bengaluru in her list of prospective grooms matchmaker shanti kotresh has an 80yearold a 70yearold and three men in their 60sall who do not wish to spend their autumn years in solitude theres a remarkable rise in number of elderly persons looking for a second innings in life matchmakers say in the last decade alone shanti has managed to get over 300 senior citizens tie the knot not as romantic as it may sound its a tough task says shanti while the idea of marriage is often associated with love many of the new proposals are marriages of convenience however there are some cases where the elderly have found love in the old age she addsaccording to the department of stamps and registration though specific numbers are not available subregistrar offices across the city are witnessing occasional marriages of elderly citizensneed more places to socializeits not only a match senior citizens are looking for but places to socialize too in a city thats known as pensioners paradise and offers great entertainment for its youngsters elders have limited options senior citizens make for close to 10 of the citys populationradha s murthy president of nightingale medical foundation says their daycare centre is getting good response from senior citizens who want to spend time with likeminded people theres a need more such places what the senior citizens today have are just public parks she points out sangita bhattacharya who founded the 50 voyagers travel and adventure club pvt ltd two years ago managed to debunk the perception that a business model providing entertainment or socializing opportunities for elders wont be a success her travel agency is exclusively for those aged 50 and above she managed to take over 400 senior citizens on several trips including for rafting and horse riding among other things the response has been very encouraging sangita saysthey run because they love tomarathoner rahul s verghese 55 has taken part in over 49 marathons across the world including the mumbai marathon the chicago marathon the 89km comrades marathon in south africa and the everest marathon verghese who started running only after he turned 40 believes that the elderly take to running because of passion ceo and founder of running and living infotainment a company that trains people around the country on every aspect of running verghese says a lot many people aged 50 and above are taking to running these daysthe 30 to 40 40 to 50 and the 50plus are the most engaged group of runners we train most elders come because of their interest than peer pressure unlike those in the 20s who join because they think its cool seniors take to running because it allows them to lead a balanced life they can stay fit and yet indulge guiltlessly in things they love he said the oldest marathoner whom verghese has met is britishsikh centenarian fauja singh who ran his first marathon after he turned 100 for seniors who intend to start running in their twilight