Ageing without the hassle

The silent swell of retired people and the impending outcome of a growing middle-aged population headed in that direction seem to be creating a burgeoning market for “senior” living, though what is less widely appreciated is how much creativity is being applied to addressing a critically important part of the built-up environment.

Purukul, a village on the outskirts of Dehradun, is home to Antara Senior Living, a part of the Max India Group. The property is set against an expansive background of the Mussoorie hills and the silence is broken only by the noise of construction equipment. The 14 acre complex will have around 200 apartments ranging from 1,400-6,000 square feet in size, priced from Rs 1.4-6 crore, replete with a living room, bedrooms, fully equipped kitchen and an extra room for staff.

Crafted by the best in the industry, Antara is working with Perkins Eastman from New York and Esteva I from Spain for the architectural layout. Construction continues apace and the only ready structures at the moment are a reception area and a sample apartment. But when it all clicks into place its senior inhabitants will be guaranteed a carefree time — every whim indulged, every need taken care of by the best expertise.

“We realised very fast that there wasn’t anything in India that was labelled for senior living. It was an opportunity for us to create a holistic, comprehensive, quality lifestyle for this particular age group and oer them services compatible with their needs. We don’t just want them to move in, we want to make sure they move home. It is for progressive, independent seniors who prefer living in such a community,” said Antara Senior Living CEO Tara Singh Vachani.

Antara got its nal shape only after Singh made many trips to the USA to study popular retirement communities like Shell Point in Fort Myers, Florida and Kendal on Hudson in New York. Her team of 200 involves people carefully chosen from various walks of life. A home at Antara comes with a bouquet of services such as daily housekeeping, laundry services, concierge services and lifetime maintenance — be it the ooring, plumbing, lighting or electrical appliances. All these services come at an immense fee – from Rs 40,000 to Rs 1.2 lakh a month. The charge includes one meal a day, limited medical care inclusive of a consultation with a specialist doctor every month and maintenance of the resident’s medical records.

The other facilities inside the community will include a clubhouse, a restaurant, a library, an arts and craft club, an indoor swimming pool and a gym and business centre. The focus is on enhancing and promoting a holistic approach that includes body and mind wellness and social, emotional, intellectual, occupational, spiritual and environmental wellness. There will be a total of nine buildings in the community, all of then be connected by a basement that will encourage residents to walk from one building to another to stay fit.

Antara’s aim is to create and preserve a thriving community of like-minded, like-aged residents and give them a hassle-free life. The focus of each dwelling is a large hall leading o to adjacent rooms and large sliding doors everywhere to accommodate wheelchairs. The community is open to people above the age of 55 and around 60 per cent of the apartments have already been leased. The logo itself is vision-oriented, inspired by the concept of the Hindu and Buddhist Mandala tradition, sacred geometry that exhibits radial balance.

The management team and consultants are a mix of leaders from various professional backgrounds — finance, strategy, hospitality, health care, operations and senior living. There are other exciting features, like cosy meditation corners, book-reading nooks, an organic vegetable garden and interesting walking paths.

The place boasts of a comprehensive eco-system that embraces and encourages the idea that life can be magical post-60. It offers the perfect blend of lifestyle, life care, service and hospitality and there are pristine trails and tumbling waterfalls to explore and a vast variety of ora and fauna to discover.

This quaint settlement allows for a unique and exciting opportunity to discover the exceptional attractions in and around Dehradun.