“Life after retirement is very good,” states the young-at-heart retired government officer. Eighteen years after retirement from Government Service as Director, Rural Development, in 1991, Obang Ozukum hardly looks his 79 years as he drives his car up his ‘kingdom’, as he puts it, leading to the peace of a beautiful hillock. His enthusiasm for life is evident from the way he contently pronounces “it’s very beautiful - life after retirement”.
Then you see traces of ‘LIFE’ in the buds of enthuriums in white, red and pink, trails of them greeting you as you enter…there’s a fishery breeding life to fishes while it’s definitely not possible to miss the varieties of other plants like Lichi, Jackfruit, Banana and several other flowers that adorn his residence. All these horticulture activities- the greenhouse, the plantations and other undertakings - were taken up after retirement, he says. Having worked in rural development for years, he passionately expresses “my mind’s always burning for development and when I think about my development vision, I think like a teenager”. His musical journey surfaces then. It may be of interest to many that he was the Rhythm player and Lead Vocalist of the Highlanders, a rock Band that was formed in the early 1960s. The band also won the 1st Nagaland Beat Rock Contest. He recalls that he started playing the guitar in 1948 after seeing some friends playing the instrument brought in by the Americans and being fascinated by the Spanish Guitar at first, he went on to create guitars with plywood. But he confesses that he was more attracted to the Hawaiian guitar, which he began to learn and play well. Too occupied to follow these dreams while in government service, he is now quite clearly happy to have revived his love for music after retirement. When he turned 78 last year, he released an album titled ‘A Hawaiian Melody’ which is a matter of pride considering he never had any formal training in music. He says it was a product of learning from friends who knew music and out of personal interest. Reading some fundamental music books had also helped, he admits. “Life after retirement is very good,” he states. He’s definitely happy tending to his home farm, the motive behind which he says is to make a kind of encouragement statement on development process but opines that both the mind and brain should work on equal footing. His disappointment, however, lies in the fact that “there’s no market for fruits” and also regrets that “our people prefer only goods from outside”. Commenting on the state of affairs in the State, he simply states “our forefathers were honest and we’re not” and points out that it’s seen in our employment problem. ‘Even from the religious point of view’ he dishearteningly adds. “Our Nagaland’s full of unions, it proves that we’re not secure.” Change, he does want to see happening in Nagaland in terms of development in every sphere of life. Recounting his visits to countries like Hong Kong , Japan , China , which have impressed him much, he feels that it’s not impossible to develop in such a manner like theirs. He declares that his life is a development oriented life and all his after-retirement activities, of course, lies in the fact that he’s living life to the hilt, but he also wishes to show that life isn’t dormant after retirement as many people would think. Earlier when in service, he had attended a development program in Japan conducted under UNO in 1981 as well as a Church Leaders’ Training in Singapore in the year 1984. Presently, he is pretty much affluent with religious and other social activities and is in the Board of Directors in the Discipleship Bible College (DBC), a Board Member of the Nagaland State Cooperative Consumers and Marketing Federation Limited, Former President and Executive Member of the Dimapur District Ao Pensioners’ Union, a Life Member of the Gideon International Fellowship, the Bible Society of India and International Evangelical Fellowship. A father of four, three of them gazetted officers and one businessman, all married and well settled by now, he seems to have done his part pretty well. When asked how he feels, he says “it’s a mixed blessing to bring up children to this level. Sometimes we feel disappointed, sometimes we feel good or sometimes we feel they’re hopeless but it’s all because of God’s grace that we could bring them up”. ‘Else we’d have spoilt them’ he confesses. This vigorous young-at-heart possess that extra zest to life and he has certainly gone ahead to prove that life could only get better after retirement. “I feel that I’m very much alive,” the spirited 79-year-old declares and while he credits his wife Amenla for this sound of music that’s been playing all along, their way into old age seems a long way off. Grandfather to eleven grandchildren, Obang Ozukum proves that it’s not age that determines how young you are.
Then you see traces of ‘LIFE’ in the buds of enthuriums in white, red and pink, trails of them greeting you as you enter…there’s a fishery breeding life to fishes while it’s definitely not possible to miss the varieties of other plants like Lichi, Jackfruit, Banana and several other flowers that adorn his residence. All these horticulture activities- the greenhouse, the plantations and other undertakings - were taken up after retirement, he says. Having worked in rural development for years, he passionately expresses “my mind’s always burning for development and when I think about my development vision, I think like a teenager”. His musical journey surfaces then. It may be of interest to many that he was the Rhythm player and Lead Vocalist of the Highlanders, a rock Band that was formed in the early 1960s. The band also won the 1st Nagaland Beat Rock Contest. He recalls that he started playing the guitar in 1948 after seeing some friends playing the instrument brought in by the Americans and being fascinated by the Spanish Guitar at first, he went on to create guitars with plywood. But he confesses that he was more attracted to the Hawaiian guitar, which he began to learn and play well. Too occupied to follow these dreams while in government service, he is now quite clearly happy to have revived his love for music after retirement. When he turned 78 last year, he released an album titled ‘A Hawaiian Melody’ which is a matter of pride considering he never had any formal training in music. He says it was a product of learning from friends who knew music and out of personal interest. Reading some fundamental music books had also helped, he admits. “Life after retirement is very good,” he states. He’s definitely happy tending to his home farm, the motive behind which he says is to make a kind of encouragement statement on development process but opines that both the mind and brain should work on equal footing. His disappointment, however, lies in the fact that “there’s no market for fruits” and also regrets that “our people prefer only goods from outside”. Commenting on the state of affairs in the State, he simply states “our forefathers were honest and we’re not” and points out that it’s seen in our employment problem. ‘Even from the religious point of view’ he dishearteningly adds. “Our Nagaland’s full of unions, it proves that we’re not secure.” Change, he does want to see happening in Nagaland in terms of development in every sphere of life. Recounting his visits to countries like Hong Kong , Japan , China , which have impressed him much, he feels that it’s not impossible to develop in such a manner like theirs. He declares that his life is a development oriented life and all his after-retirement activities, of course, lies in the fact that he’s living life to the hilt, but he also wishes to show that life isn’t dormant after retirement as many people would think. Earlier when in service, he had attended a development program in Japan conducted under UNO in 1981 as well as a Church Leaders’ Training in Singapore in the year 1984. Presently, he is pretty much affluent with religious and other social activities and is in the Board of Directors in the Discipleship Bible College (DBC), a Board Member of the Nagaland State Cooperative Consumers and Marketing Federation Limited, Former President and Executive Member of the Dimapur District Ao Pensioners’ Union, a Life Member of the Gideon International Fellowship, the Bible Society of India and International Evangelical Fellowship. A father of four, three of them gazetted officers and one businessman, all married and well settled by now, he seems to have done his part pretty well. When asked how he feels, he says “it’s a mixed blessing to bring up children to this level. Sometimes we feel disappointed, sometimes we feel good or sometimes we feel they’re hopeless but it’s all because of God’s grace that we could bring them up”. ‘Else we’d have spoilt them’ he confesses. This vigorous young-at-heart possess that extra zest to life and he has certainly gone ahead to prove that life could only get better after retirement. “I feel that I’m very much alive,” the spirited 79-year-old declares and while he credits his wife Amenla for this sound of music that’s been playing all along, their way into old age seems a long way off. Grandfather to eleven grandchildren, Obang Ozukum proves that it’s not age that determines how young you are.
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