Consider two contrasting scenes from urban India.
In the first, a 67-year-old retired executive sits in a quiet living room. The financial planner has done a flawless job: the pension is secure, healthcare insurance is active, and home equity is intact. Yet, after four years of unstructured leisure, the initial euphoria of freedom has curdled into a quiet monotony. Conversations grow repetitive, daily enthusiasm dims, and the calendar shrinks to doctor appointments and television schedules.
