain die out if they are not properly exercised. Reading and writing are a couple of activities which act as food for the brain.
We need to keep our brains ticking through mental exercises like solving the puzzles like sudoku or doing the weekly crosswords in Gujarat Samachar: by taking part in various activities at social gatherings or mixing with a lot of people in our peer groups. Going for long walks and consuming lots of almonds also helps to release good hormones and lubricate the brain.
Dinesh Sheth
Newbury Park, Ilford
