OLD AGE LONELY LIFE - Depending on the Kindness of Strangers

THE LONELY LIFE OF SENIOR CITIZENS
Marginalized, Lonely, Waiting for Death
Why do Senior Citizens Prefer to Depend on the Kindness of Strangers

Musings on the Plight of Middle Class Senior Citizens in Pune

By

VIKRAM KARVE

This morning, during my early morning walk, I passed by Mrs. J’s house. 

I saw J, an 80 year old widow, struggling to walk in her garden. 

I wished J good morning and asked her how she was. 

She answered: “I depend on the kindness of strangers.”

For a moment I was speechless. 

Then, slowly I let her words sink in and perambulate in my mind – “I depend on the kindness of strangers” – these words struck a chord. 

I was transported back in time, 30 years ago, to the year 1981, if my memory serves me right, when I had seen the play A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE which had a lasting impression on me. 

I witnessed a performance of the indigenous Indian Production of this 1948 Pulitzer Prize winning masterpiece by Tennessee Williams at the Kamani Auditorium in New Delhi directed by Alyque Padamsee with terrific performances by Dalip Tahil as Stanley Kowalski and Sabira Merchant as Blanche DuBois. 

I still remember the heart-rending scene, when, after being totally destroyed by Stanley, while being taken away to a mental asylum, a shattered Blanche holds onto the doctor’s hand and says: “Whoever you are – I have always depended on the kindness of strangers”.

Though the context in the play is different, I realized the universal all-encompassing truth encapsulated in those profound words, which were spontaneously uttered by J who I am sure has not read or seen the play A Streetcar Named Desire.

As I walk around our colony in Pune I realize that there are so many senior citizens living alone who “depend on the kindness of strangers”. 

In most cases their children live abroad in the USA pursuing their American Dream while their parents live a life of loneliness awaiting their deaths back home in India. 

Also, I notice that the longevity of women seems to be more since there are far more senior citizen widows who heavily outnumber the widowers.

Before you blame the “ungrateful and selfish children” for “abandoning” their “hapless” parents I think you must consider the fact that there are always two sides to a coin (or two points of view in a story).

Let me give you a bit of a background.

In the 1960’s and 1970’s, I lived in a “middle-class” locality in Pune where parents had two dreams:

1. First, their son must get into an IIT and go abroad to USA to realize the American dream and achieve “success”.

2. Second, they must get their daughters married to a “successful” American NRI so that she too could go the USA to live a life of prosperity and happiness there.

Many such parents, like J, achieved their dreams, for which they are paying the price today.

Even today, I see so many parents who are desperate to send their kids abroad for higher studies and to settle down there. 

In the earlier pre-globalization pre-liberalization days, it was difficult to go to America unless you graduated from an IIT or topped from a premier University. 

Today it is much easier to go abroad for studies or for work. 

Post liberalization in the globalized world of today, if you are willing to spend your money you can easily go for higher studies abroad or you can go there via the IT route by first going abroad to work onsite and then sidestepping into a job over there in America (Hence the beeline for IT jobs).

Then or now, the fact of the matter is that it is the parents themselves who encourage (and monetarily facilitate) their children to go abroad or inculcate congruent values that create in the minds of their children the urge to emigrate to America or some other prosperous country for a “better life”.

So who is to blame – the parents or the children?

I ask J, “Why don’t you go and live with your son or daughter in America? Have they refused to take you there? Are your children unwilling to have you live with them?”

“Far from it,” the old lady says, “my children want me to live with them over there and keep calling me to relocate permanently to America and stay with them. I have gone there so many times, but I don’t want to live there with them in America. I don’t like it there.”

I am puzzled. 

It seems very strange. 

Why should she prefer to live a difficult lonely life out here in India, full of hardship, when she can live a comfortable life of luxury in America with the best of facilities and healthcare and in the company of her children and grandchildren?

Why do so many senior citizens live alone and prefer to depend on “the kindness of strangers” when they can enjoy the evening of their lives exulting in the love and care of their near and dear ones?

Is it ego? 

Is it something else? 

Is there some other reason?

I don’t know. 

I don’t have the answer. 

Do you?

If you do have the answer, or wish to share your views on this subject, please comment and let us know.

And you better start thinking too about the evening of your life when you become 70 or 80. 

Do you want to live with your children?

Do you want to live alone and depend on the kindness of strangers?

Or are there some old age homes (retirement communities) which have assisted living facilities where you will be cared for and well looked after.

VIKRAM KARVE

Copyright © Vikram Karve 2013

Vikram Karve has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work. 

© vikram karve., all rights reserved.

Did you like this article?  

I am sure you will like the 27 short stories from my recently published anthology of Short Fiction COCKTAIL
To order your COCKTAIL please click any of the links below:
http://www.flipkart.com/cocktail-vikram-karve-short-stories-book-8191091844?affid=nme
http://www.indiaplaza.in/cocktail-vikram-karve/books/9788191091847.htm
http://www.apkpublishers.com/books/short-stories/cocktail-by-vikram-karve.html

COCKTAIL ebook

If you prefer reading ebooks on Kindle or your ebook reader, please order Cocktail E-book by clicking the links below:
AMAZON
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005MGERZ6
SMASHWORDS
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/87925

Foodie Book:  Appetite for a Stroll
If your are a Foodie I am sure that you will like my book of Food Adventures APPETITE FOR A STROLL. Do order a copy from FLIPKART:
http://www.flipkart.com/appetite-stroll-vikram-karve/8190690094-gw23f9mr2o

About Vikram Karve

A creative person with a zest for life, Vikram Karve is a retired Naval Officer turned full time writer and blogger. Educated at IIT Delhi, IIT (BHU) Varanasi, The Lawrence School Lovedale and Bishops School Pune, Vikram has published two books: COCKTAIL a collection of fiction short stories about relationships (2011) and APPETITE FOR A STROLL a book of Foodie Adventures (2008) and is currently working on his novel and a book of vignettes and an anthology of short fiction. An avid blogger, he has written a number of fiction short stories and creative non-fiction articles on a variety of topics including food, travel, philosophy, academics, technology, management, health, pet parenting, teaching stories and self help in magazines and published a large number of professional  and academic research papers in journals and edited in-house journals and magazines for many years, before the advent of blogging. Vikram has taught at a University as a Professor for 15 years and now teaches as a visiting faculty and devotes most of his time to creative writing and blogging. Vikram Karve lives in Pune India with his family and muse - his pet dog Sherry with whom he takes long walks thinking creative thoughts.

Vikram Karve Academic and Creative Writing Journal: http://karvediat.blogspot.com
Professional Profile Vikram Karve: http://www.linkedin.com/in/karve
Vikram Karve Facebook Page:  https://www.facebook.com/vikramkarve
Vikram Karve Creative Writing Blog: http://vikramkarve.sulekha.com/blog/posts.htm
Email: vikramkarve@hotmail.com

      

© vikram karve., all rights reserved.

 

WAITING FOR DEATH IN THE OLD AGE HOME

WAITING FOR DEATH IN THE OLD AGE HOME

Short Fiction Story 

By 

VIKRAM KARVE 

 

From my Creative Writing Archives: 

I wrote this story many years ago at the height of the Real Estate Boom. 

Do tell me if you like it. 

I look forward to your comments and feedback

 

“I want to go home!” the father, a redoubtable intrepid tough looking old man, around seventy, shouts emphatically at his son, "I have had a terrible time out here for the last one month that you dumped us here."  

 

“Please Baba. Don’t create a scene,” the son, an effeminate looking man in his mid-forties, says softly.  

 

“What do you mean don’t create a scene?” the old man shouts even louder, waving his walking stick in a menacing manner.

  

“Please calm down! Everyone is looking at us!” an old woman, in her mid-sixties, pleads with her husband.  

 

“Let them look! Let everyone see what an ungrateful son is doing to his poor old parents,” the old man says loudly, looking all around. 

 

“Ungrateful?” the son winces.  

 

“Yes, ungrateful! That’s what you are. We did everything for you; educated you, brought you up. And now you throw us out of our house into this bloody choultry.”  

 

“Choultry! You call this a choultry! Please Baba. This is a luxury township for Senior Citizens,” the son says.  

 

“It’s okay,” the old woman consoles her husband, “we will somehow manage in this Old Age Home.” 

 

“Mama, please!” the son implores in exasperation, “How many times have I told you. This is not an Old Age Home. This is a retirement resort. It’s such a beautiful exclusive township for Senior Citizens to enjoy a happy and active life. And I’ve bought you a premium cottage – the best available here.”  

 

The mother looks at her son, and then at her husband, trapped between the two, not knowing what to say as both are right in their own way. So she says gently to her husband, “Try to understand. We’ll adjust here. See how scenic and green this place is. See there – what a lovely garden.”  

 

“I prefer Nana-Nani Park at Chowpatty. All my friends are there,” the old man says.  

 

“You’ll make friends here too,” she says.  

 

“Friends! These half-dead highbrow snobs?” the old man says mockingly.  

 

“Okay,” the son intervenes, “you both can take long walks. The air is so pure and refreshing at this hill station.”  

 

“Listen you impertinent kid!," the old man shouts at his son, "Don’t try all this on me. I’ve been walking for the last fifty years on Marine Drive and that is where I intend walking the rest of my life till my dying day.” 

Then the old man turns to his wife and says peremptorily to her, “You pack our bags and let’s go back to Mumbai. We are not staying here in this godforsaken place!”  

 

“Try and adjust,” his wife beseeches him, “you’ll like the place. Look at the facilities here – there’s a modern health club, gym, library, recreation: everything is here.”  

 

“Gym? You want me to do body building at this age? Library? You know that after my cataract I can hardly read the newspaper! And I can get all the recreation I need watching the sea at the Chowpatty and walking with my lifelong friends on Marine Drive.”  

 

“Please Baba, don’t be obstinate,” begs his son. “This place is so good for your health. They give you such delicious nourishing food here.” 

 

“Delicious? Nourishing? The bloody sterile stuff tastes like hospital food. I can’t stand it – where will I get Sardar’s Pav Bhaji, Kyani’s Kheema Pav, Vinay’s Misal, Satam’s Vada Pav, Delhi Durbar’s Biryani, Sarvi’s Boti Kababs, Noor Mohammadi's Nihari, Fish in Anantashram in Khotachi Wadi next door…”  

 

“Please Baba! All you can think of is horrible oily spicy street-food which you should not eat at your age! With your cholesterol and sugar levels, you’ll die if you continue eating that stuff.”  

 

“I’d rather die of a heart attack in Mumbai enjoying the good food I like rather than suffer a slow death here trying to eat this insipid tasteless nonsense,” the old man shouts at his son, then looks at his wife and commands, “Listen. Just pack up. We are not staying here like glorified slaves in this golden cage. One month here in this godforsaken place has made me almost mad. We are going right back to our house in Girgaum to live with dignity!”  

 

“Please Baba. Don’t be difficult. I have to leave for America tonight,” the son pleads desperately. “I’m trying to do the best possible for you. You know the huge amount of money I have paid in advance to book this luxurious place for you?” 

 

“You go back to your family in America. I am going back to my house in Girgaum. That’s final!” the old man affirms to his son. 

Then the old man looks at his wife and says, “You want to come along? Or should I go back to Mumbai alone?”  

 

“Mama, please tell him,” the son says looking at his mother.  

 

The old woman looks lovingly at her husband, puts her hand on his arm and says softly, “Please try to understand. We have no choice. We have to live here. There is no house in Girgaum. Our tenement chawl has been sold to a builder. They are building a commercial complex there.”  

 

“What?” the old man is stunned by his wife's betrayal. He looks at his wife as if he is pole-axed, and says to her: “you too!”

And suddenly the old man's defences crumble and he disintegrates.

No longer is he the strong indefatigable redoubtable tough man he was a few moments ago.

He seems to have lost his spirit, his strength, his dignity, his self-esteem, even his will to live!

There is a drastic and unbelievable metamorphosis in the old man’s personality as he meekly holds his wife’s hand for support.

Totally defeated, his heart and soul totally broken, the old man obediently walks with his wife towards their cottage where they both, along with many other Senior Citizens, will spend the last days of their lives, lonely, unwanted, waiting for death in the Old Age Home.

VIKRAM KARVE

Copyright © Vikram Karve 2013

Vikram Karve has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work. 

© vikram karve., all rights reserved.

Did you like this story?

I am sure you will like the 27 short stories from my recently published anthology of Short Fiction COCKTAIL
To order your COCKTAIL please click any of the links below:
http://www.flipkart.com/cocktail-vikram-karve-short-stories-book-8191091844?affid=nme
http://www.indiaplaza.in/cocktail-vikram-karve/books/9788191091847.htm
http://www.apkpublishers.com/books/short-stories/cocktail-by-vikram-karve.html

COCKTAIL ebook

If you prefer reading ebooks on Kindle or your ebook reader, please order Cocktail E-book by clicking the links below:
AMAZON
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005MGERZ6
SMASHWORDS
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/87925

Foodie Book:  Appetite for a Stroll
If your are a Foodie you will like my book of Food Adventures APPETITE FOR A STROLL. Do order a copy from FLIPKART:
http://www.flipkart.com/appetite-stroll-vikram-karve/8190690094-gw23f9mr2o

About Vikram Karve

A creative person with a zest for life, Vikram Karve is a retired Naval Officer turned full time writer and blogger. Educated at IIT Delhi, IIT (BHU) Varanasi, The Lawrence School Lovedale and Bishops School Pune, Vikram has published two books: COCKTAIL a collection of fiction short stories about relationships (2011) and APPETITE FOR A STROLL a book of Foodie Adventures (2008) and is currently working on his novel and a book of vignettes and an anthology of short fiction. An avid blogger, he has written a number of fiction short stories and creative non-fiction articles on a variety of topics including food, travel, philosophy, academics, technology, management, health, pet parenting, teaching stories and self help in magazines and published a large number of professional  and academic research papers in journals and edited in-house journals and magazines for many years, before the advent of blogging. Vikram Karve has taught at a University as a Professor for 15 years and now teaches as a visiting faculty and devotes most of his time to creative writing and blogging. Vikram Karve lives in Pune India with his family and muse - his pet dog Sherry with whom he takes long walks thinking creative thoughts.

Vikram Karve Academic and Creative Writing Journal: http://karvediat.blogspot.com
Professional Profile Vikram Karve: http://www.linkedin.com/in/karve
Vikram Karve Facebook Page:  https://www.facebook.com/vikramkarve
Vikram Karve Creative Writing Blog: http://vikramkarve.sulekha.com/blog/posts.htm
Email: vikramwamankarve@gmail.com

      

© vikram karve., all rights reserved.

OLD AGE SCARE

OLD AGE SCARE

Musings

By

VIKRAM KARVE

Sometime ago I visited a distant relative, an uncle. He is 75 years old and his wife is 72 years old. Both their sons have migrated abroad to the USA and are married and live there with their families in America and have no intention of returning back to India.

In most cases, elderly Indian parents do not want to go to America to live with their kids settled over there.

But this couple was an exception – they wanted to spend the autumn of their lives with their children and grandchildren in America. Their children also wanted them to come to America and live there comfortably along with them .

“So why don’t you go over there and live with your kids?” I asked them.

My uncle beckoned me and took me to a bedroom.  There was frail old lady sleeping on the bed. My uncle pointed to her and said, “That is my mother-in-law. She is 96 years old. We are stuck here because of her. We can’t go anywhere because of her – forget about going abroad, or outstation – we can’t even go out in Pune City for more than a few hours as we have to literally lock her inside and go out.”

Just imagine. At the age of 75 when he himself is in need of care, he has to look after his 96 year old mother. Yes, this 75 year old uncle has had a heart attack himself and his wife too does not keep too well. And yet, in their seventies they are expected to look after the mother-in-law who is in her mid-nineties. They have no choice – where will the old woman go?

Of course, his kids won’t have that problem, since they are well settled in America and have no intention of coming back to India. And when they get old they will not have to depend on their children to look after them since out there in the USA I am sure there are excellent facilities for old age care like retirement communities with assisted living facilities which are not available in India. There are no adult care facilities or proper retirement homes with assisted living facilities in India and senior citizens are left to the mercy of their children. And if their children have migrated abroad then the old people have to fend for themselves in the autumn of their lives.

OLD AGE CARE - THE “FAIT ACCOMPLI” OF LONGEVITY

OLD AGE CARE

THE “FAIT ACCOMPLI” OF LONGEVITY

Musings

By

VIKRAM KARVE

A few days ago I visited a distant relative, an uncle. He is 75 years old and his wife is 72 years old. Both their sons have migrated abroad to the USA and are married and live there with their families in America and have no intention of returning back to India.

In most cases, elderly Indian parents do not want to go to America to live permanently with their children who are settled over there.

But this couple was an exception – they wanted to spend the autumn of their lives with their children and grandchildren in America. Their children also wanted them to come and live with them over there.

“So why don’t you go to America and live in comfort with your kids?” I asked them.

My uncle beckoned me and took me to a bedroom.  There was frail old lady sleeping on the bed. My uncle pointed to her and said, “That is my widowed mother-in-law. She is 96 years old. We are stuck here because of her. We can’t go anywhere because of her – forget about going abroad, or outstation – we can’t even go out of our house for more than a few hours as we have to literally lock her inside and go out.”

“But aren’t there any other options?” I asked, and I mentioned the name of a famous senior citizens retirement home complex in Pune.

“To live in that retirement home you have to be independent and physically fit,” he said, “what my mother-in-law requires is an assisted living facility, and I don’t think there are any assisted living homes for senior citizens in Pune, or even in India for that matter; so there is no option for old people like her except to depend on relatives for care.”

“There is an attitudinal problem as well,” my 72 year old aunt spoke, “when my mother was healthier she was living with my brother in New York – in fact, my mother was quite a help to them as she looked after their kids and home while they both, my brother and his wife, worked. Once, when they had left her alone in New York and the rest of the family had gone on a vacation to Europe, my mother had a fall in the bathroom and broke her bones. After that, the doctors advised that the old lady must not live alone, so my brother wanted to send my mother to an old age home with assisted living facilities a few hours drive away from New York, but my mother refused to go to an old age home, and there were a lot of arguments with my sister-in-law who did not want to take the risk and responsibility of my mother, and the end result of all that was that my mother came back to India to live with us and is here with us for the last 20 years.”

“There is an emotional aspect as well,” my uncle said, “Abroad, especially in America, it is considered okay to live in an old age home, but in India this has negative connotations – the general impression is that only those parents who have been abandoned by their children go to old age homes.”

I looked at my 75 year old uncle. He was not in the best of health himself. He was suffering from diabetes and High BP, he had undergone a bypass heart surgery, he walked with a shuffle and he was almost deaf and could hear only with an hearing aid. His wife too was not in the pink of health, after all she was 72. Despite this, even at this old age, in the evening of their own lives, they were expected to look after and care for the old woman because there was nowhere for her to go.

This is the fait accompli of longevity.

VIKRAM KARVE 

Copyright © Vikram Karve 2012
Vikram Karve has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.
© vikram karve., all rights reserved.

Did you like this blog post?
I am sure you will like the 27 fiction short stories from my recently published anthology of Short Fiction COCKTAIL 
To order your COCKTAIL please click any of the links below:
http://www.flipkart.com/cocktail-vikram-karve-short-stories-book-8191091844?affid=nme
http://www.indiaplaza.in/cocktail-vikram-karve/books/9788191091847.htm
http://www.apkpublishers.com/books/short-stories/cocktail-by-vikram-karve.html

COCKTAIL ebook
If you prefer reading ebooks on Kindle or your ebook reader, please order Cocktail E-book by clicking the links below:
AMAZON
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005MGERZ6
SMASHWORDS
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/87925

Foodie Book:  Appetite for a Stroll
If your are a Foodie you will like my book of Food Adventures APPETITE FOR A STROLL. Do order a copy from FLIPKART:
http://www.flipkart.com/appetite-stroll-vikram-karve/8190690094-gw23f9mr2o

About Vikram Karve

A creative person with a zest for life, Vikram Karve is a retired Naval Officer turned full time writer. Educated at IIT Delhi, ITBHU Varanasi, The Lawrence School Lovedale and Bishops School Pune, Vikram has published two books: COCKTAIL a collection of fiction short stories about relationships (2011) and APPETITE FOR A STROLL a book of Foodie Adventures (2008) and is currently working on his novel and a book of vignettes and short fiction. An avid blogger, he has written a number of fiction short stories, creative non-fiction articles on a variety of topics including food, travel, philosophy, academics, technology, management, health, pet parenting, teaching stories and self help in magazines and published a large number of professional research papers in journals and edited in-house journals for many years, before the advent of blogging. Vikram Karve has taught at a University as a Professor for 15 years and now teaches as a visiting faculty and devotes most of his time to creative writing. Vikram lives in Pune India with his family and muse - his pet dog Sherry with whom he takes long walks thinking creative thoughts.

Vikram Karve Academic and Creative Writing Journal: http://karvediat.blogspot.com
Professional Profile Vikram Karve: http://www.linkedin.com/in/karve
Vikram Karve Facebook Page:  https://www.facebook.com/vikramkarve
Vikram Karve Creative Writing Blog: http://vikramkarve.sulekha.com/blog/posts.htm
Email: vikramkarve@sify.com

© vikram karve., all rights reserved.

 

OLD AGE WOES - LONELY WIDOWS OF PUNE

OLD AGE WOES

LONELY WIDOWS OF PUNE

Rumination

By

VIKRAM KARVE

Last week we decided to visit our senior citizen relatives and acquaintances above the age of 75 to personally deliver an invitation (though officially you are a “senior citizen” when you become 60 we consider only those above 75 as truly deserving of the epithet “senior citizen”).

We visited around 30 homes of senior citizens above 75 and this is what we observed.

There was only one surviving couple and only one widower – the rest were all widows (yes, 28 out of the 30 were widows).

Of course, we know that women have better longevity and outlive men, but the proportion was surprising.

From our sample, it appears that more than 90 % of senior citizens above the age of 75 are women.

At first, we were quite bewildered that almost all persons above the age of 75 are women, but when we looked around a bit more, in our colony and in a few more neighbourhoods in Pune and, to our surprise, we found that this is quite universally true. Widows greatly outnumber widowers. Yes, there are many more widows than widowers, at least in Pune.

Now to come back to our main story, we found that only 3 out of the 30 were living with their children – 1 widower and 2 widows. The remaining were living a forlorn and lonely life, all by themselves, all alone.

This means that 90 % of senior citizens above 75 are widows and of these over 90 % of these aged widows live by themselves, all alone.

Quite baffling statistics.

Dear Reader, is it the same in your city or is it different?

Lest you think that all these hapless widows have been “abandoned” by their children, let me assure you that it is not so.

In almost all cases the children had migrated abroad (mostly to the USA) and the children were well settled and financially well-to-do.

The children were quite willing to look after their parents and in fact almost all widows had green cards or visas and used to visit their children quite often.

But despite their lonely existence and failing health, these senior citizen widows were unwilling to migrate abroad and live with their children.

Now this really surprised me.

Yes, these elderly widows were quite well-off and lived in decent homes (some even had quite luxurious bungalows and apartments all to themselves).

Only one widow lived in a senior citizens’ “retirement community” (a glorified euphemism for an “old age home” albeit a luxurious one).

When we asked the forlorn aged widows why they did not settle abroad with their kids, they did not give a specific answer but gave ambiguous replies like “I don’t like it there” or “I prefer my independence” or “I find it very lonely over there”.

Now, this last answer befuddled us – how can an elderly aging widow be more lonely over there in America living with her children and grandchildren when over here in India she has to live a lonely life, absolutely alone, all by herself?

Well I don’t know the answer, so if you do know why, please tell us.

Do comment and let us know whether you have observed a similar trend where you live or is it different?

And do tell us your views especially if you live in America or abroad and have your aged parents living alone in India and face a similar situation.

I thought senior citizens would prefer to live in America with their children, enjoying all the excellent facilities and comfortable lifestyle available in the USA, rather than live a lonely life in India, which not quite a friendly, easy and safe place for solitary senior citizens.

Well you, dear reader, please tell us the answers to all that.

But one thing is sure – it looks as if we too are going to be in the same boat when our time comes.

That’s why I have already started searching for a good “retirement home” – can you help me find a good one – a “senior citizens housing community” and “old age home” – call it what you like – if you know a good one, do let us know.

VIKRAM KARVE

Copyright © Vikram Karve 2012

Vikram Karve has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work. 

© vikram karve., all rights reserved.

Did you like this article?

I am sure you will like the 27 short stories from my recently published anthology of Short Fiction COCKTAIL
To order your COCKTAIL please click any of the links below:
http://www.flipkart.com/cocktail-vikram-karve-short-stories-book-8191091844?affid=nme
http://www.indiaplaza.in/cocktail-vikram-karve/books/9788191091847.htm
http://www.apkpublishers.com/books/short-stories/cocktail-by-vikram-karve.html

COCKTAIL ebook
If you prefer reading ebooks on Kindle or your ebook reader, please order Cocktail E-book by clicking the links below:
AMAZON
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005MGERZ6
SMASHWORDS
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/87925

Foodie Book:  Appetite for a Stroll
If your are a Foodie you will like my book of Food Adventures APPETITE FOR A STROLL. Do order a copy from FLIPKART:
http://www.flipkart.com/appetite-stroll-vikram-karve/8190690094-gw23f9mr2o

About Vikram Karve

A creative person with a zest for life, Vikram Karve is a retired Naval Officer turned full time writer. Educated at IIT Delhi, ITBHU Varanasi, The Lawrence School Lovedale and Bishops School Pune, Vikram has published two books: COCKTAIL a collection of fiction short stories about relationships (2011) and APPETITE FOR A STROLL a book of Foodie Adventures (2008) and is currently working on his novel and a book of vignettes and short fiction. An avid blogger, he has written a number of fiction short stories, creative non-fiction articles on a variety of topics including food, travel, philosophy, academics, technology, management, health, pet parenting, teaching stories and self help in magazines and published a large number of professional research papers in journals and edited in-house journals for many years, before the advent of blogging. Vikram has taught at a University as a Professor for 15 years and now teaches as a visiting faculty and devotes most of his time to creative writing. Vikram lives in Pune India with his family and muse - his pet dog Sherry with whom he takes long walks thinking creative thoughts.

Vikram Karve Academic and Creative Writing Journal: http://karvediat.blogspot.com
Professional Profile Vikram Karve: http://www.linkedin.com/in/karve
Vikram Karve Facebook Page:  https://www.facebook.com/vikramkarve
Vikram Karve Creative Writing Blog: http://vikramkarve.sulekha.com/blog/posts.htm
Email: vikramkarve@sify.com      

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