The present book is delving into the world of gerontology from a socio-cultural perspective. The book is a product of an intensive fieldwork-based research which inherently is a reaction to the increasing intolerance towards the elderly population and their consequent marginalization. Despite governmental measures towards the rising deplorable conditions of the aged people, the elderly population faces social exclusion, both from their own family who believe that they should become 'inactive entities' as well as from the society for whom their importance gradually diminishes. The book starts with a vivid detail of the concept of gerontology and various theoretical understandings related to the term. It covers an in-depth understanding of the world situation as well as Indian elderly scenario. The book deals with various issues of elderly which includes elderly depression, their social status and their position in family, their understanding of leisure, their economic position, their health concern and the role of religion in their life. It provides in-depth theoretical insights about various problems of the elderly population backed up with micro-level narratives and case studies of the elderly population. The book further attempts to relate the theories with narratives, henceforth the readers will get a visual feel of the elderly scenario and their understanding of their own reality. CONTENTS 1 Gerontological Concepts and Understanding 2 Elderly: A World Scenario 3 Old Age in India 4 Elderly Diaries 5 Elderly Life-Care and Social Constructions 6 Leisure Moments 7 Economic Situation and Aged Populace 8 Health Concerns and Senile Population 9 Elderly Interactions in the World of ‘Sacred’ ABOUT THE AUTHOR / EDITOR Sumita Saha is a Professor of Sociology at the Presidency University, Kolkata. Before joining Presidency University, she taught in the Department of Sociology, Lady Brabourne College, Kolkata, as a full-time faculty member recruited by West Bengal Public Service Commission. She has been working in the field of Sociology of Ageing for a long period and has published widely in this area. Her doctoral thesis is also based on gerontological questions. Presently, she is working in the field of Sociology of Ageing as well as teaching a special paper on Sociology of Ageing at Presidency University. Somrita Sengupta is a research scholar in the Department of Sociology, Presidency University, Kolkata. Her major areas of interest include Sociology of Education as well as Sociology of Ageing. She did her graduation from Lady Brabourne College, Kolkata and her Masters from University of Calcutta. She has presented papers in various UGC sponsored national and international seminars and published some articles in journals. Trishna Chaudhuri is an Assistant Professor at Manipal University Jaipur. She has done her Masters and M.Phil. from Jadavpur University and has submitted her PhD thesis at Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur. She also has a keen interest in the field of ageing. Nilanjana Goswami is a visiting sociology faculty at the Department of Humanities and Social Science, BITS Pilani, Goa. She did her PhD from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. She has been working in the field of Sociology of Ageing for a considerable time. She has presented papers in various national and international seminars and authored some articles for journals.