Moments to treasure
RETIREMENT isn’t the end of the road nor is it a time for dull moments. These are the sentiments of retired teacher Pushpa Wati who believes retirement is a time to be physically and mentally active and also a time to do things that you always love to do but never had the time for.
The 60-year-old lives a healthy and happy life with her husband at Pacific Harbour, and she said life after retirement should be pleasant.
“I believe life after 50 is a bonus and you should enjoy that bonus to the fullest,” she said.
“My journey after retirement has been exciting. The very first thing I did immediately after retiring was to visit India. It was my dream to visit our motherland.
“After that, I continued tutoring because I still had a lot of students and parents who had a place for me.”
As a national umpire for table tennis, Ms Wati also went to the South Pacific Games.
“I continue to do a lot of gardening and I’m also involved in other hobbies. I keep myself quite busy, and I’m happy and have no regrets.”
Ms Wati said her life became more enjoyable when she moved to her new house in Pacific Harbour.
“In 2021, as soon as the borders were open, we moved to our new house,” she said.
“When we came here, we got busy developing this place, growing fruit trees and making flower gardens.
“We grow most of our vegetables at home and hardly buy from the market. There’s an abundance of food here.
“We’ve involved ourselves in community work as well. We even sell our extra produce at our roadside stall and we share the abundance that we have.”
Ms Wati also loves to compose poetry which her husband Shri Chand Sharma turns into music.
“I compose poetry in Hindi and English and my husband adds the music, especially the Hindi poems.
“So, we are very much involved in that as a hobby at home.”
She said those Hindi lyrics and music are on her Facebook page.
“Unfortunately, I haven’t found an outlet for publishing anything, but am happy to be doing something original.”
Ms Wati’s motto is to stay positive and be happy and healthy.
“Stay connected to nature! Always learn something new, stay involved in things you love and motivate others to do the same.”