Seniors are Welcome !

One of the advantages of being a senior citizen is that one can speak from first hand experience,being aware of the ground realities. And a recurring theme among senior citizens is to keep active and have a lively circle of friends. Medical studies have demonstrated that friends who are positive in their outlook,have a rub-off effect on their circle of friends. And social media can be a great medium for senior citizens to interact with this circle of like-minded  people. Even if there can be two opinions about this obsession with social media,especially Facebook,and the constant checking for updates, there is a positive benefit in that such an activity keeps you alert and responsive to the world around you. And these are the very benefits that go a long way to draw each one of us out of our isolation,and into the social whirl-gig. MPSingh

The following is given as a free service to create awareness about tax matters for senior citizens.                        Form 26AS         What is Form 26 AS , and why is it important? This is an official document,which is available to every tax-payer, but which surprisingly few taxpayers bother to download and view. But a little care in time can save nine, as they say. It's importance lies in the fact that it gives you a bird's eye view of your tax matters, Amne Samne, to put it in layman's terms.        How to view your Form 26AS Form 26AS can be downloaded from TRACES (see below for step-by-step guide on how to download Form 26AS) This income tax Form 26AS is linked with your PAN The password for opening Form 26AS is your Date of Birth (in DDMMYYYY format) You can view Form 26AS from FY 2008-09 onwards     What is in Form...

Being a senior citizen, and being anointed one officially by virtue of having retired at a certain chronological age, is both a blessing and a bane. It is a blessing because one is relatively free from the confines of official rules and regulations,though in India the plethora of  laws ensures that one still has to work within the system.Nonetheless, the sense of relief is tempered by the realization that we are all social animals,and no one is an island,however much we would like to carefully cultivate the youthful ideal of the lone hero single handed defying the system. At the same time,it is also a bane because one is increasingly and repeatedly, reminded of one's age by all and sundry,with the appellations Uncle Ji and Aunty Ji being freely thrown around. One is tempted to ask, why counting of the years has suddenly become so important for the rest of the world, ranging from the taxi-driver to the vegetable seller. Then one takes what comfort one can get,from the fact that a...

The title for this blog suggested itself, since seniors are no different than others--only they have lived longer. Life is a great teacher,and Life Lessons are for everyone, for young and old,  except that seniors have accumulated these in a greater number. As a senior myself, I take pride in these treasures,which have a more durable value than gold and silver. After all,we have been there and done that,so we possess something whose intangible value only increases with age. I know many great seniors of varying ages and diverse cultures, who refuse to be slotted and categorized only by their chronological ages. No, they are not denying their ages,only the pigeon-holing and facile categorizations that they are subjected to. And they are the better and more interesting for refusing to be boxed into water-tight compartments.