A Project Close to My Heart
by Dhinakar Perumal
There comes a time in everyone’s life when you choose between making more money or do something close to your heart. For me, this moment came when my dear mom, Nirmala Devi, started getting old. Soon,I realized that most of Indian elders, if not all, spend the best part of their life including retirement by spending time on gadgets/TV/ watching serials and not engaging in any other activities, which is unhealthy. There are lot of misconceptions regarding Active and Healthy Retirement life etched in people’s mind. It is not their fault since there are no alternatives or no proper environments that engages them physically and mentally and help them to be active and healthy.
I wanted a happy, healthy and hassle free life for my mom and took my mom to various retirement communities where she could interact with similarly aged and like minded people and engage herself in activities of her choice. I could not find the ideal one for my mom. My Mom casually suggested that I promote such a retirement community. At that time, my mom was just 62 and I never really put a lot of thought into it. Everything happened so abruptly, when she passed away a few years back. After coming to terms with her loss, I decided to start a socially responsible Business as a tribute to her. I joined hands with my real-estate business partner and my sister and conceptualized NNRC – Nirmala Nilayam Retirement Community, and named it after my dear departed Mom Nirmala Devi.
Also, I happened to visit an active retirement community during my stay in USA, when I visited my close friend’s grandparents.I really liked the concept of elders being actively engaged and enjoying it too. So I adopted the concept to suit Indian seniors’ needs. I also noticed that the Standards for Accessibility was quiet friendly for seniors in USA since these retirement communities follow UFAS (Uniform Federal Accessibility Standards), and hence ensured that NNRC is modeled after the same.
NNRC’s infrastructure and services are designed true to our vision “To make OUR seniors ACTIVE & ENERGETIC by offering creative activities to engage their mind, body and soul”.
I and my team are committed to be a socially responsible organization by providing an environment for our NNRC family elders to lead a Happy, Healthy and Hassle Free life.
