It is an interesting irony. Someone who has hung up his boots at 41 is trying to net jobs for those crossing 60 and more.
But then, life has its quirks and Himanshu Rath is a successful example of it. This diligent Delhiite, a copywriter by profession, delivered to himself the dream he always dreamt at age 41 — to have adequate bank balance to see through old age, a house to call his own in Delhi plus a modest holiday home tucked away in the hills.
But not always life is a photo finish and within months Rath became conscious of having all the time in the world and no work to do. And that's when he thought of starting a helpline for older persons “to help solve their problems.” Things took root under the name of Agewell Foundation in Delhi's Lajpat Nagar and today, 11 years later, doing among other things, Rath is perhaps the only person you would come across who runs an employment bureau open only for older persons from across the country.
In his '50s now, with a crop of salt and pepper hair to mark his entry into senior citizenry, Rath now emits the certainty of moving miles away from his modest beginning in the field of addressing older people's problems. One import issue, he underlines, is the difficulty of finding employment for them. “Our Government is the biggest employer which unfortunately doesn't allow you to work after 60. With higher longevity now, 60 is no age to stop working, particularly when you have to take care of your needs for the next 20-25 years. Many have more children and by the time they are retired, one or two of them are not yet settled in life, so there is constant need for money. For the employment of such people, one is dependent on private enterprises only. The jobs most end up doing are secretarial ones though many are capable of picking better jobs.” The corporate world is adamantly against employing retired people, he states.
“Take for instance, companies with dealerships, like Phillips. It has about 80,000 franchisees across India. If they insert a clause in the agreement that they will have to employ a retired person in any capacity at their showroom, 80,000 retired people will find job at one go,” he points out. Letters have been sent to corporate houses but nothing has come of it so far. “It has to come from top management,” he says.
Rath explains why employing older persons is a better choice for companies, “You don't have to raise their salaries every year, you don't have to deal with the arrogance of youth. Instead, old people will be ever grateful for giving employment.”
With the help of a diagram, Rath, an MBA, explains how in India, most voters are older people, the leaders are old too and yet “we don't have a policy for older persons.” The National policy for older persons “was a hogwash, it was to counter the global criticism of our nuclear test.” With the policy gone for a review now, he asks, “What for, it was never implemented.”
The root cause
At present, Rath has over one lakh persons registered for jobs and so far, he has helped 30,000 people find employment. No money is charged for the service. As of now, traders, shopkeepers and small enterprises are willing to use the experience of retired people. To survive the odds, Rath says, “We have encouraged retired teachers to take up tuitions in their colonies, the money is good.” Those with financial background are encouraged to start bookkeeping for small enterprises which can be done from home too. “Commuting long distances everyday is a problem for some older persons, these jobs suit them better.”
Ever struggling to find avenues for the retired, Rath states, “But collectively, we have no problem when an older person runs the country.” Rath then hits the nail on the root of the problem. “Today's older generation had never seen their earlier generation living at their age, so they never prepared themselves for it. So is the case with our society and the government, the phenomenon of having so many healthy senior citizens who are not willing to lead a retired life is new to all of us. After two-three such generations, we will have a better way of addressing old age and their needs.”
Agewell activities
The Foundation runs a 24 hours helpline for older persons. It recieves about 150 calls a day. The numbers are: 011-29836486 / 29840484
It has used its access to older persons from across the country to do research work on 15 topics affecting senior citizens so far.
Its counsellors look after about 100 older persons across Delhi through its scheme of lifetime membership at a one-time fee of Rs.5000.
It has a huge volunteer network countrywide. To work as one in any city, you can call its helpline numbers.
It has published booklets on subjects like how to handle bedridden patients, and depressed older persons.
