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The bonds between a grandparent and grandchild are very strong. For elderly people who do not have grandchildren of their own, a new solution in India is helping form these important intergenerational bonds
Ranan Tata, an 86 year old Indian billionaire, businessman, and philanthropist, has never married and has no children and grandchildren,reports PTC News. But he does have 12 million followers and a lot of influence and reach among India’s youth.
His partner, Niki Thakur is in her 20s but she grew up without a grandfather, This unusual pair are now both involved in the Goodfellows, a Mumbai-based startup that aims to enhance the lives of both young and old Indians by facilitating new “grandparent-grandchildren-esque” relationships between senior citizens and India’s youth, reports The Better India.
The Goodfellows model
The Goodfellows model pairs elderly people with younger people. The elderly partner is called the grandpal, and the young helper is called the goodfellow. Thakur explains: “We wanted the bond between the grandpal and the goodfellow to be similar to the relationship shared between a grandparent and grandchild.”
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Shantanu Naidu, the company’s founder explains how the process works. He says, pairs aren’t done using AI because, “AI wouldn’t be able to pick up on nuances during the introductory visits to the grandpals’ homes. There is a lot to be taken note of apart from the circumstantial and demographic parameters. This takes a keen eye.
“Sometimes we see these senior citizens repeating a piece of information frequently,” Naidu continues. “Other times they stop mid-sentence attempting to hold back saying something. These parameters are evaluated during our visits.”
Naidu and his team use the evaluations to make careful, curated partnerships among young and old with similar interests so that it will be a “good experience for both,” Naidu explains.
After the pairing process, the goodfellows are available to help with anything their grandpal needs, be it chores, errands, doctor’s appointments, or companionship.
Getting Goodfellows off the ground
Goodfellows has been up and running in beta mode since 2021, when Shantanu Naidu, an office manager, floated the idea on his Instagram. Niki Thakur, a corporate lawyer, and Gargi Sandu, a filmmaker, saw the post and reached out to Naidu, eventually becoming his partners.
The team had already made dozens of successful partnerships when Tata became interested in the startup and invested heavily into it, Mint reports.
Explaining his investment choice, Tata told Mint: “You do not know what it is like to be lonely until you spend time alone wishing for companionship." He also remarked that people don’t care about aging, until they themselves get old.
Meanwhile, Thakur isn’t just a Goodfellows partner – she herself is goodfellow. Thakur’s adopted grandfather is named Dadu, and he is a recent widow, and they both gain a lot from their relationship.
Dozens of successful partnerships
Thakur and Dadu aren’t the only happy couple set up via Goodfellows, according to The Better India. There are dozens of successful partnerships.
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Rati Dady Wadi is an 81-year-old who deeply loves her adopted goodfellow granddaughter. “My goodfellow?“ Wadi tells Better India. “She’s tech-savvy and is writing my memoirs. She is intelligent and shows a keen interest in helping me write my book. I often forget what I have written and every time I repeat, my goodfellow remembers and corrects me immediately.”
Mukund and Madhavi Sule, a septuagenarian couple are similarly pleased. Mukund has Alzheimers and Madhavi says that with their goodfellow, “Mukund is happy, engaged and willing to live life with fun and mischief. We can trust Rupesh like our own child! Mukund looks forward to Rupesh’s arrival and anticipates their sessions together!”
Scaling up
Mint reports that Naidu’s eventual goal is to scale up across the country, but the young entrepreneur is happy with the current progress and doesn’t want to move so quickly that they compromise on the quality of the partnerships.
Naidu says on theGoodfellows website that there are 15 million elderly Indians living alone. He believes that intergenerational bonds can help. His goal is to change the lives of both the goodfellows and grandpals who are missing out on these intergenerational bonds. “We’re looking to turn the world around for many people with what we are doing,” he said
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