Main description:

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.

Contents:

Chapter IIntroduction: Intersections between culture, context and aging
Chapter IIThe family business: Aging and Intergenerational Relationships in urban Ahmedabad
Chapter IIIA shared later life: Narratives of older couples in urban Delhi
Chapter IVAging Alone in urban Kolkata
Chapter VGrowing old in urban Saskatoon
Chapter VIAging across the globe and policy implications