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Cairo: Zeinab Taha may be an octogenarian. Yet her philosophy in life is that one should not wait to die. "You have to enjoy every remaining minute in your life," she says.
Taha is one of 22 senior citizens who are members of the Chorus of the Elderly, a band set up by an Egyptian non-governmental organisation six years ago.
The group performs at the Cairo Opera House and at parties hosted by local social clubs.
Dubbed the "dynamo" of the chorus by her colleagues, as she attends all concerts, Taha admits that the band has marked a U-turn in her life.
"When I sing, I feel like a little child," she told Gulf News.
Looks younger
"My daughter always attends my shows and keeps telling me I look younger when I sing," added Taha, who celebrated her 80th birthday late last year.
The chorus, which started in 2002 with six members, was the brainchild of Sawsan Othman, chairperson of the non-governmental Egyptian Society for Support of the Family.
"I was attending a party for old people years ago when the idea of creating such a band flashed in my mind," Othman, an ex-professor of social work, said.
"The chorus is a way to keep senior citizens in the mainstream of life and active," Othman said.
She said all members of the group have good voices.
"I was a good singer in my younger days as my family had several vocalists," says Mahmoud Dia'a, who joined the band months ago. Dia'a, 62, adds that when he sings, he feels he is "back in the good old days".
His colleague Abdul Rahim Mohsin has always wanted to be a singer, but his father objected.
"My dreams, however, came true when I joined this group two years ago," Abdul Rahim, 62, said happily. "We've even gotten the chance to sing at the Cairo Opera House. How wonderful!" added Abdul Rahim, a retired engineer.
Officials at the Egyptian Society for Support of the Family say their organisation provides other activities to old people, including learning handicrafts and painting.
But for Fayza Abdullah, 70, singing is the thing she likes most.
"When we start singing, I feel as though I'm in another world," said Abdullah who was one of the founding members of the chorus.
Abdullah said in the beginning she was fond of love songs. Now she prefers religious and patriotic songs.
"I used to sing to my little babies at their birthday parties when I was a young mother. Now I sing in public to a large audience," Abdullah said.
Abdullah does not think life is measured by how old one is. "You are as old as you feel," she stresses.
Does it really matter what age you are at to enjoy life? Or does health and society play a role? Is it a good thing that media promotes aged youthfulness? Or does it wrongly bring it into focus?
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