In Pursuit Of Happiness

We spoke to retired individuals who’ve broken the boundaries and are an inspiration to others approaching their senior years

Photo: Dinesh Parab

Suniel Gupta

Age: 62, Mumbai

He works as a business development consultant in an NGO in his second innings, having previously worked as a sales and training personnnel in a pharma company

Guide To Persistence

At 62, Mumbai-based Suniel Gupta doesn’t want to stop working. He works six hours a day and feels content with the contribution that he is making. He works as a business development consultant in a non-governmental organisation (NGO) during weekdays, and offers online coaching sessions on the weekend. He is primarily into training people in communication skills and personality development.

What makes him happy about his profile is that he is doing what he likes at his own pace. “I am not chasing a particular career goal, so there is no stress. Sometimes, there is stress, but it is only task-related,” says Gupta.

The other part is that having a regular income eases him out.

“There could be times when suddenly some big expense comes along and you will have to dig into your savings. So, once you have a some sort of regular income, it provides ease. That is how I look at it. I can’t say I don’t need money, but how much is the question. That’s an individual choice,” he says.

Early Retirement

Gupta retired early, when he was in his early 50s, after working with a pharmaceutical company for around three decades. In that period, he gained diverse experience in the fields of sales and sales training.

He later became a trainer when he was handpicked for the job because of his quality of helping others out. It proved to be a turning point in his life. Initially, he was sceptical, but later excelled in both sales and training, and the latter became his calling in retirement, too.

Though he always wanted to work independently, Gupta quit and started looking for independent assignments when he realised that his thought process had stopped aligning with the management’s. He was able to take that decision because he was confident in his training skills.

That phase was not without its initial challenges and setbacks. “The first 2-3 months were difficult. I didn’t get any assignments after quitting the job,” says Gupta. But he didn’t lose heart and persisted.

Beyond Challenges

When he realised that his 10-12 years of experience, specifically in training, was not sufficient, he decided to enrol in a relevant course, which cost him Rs 1 lakh. The eight-month certification required classroom as well as practical training, including 100 hours of coaching, and a written exam.

“The only thing which helps you overcome the challenges is to start doing it. And that’s exactly what I did. I am from Delhi and when I first moved to Bengaluru (for his job), it was a challenge. Coming to Mumbai was also a challenge, as was switching from sales to training, and leaving a job. Basically, whatever decision you take, believe in it, own it, and move forward,” says Gupta.

What helped him a lot was being flexible about whatever came his way. Initially, he earned almost half of his salary at his coaching job than what he was earning at the pharma company, but that improved eventually. Now he is in a phase where he is not worried about his financial future.

Photo: Tribhuvan Tiwari

V.P. Gupta

Age: 72, New Delhi

He rose up the ranks and retired from a prestigious post. He joined a private university the very next day and is still working there. Being the workaholic that he is, he even got himself a PhD at 65

Doctorate  At 65 Years

VP. Gupta, 72, retired from the post of Registrar at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, in 2012 at age 60. Though the government job offered him a generous pension, he chose to continue working even after retirement. “I joined a private university the very next day of my retirement, and did not take even a single day’s break,” says Gupta.

He started getting offers from many colleges during the end of his career of nearly four decades. Some of the offers also came from abroad, but he chose to stay in Delhi to be near his family. Since he had already made up his mind to continue working after retirement, it didn’t take him much time to choose an institution.

One of the plus points for Gupta was the fact that his experience and skills are in high demand, and unlike many other retirees, he did not have to compromise on remuneration in his second innings. “The transition to a private set-up at 60 may be difficult for some retirees, but for me, it was a cultural change. I enjoy the absence of red-tapism here,” he says.

Boundless Energy

Over the years, his energy hasn’t waned. It his 12th year at the same university, this grandfather is not ready to retire. “My grandchildren, who are into professional courses, are now on the verge of joining the workforce, but I don’t want to retire,” he says with a smile.

The septuagenarian likes to keep himself updated about the changes in his field and is still willing to work daily, provided there is flexibility and no fixed hours. In fact, he enrolled for a PhD after retirement and was awarded one when he turned 65.

He says he is someone who is never tired of working and equates himself with the workaholic protagonist of the 1970s’ Bollywood movie Anubhav. “Being a workaholic, I never thought of retirement in my life. It’s just a change of workplace.” he says.

As the AIIMS registrar, he took several initiatives, such as moving certain processes, including the printing of degrees and certificates online to eradicate the menace of fake documents. He also supervised different sections, including the faculty cell, establishment section, research section, cardiac and neurosciences centres. What stands out is the fact that he worked hard all his life and rose among the ranks to acquire the top position eventually. That effort has paid off with a lucrative post-retirement career.

Veena Mishra

Age: 74, Kanpur

She lost her two sons within five years, the last one a few months before her retirement. She continued working and now runs her own school with 1,400 children, along with a pre-school for village children

Till Death Do Us Part

When Kanpur-based Veena Mishra lost two of her three sons within five-six years—a 27-year-old to an incurable disease and a 24-year-old to an accident, in 2006 and 2011, respectively—she was devastated and wanted to stop working. She was a 59-year-old school teacher in 2011, and was just about to retire.

But thanks to the support of her husband, her school principal, and colleagues, who counselled her about not quitting at this stage, she decided against staying back at home and instead doing something productive. She took on a new role as a coordinator, and moved on as the director of another school later.

“Initially, I felt what was the use of doing all the hard work every day, so I thought I should quit. Then I realised that if I don’t keep myself busy, I will be stuck, so I decided to continue working,” says Mishra.

Thirteen years after she lost her second son, she is 74 now, single (her husband passed away in 2020, due to kidney failure), and is still working.

A Long Story

Mishra first started working as a school teacher in Dehradun in 1973, but left it in 1977 when she got married to a doctor in Kanpur. As her family expanded, she decided to continue as a homemaker to care of her children. In 1990, when she took her third son for school admission, she was offered a school teacher’s job and she took it. “I thought it was an opportunity to spend more time with my youngest child; the other two were a little grown up. Also, I didn’t have any other engagement then,” she says.

In 2011, when she retired, the school management decided to retain her as a coordinator. That was the year she lost her second son. She continued as the coordinator in the school before joining another one as a director in 2013.

That was a challenging position as it was a new school, which started with just about 400 children and a building that was still partly under construction. “A few years later, when I lost my husband in 2020, I completely devoted myself to the school and the children there,” she says. The school grew under her wings and has 1,400 children now.

A few years ago, she also started her own pre-school for village children at her farmhouse near Kanpur. “The experience teaches us a lot of things. To see a smile on the faces of children is actually the greatest motivator,” she says.

Bundle Of Energy

Besides being a school director and running her own pre-school, she also teaches two-three children at her home in the evening.

For her, taking up work after retirement makes one more energetic, organised, focused and confident. “If you start working after retirement, things are different, you are experienced and focused, so the decisions you make are well thought out yet fast,” says Mishra, who is thoroughly enjoying her second innings now. “I look forward to getting ready every morning and going to work. Age should not be counted. It is the heart and the brain that matter. I want to keep working for children till my last breath,” she says.

Shubha Apte

Age: 64, Bengaluru

She was a workaholic and suffered a burn-out in her 50s, eventually taking early retirement in her 50s. She utilised her free time to enrol in a few courses, explore her creative side, and now works as a mentor for some companies and is a guest faculty at a B-School

Burn-Out To Busy

Being a workaholic is sometimes seen as an asset, but that’s not always true. Shubha Apte, 64, describes herself as a workaholic during her working years, but that also led to a burnout much before her retirement age.

“I always liked being busy, and working across different functions and roles always excited me. But there was a time when I was so busy that my weekends became like an extended work week,” says Apte, who donned many hats during her career and worked in departments ranging from IT, manufacturing, sales and marketing and so on. As a result, she took voluntary retirement when she was in her 50s.

“The allure of being my own boss, guiding others toward success, and making a meaningful impact on both individuals and organisations fuelled my determination to depart from the corporate sphere sooner rather than later,” says Apte, who now works as a mentor with companies and goes for guest lectures at a B-School.

The Shift

The good part was this was not a sudden move and she had contemplated about her life and work after retirement for long. Apte had prepared for her second innings even before embarking on it. She wanted to explore herself, give back to the society, have something to look forward to every morning, spend her time productively, and pursue her diverse hobbies. Fortunately, finances were not a concern for her.

During the break between her job and second innings, she enrolled herself in professional courses, including a diploma in “CEO Coaching”. “These roles allowed me to mentor Gen Z and, in the process, learn new perspectives,” she says.

Beyond Work

Besides changing her career course after retirement, Apte made time for her interests, such as reading, writing, gardening, and travelling.

“I wanted to spend time to re-ignite my passions, which I had long relegated to the sidelines.” She has also enrolled for a diploma in a writing course.

Apte says she inherited those interests from her mother.

“My mother nurtured my creative side, while my father, who was a doctor, influenced my career decisions. He, too, continued to practice medicine and write in medical journals until he passed away at the age of 90,” she says.

For Apte, a sense of purpose, lifelong learning, and social engagement are extremely important, and retirement is not a barrier to this pursuit.

“Life presents pivotal moments that force us to re-evaluate our priorities and redefine our paths. For me, that moment came during my last corporate assignment, where the relentless pursuit of success had consumed nearly every waking hour of my existence. As the days blurred into nights and weekends became an extension of the workweek, I grappled with a profound sense of emptiness. I had become trapped in a cycle of perpetual business, and my quality of life suffered,” she says.

She has a word of advice for all busy professionals.

“Along with professional growth and financial gain, take out time for self-care, family, and hobbies. If you want to stay active after retirement, be very clear about what you want to do. Also, leverage your network, build your new identity, and devote more time to your family,” she adds. It’s all about reinventing oneself, she says.

Madhukeshwar S. Hedge

Age: 60, Bengaluru

He retired in 2022 in the aftermath of  Covid-19, as his employer did not give any extension. He later took up a job in a firm as an auditor to support his family of four

Down, But Up And Strong Again

There are many people who are forced to work even after retirement, either because of their financial situation or because their verve to work doesn’t retire with age. For Madhukeshwar Shiva Hedge, 60, who retired in 2022 at the age of 58, the reason to continue working was a combination of the two.

Tough financial situations often arise due to lack of proper planning during work years. Hedge, whose one child is married, and twin children are still in college and dependent on him, realises that now. “If I had done proper planning, I would have been in a better situation. I get a nominal pension, which is not enough to run a family of four,” he says.

What dealt him a blow in his working years was the Covid-19 pandemic. It struck two years before he was about to retire, and his company changed its workforce policy and stopped giving extensions to individuals hitting retirement. There were lay-offs and fewer employment opportunities, but Hedge did not lose heart.

Work After Work

Soon after retiring, he joined an auditing firm through his contacts and worked for 3-4 months before joining the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) as an auditor. The job was contractual, and as luck would have it, such employments were terminated after the state government changed.

He then approached a Bengaluru-based non-government organisation (NGO), which helps seniors get work and conducts annual job fairs for seniors. A few months later, he secured the position of a manager after sending multiple applications to various companies.

The work culture in his new organisation is different and so is his current work profile, compared to his corporate job before retirement, but he is not complaining.

Though what he gets is less than half the salary he was getting in the company from where he retired, he is satisfied that it is enough to run his monthly expenses and doesn’t need to touch whatever savings he has. Fortunately, he had paid off his home loan before he retired.

He is happy that he is productively engaged and wants to save for the future, too. “I want to work at least up to 65 years of age. By that time my son and daughter will also settle down.”

There’s an important lesson to imbibe from his story and situation: lack of planning can spell disaster later. He says: “When I started working, I did not plan what I will get after 40 years. I planned nothing. That is my mistake.”

He now tells his children to start planning for their future as soon as they become independent.

Veena

Age: 75, Mumbai

Veena retired as a banker after 30 years of work. At age 65, she pursued a diploma in dance movement therapy at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences. Now a certified therapist at 71, Veena continues to conduct awareness programs and workshops, working with special children and senior citizens, and finds great fulfilment in her new vocation.

Ofera

Age: 62, Ernakulum

At 62, Ofera from Ernakulum in Kerala exemplifies how life-long learning can enrich one's quality of life in each stage. She takes online classes and uses dance, art, and cultural exchanges to give direction to her creativity. She has come a long way from the time when shyness prevented her from exploring her hobbies.

Anita

Age: 55, Pune

Anita is an English literature graduate with a background in administration and event management. Now, she works as a community manager at GetSetUp, runs a voluntary service for the underprivileged, and works with a local counselling helpline. Her interests range wide, from poetry and travelling to theology.

Roda

Age: 72, Chennai

When Roda looks back on her athletic journey, she sees a lifetime of sports woven through the decades. Originating from a rowing lineage in Chennai with her brothers becoming champions at the Madras Boat Club and winning numerous trophies across cities, Roda excelled in running and ball games through school and college, captaining teams to victory. Prompted by a sports-loving friend, she took up athletics training at 65.

Ajay & Anjoo

Age: 66, 58 Mumbai

Ajay is a retired finance professional with 40 years of corporate experience. Anjoo has been a banker for 15 years. Ajay now spends his time mentoring finance professionals. He is also passionate about cricket, Indian history, and retro Hindi film music. Anjoo, on the other hand, has been leading a large health educational library for the last 15 years that aims at helping people make informed choices on their health.

Maryam

Age: 62, Mumbai

After working as a designer for over 20 years, Maryam decided to retire and pursue her long-cherished passion. Now, at 62, she indulges herself through daily walks, learning new recipes by watching online cooking shows and classes, while also planning for
her next travel destination.

Source: GetSetUp for these six profiles; Only first names have been used for privacy reasons

versha@outlookindia.com