AFVOA Newletters of Year 2008

Page 31 of 56 the last few years consistently achieved a growth rate of nine percent. Further predictions are certainly bullish. Our economists say that an eleven percent growth in the current year is realistic and the trend is likely to continue right till the end of the teen years of this millennium. All this makes our country the fastest growing economy in our region, a matter about which we can all feel justly proud. During the 70s, when we were young, those fortunate souls who were lucky enough to be able to visit foreign shores regaled us on their return with stories of cities packed with buildings containing residential apartments, of televisions blaring away in rooms even when there was no one to watch, of the widespread availability of telephones and of roads packed with still vehicles in a phenomenon called ‘traffic jam’ which was unimaginable to us because in those days we had not even heard of road dividers or ‘medians’. Now we have all the aforesaid and much more. A vast and growing network of wide roads with expressways and ‘flyovers’ and cars, bikes, trucks and vehicles of every description to carry us over them. We find these roads are bordered by clusters of multi-storeyed buildings providing homes at reasonable prices. Huge schools and innumerable colleges, each of which is striving to become a university have come up. An ample supply of day to day requirements is available to the common man and inspite of the pangs of inflation, are still more or less affordable. Thus, life has undergone a sea change in a mere thirty odd years and is yet changing. And this ‘sea change’ has not left the Veteran unchanged. In an earlier era the armed forces retiree could do nothing more that spend his time telling tales of his young days to whoever would listen. At best he could embellish his tales with each telling. No one asked him to do any thing because there was not much to do anyway; and if he took up a job it was in the place of a younger man who was left jobless. Not so today. Today a Veteran finds himself still to be a wanted commodity. Opportunities beckon him at every turn and he is eager to grasp them and go all out to exploit them to the hilt. He is no more laid back preparing himself for the ‘sunset’ years. Be it in social group activities to further arts and culture, be it in commerce and management or be It even in politics; when he is called he is ready to set out and conquer. For, today’s Veteran is not tired, retired or re-attired. He considers himself reborn. To him retirement is re-rising, nay, a rebirth, a NAVODHAYA. On the brighter side, in this phase of life he starts out with two major advantages which he did not have earlier. Firstly, he is financially reasonable well settled and has a steady pension. The period of want, which he faced in youth when desire for material goods outstripped resources, is behind him. Secondly, because of mental maturity he is able to look at life with equanimity. Certainly he cannot leap longer, sprint faster or climb higher than he could when young but that aspect is counter weighed with tons and tons of experience that he has gained and the wisdom, knowledge and erudition that he has accumulated help him lead a life of contribution to society without the raging inner strife so common in the young. It is no coincidence then that a publication to be released by our Association has been aptly entitled NAVODHAYA. It is a compendium of guidance and counsel and a bouquet of various relevant and apt published orders and forms to help a retiring person start off well in his retired life and continue that way. It goes on to guide even the next of kin on matter of family pension and medical aid. A number of dedicated members have over the years set their hands in preparing this very valuable hand book. Their names have not been listed but rest assured that they pored over it for months together with the single minded aim of producing a work which they intended should serve us as a guide and at the same time as an oracle in this phase of life. They have succeeded marvelously as you will find when you go through the review of NAVODHAYA else where in this issue.