Excerpts from As The Shadows Lengthen When there is philosophical acceptance of old age, there is no pain or regret. If contentment is a state of mind, C.Srinivasan (89) is one of the lucky few. Though he recently lost his middle-aged son, a highly placed executive, his wife and two children in a single cruel blow of fate, he feels,” if you live long, you have to witness calamities and death.” The scar runs deep but it has not affected his equanimity. ‘Life cannot be unhappy because you are old’, says the retired school master who has just one per cent vision.,” Old age is also a way of life, just a different way from youth or middle age. Nothing is good or bad, but thinking makes it so. I have affectionate children and grandchildren who look after me” Kausalya Santhanam (This article appeared in The Hindu dated 5th October 1997.)