One Hundred Years Old!

Sal! :)

A couple of weeks ago, a very special person in my extended neighbourhood turned one hundred years old! Ammachi’s name is.. I just realised I don’t know her actual name! :( Everyone calls her Kannadi Ammachi, which translated into English means The Spectacle Grandmother. Sometimes a nickname becomes so popular that we tend to forget the real name, right? :) I’ll add TSG’s actual and more as soon as I find out.

(I just found out from Mum; The name is Prestina! :) )

Soon after Ammachi’s 100th Birthday, she moved from here to to the National Capital, New Delhi, in a train to be with her extended family. That’s over 2000 km! She’s understandably not as active as before, but even as recently as a couple of years ago, I’ve seen her in public gatherings! :) I’ll post a picture when I meet Ammachi next :) Ammachi’s 100th birthday got me thinking about the events that occured throughout those 100 years. Here I present some such stats and facts!

When Ammachi was born, there were approximately 57 countries in the world. Currently, there are almost 200. That means, Ammachi is older than over 140 countries! xD

When Ammachi was born, the population of the world was approx. 2 billion. Currently, it is over 7 billion!

Amamchi is:

– 35 years older than Independent India
– As old as the Republic of China

Ammachi has lived through:

– World War I
– The Great Depression
– World War II
– The Indian Freedom Movement and Mahatma Gandhi’s public life
– Every Indian President and Prime Minister’s tenure

Ammachi was alive when:

– The Titanic Sank
–  Neil Armstrong Stepped on the Moon
– The Chocolate Chip Cookie was invented in 1930! :P

Of course, there are so many more things that can be added. Let’s do this differently. You tell a significant incident or two from your family/country that happened when Ammachi was alive. We’ll build a list that way. Also, who is the oldest person you have met? The oldest person I’ve met is not Ammachi, but a 101-year-old man :)

Imagine the wisdom and experience Ammachi must posses! :)

There’s one advantage to being 102. There’s no peer pressure ~ Dennis Wolfberg