I am 80 years old and my friends call me Superman
February 9, 2020
Balancing Personal and Professional Life is a must for Positive Living
April 24, 2020
My name is Urmila Rau Lal, I am a 83 year old Medical Biologist from Pune. I believe that age is just a number and it’s our attitude towards life which really matters. Though I suffer from Arthritis which has impacted my mobility but still I am actively involved in senior citizens meet ups and other social and welfare programs.
An Active Scientist
After doing my post graduation in Parasitology and Medical Entomology from Aligarh Muslim University, I worked as a Research Assistant of the Rockefeller Foundation at the Virus Research Centre (Now National Institute of Virology) Pune. After this I was appointed as a Senior Scientific Officer at the Armed Forces Medical College, Pune. Later I was posted as Senior Scientific Officer at the Defence Research Laboratory (Materials), Kanpur.
Further I got opportunity to pursue advanced studies at the Pasteur Institute, Paris and London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK. In addition to this, I was also a part of Senior Research Project with World Health Organization.
I have attended various conferences in my field in both India and abroad and have published extensively. I retired as a Senior Scientific Officer from the Defence Research Institute ofPhysiology andAllied Science, Delhi.
During my time very few woman were working in this field. So, at times I had to face various struggles and challenges while doing my jobs. However, my hard work and passion to excel motivated me to turn those challenges into achievements.
A Passionate Writer
In my mid 70s I turned from a scientist to a writer by deciding to write a biography of my great grandfather Diwan Sir ThanjavurMadhava Row, entitled “Diwan Sir ThanjavurMadhava Row, Life and Times of Statesman, Administrator Extraordinaire”. He was one of the most well-known civil servants in the British era.
I took up this task and did an extensive research on this topic for 9 years just to fulfil my father’s wish as he was deeply interested in the life of my grandfather. He was in the process of collecting information on him but couldn’t complete the work due to ill health. So, I took up this work, got the book published in 2015 and launched it on my parent’s anniversary. This book is dedicated to my father and is a tribute to my great grandfather.
For this book I travelled across the country, meeting the royal families of Indore, Tranvancore and Baroda to collect information on my great grandfather’s life. He was a great personality, who was known for his administrative acumen. He brought about many reforms during his tenure and focused on the education of girls.
Childhood Memories
I have many fond memories of my childhood. One such memory is of the time when I was about 9 year old. On 9th August 1942 on the occasion of Quit India Movement we schoolchildren took out a protest march with flags. The police arrested us and we went to Tihar jail. Later the police called our parents to take us home. We were very happy as after everything was over we were all given chocolates by police.
Family
I was born to parents from two communities. My father was a Hindu. He was an eminent journalist based in Delhi. My mother was a Christian. She was a teacher in Crosswait College in Allahabad. They met during the course of India’s freedom struggle and were active participants alongside Mahatama Gandhi and Mahatama Gandhi was one of the witnesses at their wedding. Both my parents were very open minded and had an impressive personality. They are my role model.
I got married in 1973 to Lt Col ShambhujiLal (Retired), whom I met in Gwalior. We have completed 45 years of our married life. We both are fond of dogs and cats. Right now we are looking after 5 street dogs.
Active and Productive Lifestyle
I would rate myself 5 on a 5 point rating scale of Active Ageing. Every day I get up at 5am. Have tea by 6am which is prepared by my dear husband. Then I read newspaper followed by breakfast. Because of diabetes I take balanced diet.
I spend my day productively by reading and writing things of my interests and by getting involved in various social and welfare activities. Whenever time permits I visit old age homes, interact with the residents there, gauging their problems and if possible share it with higher authorities to resolve it. I am also a founder member of Salisbury Senior Citizens Club which was started 10 years ago with the aim of keeping the club members active and involving them in some productive activities.
Message
Accept life as it is. Happiness is an attitude of mind.
