FAMILY FOR HIRE
Old and alone all day, some seniors are paying just for company. For a fee, new nonmedical care services will help silvers with their groceries, go with them to weddings, or just drop by to talk
How many hours have you spent with a senior citizen today?
Nutan Ghag spends four hours a day, seven days a week with her aaji (Marathi for grandmother). Only, it’s not her real aaji. It’s a customer of the company she works for — Aaji Care.
Across Delhi, Gurgaon, Mumbai, Pune and Ahmedabad, companies like Aaji Care are offering non-medical senior care. Essentially, once you’re signed up, they’ll come over once every few days and just talk to you, or take you to a wedding or party so you don’t have to go alone. They might help you get to the doctor, go to the bank or shop for groceries. Often, they just read to you, play puzzles or board games, help you pass the time.
It can be an emotional thing, paying someone to spend time with your mother or father.
“We are still coming to terms with a concept as new as this,” admits Subhadra Upadhyay, 88, whose son signed her up with The Family Member in Ahmedabad four months ago. “But we had to be practical, because Bhavesh has his own family to take care of,” she adds.
It’s not always the young ones reaching out. Usha Arvindan, 70, contacted The Family Member because she wanted to have someone home with her ailing and diabetic husband, while she went out to meet friends or attend pujas.
“I realised I was becoming asocial and giving up on everything I wanted to do,” she says.
“I like that we are old and not dependent on each other or anyone else,” says her husband, Arvindan Vyasa, 75.
Prices range from ₹150 for 1.5 hours to ₹20,000 a month for multiple weekly visits and help with errands.
“We’re less than a year old and already have about 25 clients and eight volunteers,” says TFM founder Piyush Vayeda.
“It’s been a success,” says Prasad Bhide, who set up Mumbai-based Aaji Care in 2012. “We get at least three new clients every month and are planning to expand to Pune.” There’s also Samvedna Senior Care, set up in Delhi in 2013, and First Seniors set up in 2008; in Pune, Maya Care was launched in 2009.
“We aim to keep seniors independent,” says Pratyusha Pinnali, head of marketing for Maya Care. “We also try and fill in for their children to keep their loneliness at bay.” All volunteers are cleared via police verification; details are sent to the subscriber in advance.
“Signing up for these services can be like giving yourself a second shot at life, can help you feel young again,” says Prakash Borgaonkar, director of NGO HelpAge India.
Of course, there is really no substitute for family. “Though demand is rising fast, it is difficult,” admits Archana Sharma, founder of Samvedna. “Seniors don’t always understand why their own family can’t be there for them.”