Enjoying life as an elderly couple

"Is Dhaka a city only for young people?" I was pondering for a while, and by people, I do not mean individuals only but also couples in their semi-retired or retired lives. Fun, entertainment, and romance are for people of all ages. Just because you are an elderly couple, you do not have to just take account of each other's daily medicines only. There is so much to life than feeling old.

The idea of date nights for elderly couples may seem borderline hilarious to many in Dhaka, but why should they be only for the young? There are no written rules that old people cannot date.

Try it, it can be fun to break the routine and do things you have never done together. The key word is impromptu, do things on the spur of the moment and do it together. There are plenty of activities for couples on offer; you just need to consider them and bring back carefreeness to life. Do not let hard realities bog you down.

I mean why can't you text your husband to meet at a café to enjoy a crisp croissant or hot daal puri and a cup of frothy masala tea or espresso? Or, while you and your husband carpool from work, try a plate of crisp fuchka. It can surely add spice to a mundane evening after work.

Besides the usual art exhibition or going to the theatre, painting sessions, art appreciation classes; dance lessons are diversions you can consider. Learning to tango can be very interesting at fifty. It will do your old heart a lot of good, not only will it be fun but the unusual exercise can be relaxing. Music and a little bit of tapping your feet can do wonders for boredom.

To many, cooking is a great way to bond and it can also be therapeutic. For a change, you can ask your husband to try to make mutton rogan josh for Friday lunch. A tough recipe but buying the ingredients for it together and going through the procedure can be a great way to connect. But you never know, you might discover a hidden talent in him. Allow the husband to make something special for you for a change.

Pottery-making couple sessions where you get to spin the pottery wheel can give you a child-like feeling. Getting wet in the rain on a rickshaw ride can be disastrous for your health, but imagine the magical feeling you shall experience.

Dhaka is offering interesting cinema releases both local and international. Watching Tom Cruise do death-defying skydiving off a cliff on a motorcycle is all the dopamine rush your old heart can take on a cinema date.

Now for many relationships, getting the grumpy old man out of his routine can be tiring or the frumpy old lady to venture out of her perimeter can be taxing. But in a city as colourful as Dhaka, everyone can find their kind of thing to do and their bit of heaven here. After all, age is just a number.