Early September, The New York Times and others reported that the leaders of China and Russia, at a military parade in Beijing, were making small talk about living forever. This was captured on a microphone by Chinese state news media and broadcast live. Later, Reuters took down a video containing this exchange because China’s state TV demanded its removal.
Whether it was banter or something more serious, we might never know. But great and powerful people have always desired to live forever. This leads to fascinating stories.
In the Ramayana, Ravan wanted to live forever. When his wish was denied, he obtained a boon that made him undefeatable by anyone except humans, whom he considered too weak anyway. Hiranyakashyap, the subject of Mahavatar Narasimha on Netflix, tried something similar.
There is an ancient story about a Mesopotamian king who found a youth-restoring plant but lost it on his way back home. Chinese magician Xu Fu, as the story goes, convinced the emperor that he could find an elixir for eternal life if he could get ships, an army, and 3,000 virgins who were ostensibly essential to the quest. The emperor complied and Xu Fu started on his quest—never to be seen again. In the first Harry Potter book, the Philosopher’s Stone produces an elixir that helps people live forever and Voldemort wants it because the same elixir can restore him to his full human form.
The desire to live forever is not confined to ancient tales, Potterverse, or Netflix. MIT Technology Review wrote in December 2016 about naked mole rats maintained by money from Google’s founders in a laboratory outside San Francisco. These rats could live 30 years—10 times more than a mouse—as part of a long-term project to extend the human lifespan.
In the early 1990s, research on a tiny worm showed that a single gene mutation could prolong its life. Work on human lifespan burgeoned but did not go far because complexities came to the fore. But other efforts continue unabated. Various startups have raised funds in recent years to work on projects to increase human lifespan.
Bryan Johnson, whom Himani Kothari interviewed for this issue of Forbes India, has become a recognised name for his pursuit of biological immortality through science. On November 11, Johnson made an X post to say he was “exploring magic mushrooms as a longevity therapy”. By the way, Johnson’s X bio says: “Conquering death will be humanity’s greatest achievement.”
Will it? One Anand Saigal would disagree. The eponymous character in the 1971 movie, Anand, says: “Zindagi badi honi chahiye lambi nahi.” That would somewhat mean (not literally) that life should be fulfilling, not necessarily long. In Troy, the 2004 movie, Achilles says gods envy humans because we are mortal, because any moment may be our last. Everything is more beautiful because we are doomed.
As if on cue, several Indian business leaders, scientists, technologists and medical researchers are reimagining ageing. Their mission, as Naini Thaker reports, is to help people live well and disease-free into their 80s and beyond. Their focus is on healthspan over lifespan.
The success of this project can engineer fundamental changes to the way organisations are run and leaders perceived. If people can be fully functional, mentally and physically, well into their 80s, why should they retire at 58 or 60?
But even if success in this endeavour is less than what is hoped for, we can take solace in the words of the great Albus Dumbledore. As he tells Harry after the Philosopher’s Stone has been destroyed: “To the well-organised mind, death is but the next great adventure.”
Suveen Sinha
Editor, Forbes India
Email: suveen.sinha@nw18.com
X ID: @suveensinha
First Published: Nov 19, 2025, 18:56
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