reblog Personal Essays Reclaiming My Roti How a small win in the kitchen helped Viney Kirpal, now 76, re-establish her independence. Oldster Magazine and Viney Kirpal Feb 09, 2026 Famartin/Wikimedia Commons I wasn’t born with a disability. I acquired it in my 60s. That’s what made it harder to diagnose—and harder to live with. This May, I rolled a roti for the first time in 13 years. It puffed up, and I clapped with joy. For 13 years, I had stopped entering the kitchen after my right shoulder gave way to a full tear in the supraspinatus muscle. As the strongest in the cluster of four muscles tore, my joint stopped taking the weight of my arm. “I really enjoy your posts and your focus on the realities of aging in such a hopeful, life-affirming way.” - Julie Ansell , paid subscriber. Subscribe The first sign was so ordinary, it almost went unnoticed. One May morning in 2012, as sunlight spilled into my bedroom, I reached for my hairbrush. My elbow froze...