“Daughters are more caring of their parents,” said Rakesh Jain, the philanthropist businessman who was honoured at the Global Business Award 2018 in New Delhi on Saturday.
Jain, who runs an old-age home ‘Gharaunda’, believes that a ‘beti’ should be born in every family because daughters have a genuine attachment to their parents which continues to remain even after they get married off.
Speaking to The Statesman on the sidelines of the Global Business Award, where he received the ‘Most Dynamic Person of the Year’ award, Jain said that he was inspired by his father’s dream of opening an old-age home that would take care of the elderly who are neglected by their children.
“Started in 2004, ‘Gharaunda’ now has 50-60 inmates,” the 64-year-old Jain said, adding that he himself takes care of the expenses for the all the basic facilities that are provided to the inmates.
“When children bring their parents to us, we hold a counselling session and try to convince the children to keep their elderly parents with them,” said Jain, who is the Chairman of Paras Dyes and Chemicals Pvt. Ltd, a Delhi-based company which manufactures industrial chemicals.
Before admitting their parents to the home, the children are required to sign an affidavit in which they declare that their parents are medically fit and that they will take care of the funeral when the need arises.
“Yet they often don’t do that, so we perform the last rites ourselves,” said Jain.
Highlighting the depth of parental love, Jain said, “In spite of the neglect they face (at the hands of their own offspring), the parents never blame their children.”
Located in Mehrauli, the old-age home stands on Jain’s own property and has a park which is used by the inmates. The inmates are provided special meals from some of Delhi’s famous restaurants on Thursdays and are also encouraged to visit their children’s homes on festive occasions with packets of sweets provided by the old-age home.
Services of a homeopathy clinic is available to all the inmates. The clinic also serves the medical needs of others for a nominal charge, which is waived off if the patient is not in a position to pay.
Besides business and philanthropy, Jain wears many hats – he is an avid piano player, sketch artist and has interest in astrology. A fan of popular Hindi songs from the golden age of Indian cinema, Jain practises on the piano for an hour every morning and evening. He also devotes hours to drawing sketches, a hobby he took up a year ago.
Created and organised by a team of MediaKraft Marketing in association with Absolute Advertising and four aspiring MBA students, the Global Business Awards was held to identify the outstanding achievements by organisations that enhances the industry’s progress.
Bollywood actress Minissha Lamba gave away the awards.