Thiruvananthapuram: When a whopping 13 per cent of Kerala’s population are over 60 and the number of such seniors is growing at 2.3 per cent per annum, a proliferation of old-age homes in the state is just natural.
Most of them, however, have offered only basic facilities, making them hardly appealing for the more affluent. That void is now being filled with retirement homes with premium facilities being established in the greying state.
A team of seven non-resident Keralites, for instance, is creating a luxury retirement home on the outskirts of Kochi. The promoters, led by former advertising guru, K. George John, who has held top positions in advertising agencies including Lintas, Ulka and TBWA Anthem, feel that luxury retirement homes are the way forward for an ageing state like Kerala, where wealthy seniors face shortage of places where they can retire without worrying about the daily chores.
“I checked out 18 old-age homes from Thrissur to Karukachal in central Kerala and found none to be good enough for someone who can afford a comfortable retired life. And at the lone one which was reasonably good, I was told I would be 140 on the waiting list”, says John.
John and six associates including two doctors from Dubai who will shortly be relocating to Kerala, are establishing what they claim is a first-of-its kind luxury retirement home at Mulanthuruthy near Kochi which will have 80 villa-type units.
Inmates can lease a villa for Rs3.4 million (Dh184,046) and pay a monthly fee of Rs9,500 for food and facilities. When an inmate leaves or dies, the upfront payment is refunded to the nominees. The first of the villas will be launched on October 2, the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.
“Elders in Kerala, particularly those whose children are based abroad, are left to live their sunset years in huge mansions. In some cases, it may be a single soul living in a massive house, ruing the demise of the spouse and yearning for the company of their children. They endure loneliness, helplessness and boredom”, says Susan Josi, John’s partner in the venture named Graceland Foundation.
There are already a few upmarket old-age homes in Kerala, including Chacko Homes near Kochi, and one run by the Sobha Group in Palakkad, but these are considered to be too few in a state where the numbers of well-off elders are swelling.
According to Josi, retirement homes are a $25 billion (Dh91.82 billion) industry worldwide, and India alone is estimated to have 76 million seniors.
John says Graceland Foundation plans to enrol retirees as young as 55 into its not-for-profit retirement home, to “bring more life into the seniors’ group”.
“It’s not the money that is lacking for many seniors in Kerala, it’s the support systems that are missing, which we are putting in place”, says he.
