By Dr Geetanjali Chopra The concept of the elderly parents in families seeking refuge in old age homes in the later stages of their life carries a stigma in India. Our country has always taken pride in a deeply ingrained tradition of living together with elders, cherishing their wisdom and revering their presence. Respect for elders is not just a cultural norm, but a way of life, worn into the fabric of society.

However, as the winds of modernisation swept across the country, and traditional family structures began to undergo a paradigm shift, it started to impact the care and well-being of senior citizens. With the number of nuclear families growing, many parts of India are witnessing a peculiar problem — elderly parents living without much support as their grown-up children are working abroad, or in different cities or towns. In Kerala, for example, where a steady flow of outward migration of the younger workforce is seen, it is estimated that there will be 35 people aged over 60 for every 100 people of the working-age by the year 2030, according to government figures.

It is not always feasible for the children to take their parents along — sometimes due to visa and other logistical issues and sometimes due to the very fact that the senior citizens themselves don’t want to be completely uprooted at the fag of their lives. As a result, the elderly people in some parts of the country are increasingly opting to move into specialised facilities to spend their retired life.