From the opening sequence, in which mid-nineteenth-century Indian fishermen hear the possibility of redemption in an old woman's madness, No Aging in India captures the reader with its interplay of story and analysis. Drawing on more than a decade of ethnographic work, Lawrence Cohen links a detailed investigation of mind and body in old age in four neighborhoods of the Indian city of Varanasi (Banaras) with events and processes around India and around the world. This compelling exploration of senility—encompassing not only the aging body but also larger cultural anxieties—combines insights from medical anthropology, psychoanalysis, and postcolonial studies. Bridging literary genres as well as geographic spaces, Cohen responds to what he sees as the impoverishment of both North American and Indian gerontologies—the one mired in ambivalence toward demented old bodies, the other insistent on a dubious morality tale of modern families breaking up and abandoning their elderly. He shifts our attention irresistibly toward how old age comes to matter in the constitution of societies and their narratives of identity and history.

The proliferation of old age homes and increasing numbers of elderly living alone are startling new phenomena in India. These trends are related to extensive overseas migration and the transnational dispersal of families. In this moving and insightful account, Sarah Lamb shows that older persons are innovative agents in the processes of social-cultural change. Lamb's study probes debates and cultural assumptions in both India and the United States regarding how best to age; the proper social-moral relationship among individuals, genders, families, the market, and the state; and ways of finding meaning in the human life course.

The population of Asia is growing both larger and older. Demographically the most important continent on the world, Asia's population, currently estimated to be 4.2 billion, is expected to increase to about 5.9 billion by 2050. Rapid declines in fertility, together with rising life expectancy, are altering the age structure of the population so that in 2050, for the first time in history, there will be roughly as many people in Asia over the age of 65 as under the age of 15. It is against this backdrop that the Division of Behavioral and Social Research at the U.S. National Institute on Aging (NIA) asked the National Research Council (NRC), through the Committee on Population, to undertake a project on advancing behavioral and social research on aging in Asia. Aging in Asia: Findings from New and Emerging Data Initiatives is a peer-reviewed collection of papers from China, India, Indonesia, Japan, and Thailand that were presented at two conferences organized in conjunction with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Indian National Science Academy, Indonesian Academy of Sciences, and Science Council of Japan; the first conference was hosted by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing, and the second conference was hosted by the Indian National Science Academy in New Delhi. The papers in the volume highlight the contributions from new and emerging data initiatives in the region and cover subject areas such as economic growth, labor markets, and consumption; family roles and responsibilities; and labor markets and consumption.

By examining both gender and aging in this ethnography of an Indian village, Sarah Lamb forces a re-examination of major debates in feminist anthropology and contributes to the small but growing literature on aging in contemporary culture.

This book discusses the intersections between culture, context, and aging. It adopts a socio-cultural lens and highlights emotional, social, and psychological issues of the older adults in urban India. It is set in multiple sites such as Ahmedabad, Delhi, Kolkata, and Saskatoon to indicate how different cultural practices and contextual factors play an integral role in determining the course of aging. It also focuses on different narratives such as older adults living with adult children, older adults living with spouse, and older adults living alone to demonstrate the intricate process of growing old. Drawing from various sites and living arrangements of older adults, it sheds light on cultural constructions of growing old, ideas of belonging, the inevitability of death, everyday processes of aging, perceptions associated with growing old in India, acceptance of the aging body, and intergenerational ties in later lives. Given its scope, the book is essential reading for students and researchers in the fields of sociology, demography, and social scientists studying aging.

The socioeconomic, health, and public-policy aspects of aging in India are presented in this study that draws on empirical research to assess the country’s preparedness. This analysis argues that many of the fundamental issues that need to be addressed by a country with a large aging population are not fully understood by public agencies. A number of policy options for the welfare of the growing number of elderly, particularly women, are proposed.

This open access book takes a multidisciplinary approach to provide a holistic understanding of late old age, and situates the aged person within the context of family, caregivers, clinical and other institutions. All through the book, the author discusses preparedness for an aging individual as well as the society in the Indian context. The book highlights inevitable but mostly neglected health issues like depression, dementia, fall, and frailty and provides detailed analyses of solutions that are practicable in low resource settings. It also brings up intergenerational differences and harmony in the context of holistic care of older Indians. Alongside clinical perspectives, the book uses narratives of elderly patients to dwell on the myriad of problems and issues that constitute old age healthcare. Demonstrating cases that range from the most influential to the most underprivileged elderly in India, the book enlightens multiple caregivers—doctors, nurses, and professional caregivers as well as family members—about the dynamic approach required in dealing with complex issues related to late old age. The narratives make the book relatable and interesting to non-academic readers, with important lessons for gerontological and geriatric caregiving. It is also of use to older adults in preparing for active aging.

In recent decades, the North American public has pursued an inspirational vision of successful aging—striving through medical technique and individual effort to eradicate the declines, vulnerabilities, and dependencies previously commonly associated with old age. On the face of it, this bold new vision of successful, healthy, and active aging is highly appealing. But it also rests on a deep cultural discomfort with aging and being old. The contributors to Successful Aging as a Contemporary Obsession explore how the successful aging movement is playing out across five continents. Their chapters investigate a variety of people, including Catholic nuns in the United States; Hindu ashram dwellers; older American women seeking plastic surgery; aging African-American lesbians and gay men in the District of Columbia; Chicago home health care workers and their aging clients; Mexican men foregoing Viagra; dementia and Alzheimer sufferers in the United States and Brazil; and aging policies in Denmark, Poland, India, China, Japan, and Uganda. This book offers a fresh look at a major cultural and public health movement of our time, questioning what has become for many a taken-for-granted goal—aging in a way that almost denies aging itself.

This book is a major reassessment of work in the field of critical gerontology, providing a comprehensive survey of issues by a team of contributors drawn from Europe and North America. The book focuses on the variety of ways in which age and ageing are socially constructed, and the extent to which growing old is being transformed through processes associated with globalisation. The collection offers a range of alternative views and visions about the nature of social ageing, making a major contribution to theory-building within the discipline of gerontology. The different sections of the book give an overview of the key issues and concerns underlying the development of critical gerontology. These include: first, the impact of globalisation and of multinational organizations and agencies on the lives of older people; second, the factors contributing to the "social construction" of later life; and third, issues associated with diversity and inequality in old age, arising through the effects of cumulative advantage and disadvantage over the life course. These different themes are analysed using a variety of theoretical perspectives drawn from sociology, social policy, political science, and social anthropology. "Aging, Globalization and Inequality" brings together key contributors to critical perspectives on aging and is unique in the range of themes and concerns covered in a single volume. The study moves forward an important area of debate in studies of aging, and thus provides the basis for a new type of critical gerontology relevant to the twenty-first century.

The life course method compares an individual's long-life and late-life behaviors to gauge one's mental decay. Arguing the life course approach is the best and simplest model for tracking mental development, Lawrence J. Whalley unlocks the mysteries of brain functionality, illuminating the processes that affect the brain during aging, the causes behind these changes, and effective coping strategies. Whalley identifies the genetic factors that determine the pace of aging and the behaviors, starting in childhood, that influence how we age. Through vignettes, charts, and tables, he composes an accessible book for patients, family members, and caretakers struggling to make sense of a complex experience.