Living Lightly at Ninety-Four - Sudha-Didi and the Quiet Art of Aging Well

 Opening Vignette

She does not hurry life, and life does not hurry her.

At ninety-four, Sudha-Didi meets the morning the way one greets a trusted companion. There is no contest with time, no resistance to the day. A staircase waits. Tea waits. Memory waits. She rises not to challenge age, but to walk alongside the hours as they unfold.

The years have settled gently around her. Nothing feels unfinished, nothing feels heavy. There is food on the table, warmth in the room, names she remembers, and people she loves spread across countries and generations. The future does not alarm her, and the past does not cling.

She is not fearless because she ignores age. She is fearless because she has made peace with it. The body has learned its limits; the spirit has learned to travel light. No hoarding of worry. No bargaining with fate. Just a quiet affection for life as it is.

This is not a story about defying age.
It is a story about befriending it.

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A First Encounter

I first met Sudha-Didi in 2017 at a formal dinner in Kolkata, India, hosted by her younger brother, Dilip Rohatgi, a respected civic leader, and his wife, Veena. My wife and I were among the guests.

Sudha-Didi was already in her late eighties. Yet she appeared far younger, not only in looks but in presence. She spoke softly, listened attentively, and carried herself with natural grace. There was no trace of bitterness or complaint. Widowed for many years, she nonetheless radiated warmth. Love seemed to have remained with her, not as memory, but as habit. She was, and remains, the mother of three sons, now middle-aged men.

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A Small Moment, a Large Lesson

In February 2026, I met her again over tea at a social club in Kolkata. As she approached the table, I pulled out a heavy chair and placed it slightly away. She sat down, then calmly lifted herself, drew the chair closer, and settled in. She was two months short of her ninety-fifth birthday. The movement was unhurried, confident, unremarkable to her, yet quietly remarkable to those watching.

Sudha-Didi and I at the Tollygunge Club, Kolkata, 5Feb2026

She ate simply. A fried snack. Tea with sugar. Later, another cup of tea and a small portion of food. No fuss. No dietary anxiety. No performance of fragility. She ate modestly but freely, as someone at ease with both her body and her years.

Hirak, Sudha-Didi, Kalpana, Veena, and Kasturi at the Tollygunge Club, Kolkata, 5Feb2026

In that moment, one understood something essential: aging, for her, was not a negotiation filled with fear. It was an acceptance shaped by trust.

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Roots and Education

Born Krishna Sudha Rohatgi into a large family in Kolkata, she grew up in a historic neighborhood near the river and an old Armenian church whose bells marked the hours. She was the fifth of eleven siblings, many of whom lived long lives themselves and are still thriving.

In her youth, she was widely admired for her beauty. Even now, in her nineties, she retains a striking presence. In the 1950s, she studied at Presidency College, one of India’s leading institutions, earning a doctorate in physiology. Admirers reportedly waited outside the college gates to see her pass by.

In 1960, she married a physician who had trained in England. Shortly after, they moved to Canada, where Sudha-Didi began a new chapter that blended family life with scientific inquiry.

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Science, Work, and a Global Life

In Canada, she pursued advanced research in physiology and metabolism. She worked with Frederick Banting, co-discoverer of insulin, and later with James Campbell on diabetes research. Her work appeared in respected international journals, including The Journal of Nutrition and Metabolism. One of her papers, published in 1969, continues to be cited decades later.

Toronto became her long-term home. She raised three sons. One lives nearby and is a physician who looks after her with professional skill and deep personal care. The others live in different cities and visit often. Family remains central to her life.

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Daily Life at Ninety-Four

Until four years ago, Sudha-Didi lived entirely on her own. She then chose to share her home with a younger working woman. The house has multiple levels, and Sudha-Didi lives on the upper floors, climbing stairs many times a day. This, along with regular online exercise and yoga classes, forms her daily movement routine.

She drove until she was ninety, then stopped after an accident and adapted easily to public and private transport. She continues to go out weekly, attending professional gatherings, cultural events, and meetings of interest.

A vegetarian, she eats simply. She has no diabetes or cholesterol issues. Her blood pressure is managed with medication. Her memory is sharp, her posture upright, her walk steady. Each year, she carefully prepares her financial records and files her taxes with assistance, supplying every detail herself.

She has made a will. Matters are addressed calmly, without urgency or fear.

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Travel, Family, and Courage

In early 2026, at ninety-four, she traveled alone from Canada to India on a sixteen-hour nonstop flight. From there, she continued alone to another city to visit an ailing brother who no longer recognized her. She stayed with him for ten days. She then traveled onward, staying with relatives in different homes.

When asked whether adapting to unfamiliar spaces and routines worried her, she answered, “Yes, but there is no other way to stay closely connected with my family.”

That sentence captures her philosophy.

She lives one day at a time. She does not speculate about how long she will live. Death does not preoccupy her. Even the idea of dying alone does not trouble her. Anxiety, it seems, no longer claims her attention.

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What Her Life Offers the World

Sudha-Didi’s life offers a universal lesson. Longevity is not sustained by fear or excessive control. It grows from moderation, movement, mental engagement, human connection, and acceptance.

She shows that aging does not require retreat. It can remain expansive, curious, affectionate, and quietly brave.

At ninety-four, she is not chasing more years.

She is simply living the ones she has, wholly and without fear.