Memories have begun to grow weary, and identifying relatives have become an arduous thing. Speaking for too long has become tiresome.
He is 109, and at this age, everyone around him will expect him to kick back and relax and let everyone around him take care of him. But Ali Hussain begs to differ.
Hailing from Addu City Hithadhoo, Mr. Hussain still carries that same energetic will he always had. Even now, at his age, staying idle without work is boring for him. He is as energetic as ever. It could be something as simple as picking dried leaves from the trees at his backyard, but he still enjoys it.
Any onlooker, observing him without context, might be dumbfounded when they discover he has already crossed a century of being alive on this earth. His active lifestyle hints to his positive health.
"He worked tirelessly during his youth, there did not go any idle hour for him. He had spent his life to build a family and foster his kids," Hussain's fourth child, Mohamed Ali spoke.
Hussain has nine surviving children. His wife is still alive, and they remain ever in love. But his life partner has spent most of her recent years bed ridden owing to an illness that consumed most of her health.
Six of their children take care of the terminally ill mother, everyday, without any complaints.
With nine surviving children and over 50 grandchildren, and even more great-grandchildren.
"Everyone is very supportive and loving, the sons would help our mother to move around, and her daughters would help her get cleaned up, Mohamed Ali added.
He also claims that there have been no in-fighting among the siblings regarding who's responsibility it was to take of their elderly parents; in fact everyone took it upon themselves to take care of the two, equally.
"He would always tell us to attend to our prayers on time, and he had wanted nothing but modest living for all of us," Mohamed spoke highly of his father.
The sacrifices the elderly couple had taken during their youth to build a "world" for themselves, and a family of their own had borne the sweetest of fruits today as they do not find themselves struggling. With their heydays behind them, the two now can rest easy knowing all of their children will take care of them through thick and thin.
Hussain in his adventurous life, had built a total of three homes for his children.
At the beginning, their home was simple. Old walls and a hall like space for all the kids to sleep. And then as time went by, Mr. Hussain saw the need for an upgrade; which he carried out. He ensured his kids had a proper shelter to call home.
A man who has lived for as long as Hussain has, will have more than a few interesting tales to his name, and his first job itself, is as interesting a tale as it can get. He had been around when Addu City became a protectorate of the British. It was during this era, he found himself working as a labor for the Britishers.
For work, Hussain would walk a course of six kilometers from his home at Hithadhoo all the way to Abuheraa. He would come home for lunch, and would go back again; all of traveling, done on foot.
When his work with the Britishers came to an end, and long after the foreigners had left the land, Hussain found passion in life as a toddy collector. He would go on to become a skilled one at that, and build his earnings upon selling toddy.
His indomitable will to always persevere and earnestly make a living, is one of the greatest lessons he taught all of his kids as well.
Truly, a man who has witnessed the British protectorate first-hand, and what came after, would have several significant adventures through which he had lived, which we have had only heard through tales from others. But one thing is for certain, Hussain has continued to look forward and move forward; and he continues to do regardless of his age.
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