9. Life after retirement: Experiences and Lessons

Life after retirement has not been that happy and smooth for me. It started well, reading books and using the extra time to study the application of the computer. It continued for about a year and a half. Then, I worked for nine months against an appointment for a year in the Calcutta Stock Exchange.  I have explained the reasons for quitting the Stock Exchange before the expiry of my term in Part II of the service history.  This brings me to 2006, which passed off well. During the year, my elder son-in-law had shifted first to Pune and then to Mumbai. I had visited Pune and Mumbai on those occasions to help my daughter settle there.

On one of those occasions, when travelling from Mumbai to Pune by bus, I had a minor accident. I had stood up from my seat in preparation for getting down at my stoppage in Pune when the driver suddenly applied the brake. I was thrown off to the partition of the driver’s cabin and had a bleeding injury of the nose. Fortunately, not much damage was done.

We had fixed the marriage of our younger daughter in November 2007. Making arrangements for the marriage kept us more or less busy for the major part of the year. Sometimes, after the marriage, we had a short trip to Assam and Meghalaya. It was a visit to my state of origin after more than 25 years.  Before that, my best friend Dipu (of whom I have spoken earlier while describing my school and college days) had come from the USA with his wife Ribha. 

Tragedy struck in 2008 when my cousin Manik died on April 20. He was very close to me and more of a friend. He had come to me for having a bypass surgery at a pre-chosen hospital here in Kolkata. Earlier, he had survived a massive heart attack in Sylhet in Bangladesh and was advised surgical intervention for a heart block.  He underwent surgery at RN Tagore Hospital here, but could not survive post-operation complications. The rest of the year somehow passed off.

In February 2009, two of my school friends came in succession, one from London and the other from New York. First came Ranapratap Das from New York. We met after decades. Due to his busy schedule and the sudden indisposition of his son accompanying him, Rana could not spare much time for engagement with us. Later, came Asu from London. It was again a meeting after decades. I had a good time with Asu. My younger daughter came in the later part of 2009 to stay with us for her pregnancy and the delivery of the child.

In early 2010, I lost my only brother, who was elder to me.  My brother Krishna Kanta Das died on Feb 6 in his house at Silchar due to a massive heart attack. I had to go to attend his last rites, leaving my younger daughter, who had been in an advanced stage of pregnancy with her mother. I was away for ten days.

The following year on January 23,  my brother-in-law Rajani Mohan Roy,  who had been ailing for quite some time, died in his residence in Mariani, Assam.

 Again, there were two deaths of close relations in 2014. First my Bowdi,  (Elder brother's wife), Sabitri Das died, while in sleep in her house at Silchar in the early hours of the 30th of April. Her only son stayed in the USA. The body was kept embalmed till the son came.  Then, one of my close maternal aunts, Usha Rani Das of whom I have spoken on the page on, "Maternal Uncles and cousins", died on the 27th of October the same year. She did not have any offspring.  Her last rites were performed by a nephew of her husband, who had stayed with and looked after her. 

As I have already said, my younger daughter came in the later part of 2009 to stay with us for her pregnancy and delivery of a child.  We had the pleasure of having our grandson born on the 15th of April, 2010. Since then, we have been enjoying life looking after our grandson and seeing him growing up stage by stage. I consider it a heavenly bliss to have a baby in the house and be involved in the process of his or her growing up.

I had long cherished a desire to have a car of my own and go out driving it by myself. I already had an experience of unofficially driving Govt. vehicles to the extent of about 20,000 Kms though I did not have the license. I now wanted to get a license. I enrolled in a Motor Driving School to practise driving. I also applied for a licence. Meanwhile, I ordered a Maruti Car. The car was delivered on February 7, 2011. I had also obtained a driving licence valid up to Feb 2016 (later renewed up to Feb 2021 and further to 2026). I started driving the car on and off. After a few initial mistakes, I am now fully adapted to driving my car with ease in Kolkata streets. My desire was fulfilled though belatedly.

Crises started for us from the end of 2011. Both I and my wife had till then been maintaining more or less good health. We did not have any major disease except thyroid for my wife and thyroid, hypertension, and some sort of skin disease for me. 

Starting in August 2011, my wife started having occasional pain in the pelvic region accompanied by fever. The fever and the pain came intermittently in the course of treatment by different doctors up to November 2011. Later, on USG of the lower abdomen advised by a doctor friend, she was detected having a large lobulated mass lesion in the upper retroperitoneum with the encasement of iota and IVC suggesting Retroperitoneal Lymphadenopathy.  On a further examination, it was detected as a B Cell Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma of Grade II. It was a kind of recoverable cancer. She then underwent six cycles of Chemotherapy (R-CHOP: 3 and R-CEOP: 3) followed by 25 doses of Radiotherapy. One medicine in Chemotherapy had to be changed after 3 cycles as the EF of her heart fell from 64% to 59%. She was completely cured of cancer, with the retroperitoneal lymph node reduced to a normal size, as revealed by a PET-CT scan in October 2012 and subsequent tests conducted over the following ten years. As of 2024, that disease has not come back. However, in January 2022, she was diagnosed with Vascular Dementia and has been under treatment since then.

Meanwhile, I had to be hospitalised twice; I had never been hospitalised in my life that far.  On the first occasion, it was on August 17, 2012, two days before the commencement of Radiotherapy treatment of my wife. At that time, dengue had spread in Kolkata like an epidemic. Hospitals were filled with dengue patients, and it was almost impossible to get a bed at any hospital. However, a bed in the General ward of a local private hospital (AMRI, Salt Lake) could somehow be arranged for me after 12 hours of waiting. I stayed in the hospital for 3 days and was discharged on August 19 when it was confirmed that I had viral fever and not dengue, which was treated and cured. I returned home, fully cured.

It was on Dec 23, 2012, that I was hospitalised for the second time, this time for an acute vertiginous giddiness accompanied by vomiting. My body balance was disturbed. I was under treatment for five days in a Salt Lake hospital (Columbia Asia) and was discharged on December 27 with a restriction on the movement. An audiometric test showed, the hearing in the left ear severely impaired. I had been later prescribed exercises for the restoration of hearing and body balance. Body balance had improved sufficiently during the next one month to enable normal movement. Subsequent audiometric tests showed improvement of hearing to a considerable extent. The attending ENT Specialist was of the view that no further improvement was possible. He advised the use of a hearing aid attachment. I got a hearing aid for my left ear much later, in June 2015. That hearing aid purchased from Amplifone Company became dysfunctional in 2018 even after servicing it once. Since then, I have been doing without such aid, though the hearing problem aggravated. These Hearing Aid instruments are too costly, and their life period and effectiveness are not commensurate with the price. However, as the hearing loss reached an embarrassing level, I could not help going for it again and now for both ears.

  In 2019, I had to be hospitalised again, this time with UTI (E. Coli_ESLB) infection. The infection was so severe that it inflicted an excruciating pain in the lower abdomen while the discharge of urine was reduced to drops. I stayed in the hospital from April 17 to April 25. A total of 8x3 doses of intravenous antibiotics were administered to cure me. I was discharged in the afternoon of April 25 but was under follow-up treatment till Feb 2020. Subsequent clinical check-ups post-March 2020, advised by the treating Doctor,   had to be abandoned due to the onset of Covid 19.

I am also undergoing outdoor treatment for Psoriasis since early April 2019. A noted dermatologist of Kolkata is treating me. Psoriasis is a chronic autoimmune condition that causes a rapid build-up of skin cells. The build-up of cells causes scaling on the skin's surface. Inflammation and redness around the scales are fairly common. Psoriasis also causes severe itching, due to which skin scales come off, and, at times, it bleeds. Typical psoriasis scales are whitish-silver and develop in thick red patches. Sometimes, these patches will crack and bleed. Psoriasis is a result of a sped-up skin production process. Typically, skin cells grow deep in the skin and slowly rise to the surface. Eventually, they fall off. The typical life cycle of a skin cell is one month. Psoriasis typically develop on joints such as elbows and knees. They may develop anywhere on the body, including hands, feet, neck, scalp, face. I have it on my outer thighs, lower back, legs, and a little on the scalp. The condition has somewhat improved since I started the treatment. To confirm the existence of Psoriasis on my body, the doctor had extracted a skin sample from the leg and had a biopsy done on it. 

According to one study, around 7.4 million Americans have Psoriasis. The prevalence of Psoriasis in India is estimated to be between 0.44% and 2.8%, while worldwide, it ranges between 0.09%  and 11.43%, as estimated by WHO in 2016. In absolute terms, it has been estimated that 125 million individuals suffer from this disease world over. This disease is commonly associated with several other conditions like Type 2 diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease, heart disease, psoriatic arthritis, anxieties, and depression. In my case, it seems to have developed from too many anxieties and sleep disorders, the other conditions being absent. 

Psoriasis first appeared on my body sometime in 2004. I had undergone allopathic treatment at the initial stage. When the treatment of local dermatologist did not yield results at that time, and I came to learn that there was a better treatment in Homeopathy, I, during a visit to my elder daughter’s place at Pune in 2006, contacted the Pune Clinic of Dr. Batra’s  (Dr. Mukesh Batra is a renowned Homeopath and has his clinics all over India) Clinic and got registered there for treatment of Psoriasis. Later, I got my registration for treatment transferred to the Clinic of Dr. Batra’s at Ultadanga, Kolkata. I was cured after treatment for three years here.

When the disease relapsed in 2019, I first tried Dr. Batra’s treatment. But when the condition started deteriorating after three months of treatment and immediate redressal was not available, I had to switch over to Allopathy. The condition has somewhat improved since then, though some new areas have been affected. 

However, as Covid 19 set in, in Dec 2019, the doctor stopped on-site clinical examination and started the online consultation process. As a result, there has been some deterioration. Patches appearing anew on the fingers and in the angles between them could not be adequately controlled. Besides, after being tested Covid positive in April 2017, I had stopped taking medicines for Psoriasis for some time.

In his latest prescription on 31-07-21, the doc. has observed in reply to a query for delayed progress of improvement on the following lines, "It has been categorically told to the patient that with his low WBC and borderline platelet count neither cyclosporine nor Methotrexate can be given. The only option is biologic, However, the patient told that he cannot afford biologic, very costly for him. Hence response won't be very great. He may take a 2nd opinion. A copy of the prescription is embedded on the left panel.  Apart from cost, it was also uncertain how my body would respond to the injection as I had some other physical problems. 

To know more about Psoriasis, click the link below.

On the 17th of April 2021, I tested Covid positive along with my younger daughter. I had a viral load of 27 while my daughter had 16. That meant I was in an advanced stage of infection. I did not have visible symptoms and did not understand when and how I had caught the virus. But the virus load suggested that it could be days before the test. Looking back, I realized that I had severe muscle pains and weakness on the 3rd and 4th of April, and that could have been the beginning. I had then taken Crocin 650 for a couple of days, and the pains had subsided. It had also then come to my mind that following the muscle pains, I did not get weaker smells for a couple of days, though the sense of smell had recovered in no time. Later, I failed to get a taste of food, too, for a few more days.  But I thought that was due to inept cooking, which was not infrequent in my house. Considering all these facts together and the viral load revealed by the  RT-PCR test, it was clear that I was infected around the time the symptom of muscle pains had manifested. I wondered from where or from whom I had contacted this virus. I mostly remained indoors except for a  morning walk for an hour or two in a nearby bio-diversity park. I rarely visited the market. Besides, whenever outdoor, I always used masks except when there was none around. My hunch is that it came from the groups of non-Bengali morning walkers, who mostly avoided using masks when in the park and talked aloud amongst themselves when walking. There was, however, another possibility. I had visited Salt Lake SDJM Court on March 17 to meet my lawyer in connection with a case and stayed with him for some time in his chamber, where others too were there. But I had then Mask N 95 on me. 

Anyway, on getting the report on the 18th of April (late night), we consulted a physician via Telemedicine on the morning of the 19th of April.  My daughter and I started taking medicines as prescribed by the physician, though by then, my symptoms had all disappeared, and I was having no discomforts. As advised by the physician, we remained in Home isolation and came out of it after the expiry of the prescribed period as per Covid protocol for isolation. We had also sanitized our flat after we came out of isolation.

Below are posted my RT-PCR test Report and physician's prescription. 

On the 8th of July 2021, when I was on my way to BB Block Park for a morning walk, a dog silently came from behind and bit me on my lower calf of the right leg. This had happened near the BB Block Community Centre, The bite was, mostly, taken by the leg of my trousers with a small portion of it torn off. The pant leg had saved me from a major injury with only a minor wound on the muscle.  Immediately I took TAT Vac and the first dose of Rabies Vaccine. Later doses were scheduled on Jul 11, 15, 22, and Aug 5. All the doses were completed on Aug 5, 2021, 

By mid-2024, it became clear that I had Pancitomonia. Due to this and some other physical discomfiture, I consulted specialist physicians in Internal Medicine and cardiology, As advised by them, I got some blood tests, USG of the whole abdomen, eco-USG of the left lower leg, ECG, Eco-cardiography, and X'Ray Cervical Spine (AP & LAT view). These tests revealed that I had an enlarged Spleen (Splenomegaly); my heart condition was as EF 60%, AV sclerosis, DD and Vit D level 13.65. X-ray showed that I had cervical spondylosis with all disc places diminished. For Spondylosis, I consulted Orthopaedic, took medicines prescribed and is better now. For my cardiological problem, I am continuing the treatment under a cardiologist. I was referred to a Gastroenterologist for problems of internal organs. Did blood test, fibroscan of liver and upper GI endoscopy as advised by the Gastroenterologist. The Gastroenterologist has diagnosed that I have non-alcoholic live Chirrosis of Stage A. I am continuing the treatment prescribed by him. 

With the liver condition as above and having regard to the view of the Dermatologist that exact medicines for Psoriasis cannot prescribed due to pancytopenia I am having, and because I had doubts as to how the injections suggested by him would act on my system, I have stopped taking allopathic treatment of Psoriais. I am, however, applying the external medicines he prescribed from time to time.

Nowadays, I spend my time mostly, on the computers reading online materials and doing creative work. I attend to household duties, time to time. I also spend some pleasant time with my grandson Shlok whenever he is around. In January 2013, Shlok had moved to the new house his father had purchased. Since then, he has been staying with us during the day and giving us company.

Very often, I am led to muse over my past.  I have all along been a family-oriented man and have placed the need of the family above all other considerations all through my life. But in our modern society, involvement in family affairs at an old age is often looked upon as interference and gives rise to conflicts and complications For old people, our sages had said, পঞ্চাশোর্দ্ধম বনং ব্রজেৎ, (One should go to the forest when one is above the age of fifty). It could make good sense in those days when one could live in peace and tranquility in the serene atmosphere of the forest. But, in today’s modern world, it hardly applies. After living a  better part of life with all the modern amenities, it is generally not possible to forsake them, to live in the wild. One has now to live amongst friends and relations unless one chooses to live alone. A man of the older generation has, therefore, to find his way to live in peace and tranquility in a present-day family. In my view, the best way for this is to keep oneself busy with whatever one finds pleasure in and to turn over the leaf of one's past life from time to time. This is what I do to keep myself occupied most of the time.

He has been going to school and is now in Class VI (Apr 2021). He is keen on studies and doing excellent in school. He has developed a good study habit and is quite attentive when he sits for his studies. Whatever he does, he does with full concentration. I wish this habit of his continues unabated throughout his life. 

Of late[1], there have been causes for me to become worried about Shlok and his habit formation. My perceptual experience and in-depth behavioural study of the child tell me all are not going well with him. I have advised the parents of the actions to be taken by them, can't say how far I have succeeded. With the intelligence he possesses, he has a good potentiality to be well-placed in life if brought up properly.  

The onset of Covid 19 has shattered his childhood and school life like other children of the age. For more than a year and a half now (as of July 2021), he, like others, has been deprived of school life and the company of friends to play and enjoy. Interactive sessions being absent in online classes, learning, too, has suffered irrecoverably. Everything is in suspended animation in the Covid situation. Uncertainty prevails, and nobody knows when and in what shape normalcy will return. 

As I have already said, I had left my birthplace Sylhet where I had spent a few years of my early childhood way back in the early 1940s. We had migrated to India immediately after the partition. An urge to revisit my homeland had always remained there in my subconscious mind. Due to other engagements, first in studies and then in service, this desire could not be fulfilled, though I had felt it strongly from time to time. Finally, I had my yearning satisfied with my short visit there from Dec 3 to 9, 2019. A Chapter on details of the visit has been added to this memoir to highlight some aspects of my beloved birthplace.