I was surprised and amused to see Anand Sharma’s comment on My Reasons to Seek a Long Life that was as follows:

Precisely that is the reason that I don’t wish live up to 2039. When I see my own transformation in photos below, I can imagine for my kids:

Emma and Zach will be 31 and 33, while Keshav will be 41 and his father 73. I love how they look today. Here is a photograph and see their divine facial expressions. Will it remain the same with their age in 2039?

Can Shannon get a photograph of this quality in 2039? Both will be busy in their own affairs, as their parents are today.

I have some beautiful photographs of Anand, Rajesh and Rakesh in my collection but more so in my heart and mind that I enjoy at all moments.

I shall certainly not like to see them at the age with all the possible changes that will come in physical appearances and attitudes.

I love them as they are today. For parents, the children remain kids all the time. I can’t just imagine seeing them that old.

I wish the readers of this blog take some time and at least glance through the link to get an idea of India 2039 and understand the assumptions taken in building up the dream India.

I shall feel bad, if even in 2039, ‘the absolute poverty persists in limited areas in India’, as the report predicts.

A February 2010 Carnegie Endowment paper titled The World Order in 2050, by Uri Dadush and Bennett Stancil. (Available as a working draft at http://www.carnegieendowment.org/publications) Even in 2050 about 4 per cent of India’s population that will be in many crores in number, would be living on less than $2 a day. No amount of per capita increase in income will be of any solace. What will be that growth that will not make 100% Indians literate rather educated? That will be certainly not that I wish to keep on seeing even in 2039.

Finally, the horror of not finding some Harendra or Syamal to look after us is equally dissuading to dream for living thr’2039?

I wish the researches by 2020 could make us find easy ways and means to win over the human disability to live well, and eliminate the dependence of aging persons on others.