Work in old age is Choice or Obligation ?

                

“Bhaiya Pani Lado”

After devouring spicy food , All i wanted was a glass of water .To calm down the fire being set up by the spices,i just kind of  shouted those three words but what happened next shooked me for quite a long time and rendered me speechless with one question constantly hitting my mind then and even now which is not yet answered to the satisfaction neither by me nor by the people around.

Nowadays I guess we all need a break from the moribund city life to breathe in some

moment of everlasting peace and boundless beauty. We all work and it's good to join the “Working” club but sometimes overworking gets on nerves and starts eating up your life. I guess we were victim of the same parasite therefore to get the seclusion from work we went to one of the nature’s abode “Coorg”

Exhausted and all drained, We reached the landing-place after eight hours of journey. Pangs of hunger forced us to rush into the restaurant then seeking shelter to recreate our lost energy and there  we ordered like a famished kid and ate like a hungry wolf .While some of us were burping, some were burning from inside because of the spices they added to the food and to bring down this fire, i asked for water or i should say out of little tune i shouted for water. After a while, A lady more than sixty year old came and stood by my side with a water jug in her hands ( I guess to calm down not my thirst but the anger-tune with which i demanded water).

I guess her very presence shut off everything running inside me and water was the one last thing i could think of at that time .After pouring water she left and we began talking.

friend 1 :- I wonder, Why does she has to work in this age ?

me :- Simple she has no one else to take care of her. Just to make both ends meet she is working.

friend 2 :- It might be possible that she just work for her own reasons which might not be money always?

friend 1 :- What can be the reason behind working other than earning money to live.

friend 2 :- It's not always money, some people work for keeping their body healthy. Some are so workaholics that they can't sit idle.

me :- I don't think anybody will work in his/her 60s for fun or sake of good health. At Least i will not do it.

friend 2 :- My grandpa has crossed his 70s and still work. He travels everyday almost 60km. In his own words “ I’ll fall sick if i sit on bed and stop doing everything ”.

and this discussion kept on going for a while.

But while coming back from one hell of a trip , one question struck me hard with the fragile image of that old lady wrapped in shabby saree .She was there with pretended smile, her eyes were gleaming but the glare was not coming from within. Her hands were constantly moving but they were not strong enough to bear the heavy load of dishes on tables. Veins were popping out of her hand’s lean muscles. I know she is working there because of her own choice but her frail body was yelling completely different story. God knows why is  she into this business but i’m sure her reasons must be painful and shattering .

I still don't  understand the existent of this thing in the society.On one side my friend’s grandfather is working in his 70’s just to remain fit and on the other side this woman is working to earn one time bread. Just like them there are many others who are trapped in this tough world. 

“Work in Old age is Choice or Obligation ?” , this question still itches in my mind and i couldn't stumble upon the perfect answer yet. I mean if it's a choice then what's the force that drives them crazy enough to discount all the leisure and comforts which they can get from their peers and encourage them to tread the path which requires strength and if it's a obligation then why is it so ? why nobody’s doing anything to remove such commitments from the world.
I still don't get it but i will always be curious to know the answer .