Culture, Context and Aging of Older Indians

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.

Presents a comparative approach of aging experiences among older Indians in India and Canada Links empirical data and theory in the discipline of Social Gerontology Highlights the intersections between class, gender, and age in multiple settings of India and beyond Discusses changing filial ties, later life roles, and gender ideologies among middle class older Indians in different cultural contexts

Auteur

Jagriti Gangopadhyay is Assistant Professor of Sociology at Manipal Centre for Humanities, Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE). She did her Ph.D. from Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar. She has published in journals of international and national repute such as Ageing International, Contributions to Indian Sociology, and Indian Journal of Medical Ethics. She has also presented her work at the Aging Studies Institute, Syracuse, the Oxford Institute of Population Aging, Oxford and the Faculty of Letters, Kyoto University.

Résumé
"Jagriti Gangopadhyay's Culture, Context and Aging of Older Indians is an excellent study engaging with gerontological discourses and ageing experiences in India and Canada. ... It is an invaluable contribution to the field of medical sociology as it provides a nuanced understanding of ageing ... . Thorough fieldwork and a wide range of secondary sources contribute towards the richness of this narrative. It will be a pleasure to read for a wide audience and most useful for students ... ." (Ranjana Saha, Contemporary South Asia, January 6, 2022)

"The book is rich in ethnographic data, which include in-depth narrative style interviews, and each chapter has the potential to become an entire book. ... The book will be useful to students since it presents them with a model for gerontological research ...and possible contributions to theory and recommendations for policymaking. ... The book, while being academically rigorous, is written in an accessible manner, which is its major strength and will ensure its reach to a wider audience." (Ketaki Chowkhani, Anthropology & Aging, Vol. 42 (2), 2021)

"This book fits into the interstice of sociological and gerontological studies ... . What is unique about Gangopadhyay's study is that she can provide to the readers a detailed account of geographically, culturally, and economically distinct sites in one place. Doing justice to its title, the book brings in the different narratives. ... The book emerges as an important introductory text to socio-gerontological literature that can be further developed. ... this book serves as an essential read." (Deepali Aparajita Dungdung, doingsociology.org, December 12, 2021)

"Jagriti Gangopadhyay not only provides a meticulous description of her methodology but also situates her positionality in shaping her accessibility to the field and is thoroughly reflexive of her embeddedness in the field. ... This book is an important read for scholars across social science disciplines, policy makers and caregivers as it seeks to explicate aging as a lived experience instead of mere statistical enumeration of the aging population." (Sristi Mondal, Journal of Woman and Aging, August 4, 2021)

Contenu
Introduction: Intersections between culture, context and aging.- The family business: Aging and Intergenerational Relationships in urban Ahmedabad.- Ageing in an eldercare institution in the industrial town of Jamshedpur.- global Ageing: Narratives of elite older couples from urban Delhi.- Loss of a life-partner: Self-Isolation in urban Kolkata.- Ageing and Transnationalism: Identity, Religion and later life experiences in Saskatoon.- Ageing across the globe and policy implications.