The founders of Sharan – T.S. Venkatraman (L) and R.Shanker (R).
The number of senior citizens with children settled abroad and those living alone because of the breakdown of the joint family system has multiplied manifold. Correspondingly, the number of Senior Citizen Homes (SCHs) with excellent infrastructure and services for senior citizens has also grown. But what about those who cannot afford such expensive SCHs or those not in a position to move to an SCH for several reasons? Many of them lead an insecure and lonely life. What kind of support system do they have?
This is where informal groups of friends come together in many cities to provide help and support in times of need to such people. This story is about “Sharan”, started by a few friends in the Adyar neighbourhood in South Madras in 2008. Reflecting on its origin R. Shanker, one of the two founders with children living abroad, has this to say:
“During my walk in Indira Nagar, Adyar, one day, someone tapped me on the shoulder. It was my friend T.S. Venkataraman, whose children also live abroad. He talked about the need for a few friends living alone in the neighbourhood to come together to form an informal support system – to support the elders in their own homes, particularly during health emergencies, apart from offering any other help they need.”
Both friends decided to act on the idea with a few more friends. The result was the birth of Sharan, an association of senior citizens, which was registered under the Tamil Nadu Societies Act in 2010 with the primary objective of providing ‘Mutual Support’ to its members.
T.S. Venkataraman adds, “We initially faced difficulties in enrolling members, as many were sceptical about the need for one more association. Two well-written articles about Sharan in The Hindu supplement “Downtown” and a report in Adyar Times catalyzed to create more awareness about Sharan among residents of Adyar and adjoining areas. What differentiates Sharan from the other associations is its aim to promote among its members the spirit of mutual support; a desire and mindset in every member to help others in the group in times of need to the extent possible.
An ex-Sharanite, Hariharan, with help from his designer son, helped design the Sharan logo. The visual of multiple stretched hands represents the motto of Sharan: “Towards Mutual Support”. Another Sharanite, Dakshinamurthy @ Kavignar Thenmugan, wrote the lyrics for a special Sharan Anthem, which was set to music by the Sharanites, Radha Shanker and Usha Sethuraman.
Every meeting of Sharan starts with this anthem sung by a couple of Sharanites. Sharan is managed by a committee consisting of the President, Secretary, Treasurer and six members who are elected by the members and hold office for a period of two years. The first President of Sharan was Prof V. Narasimhan. He was followed by T.R. Gopalan, R.S. Bakshi, and Dr. H. Raman. Since the beginning, Sharan has seen the Presidents and their Secretaries, with the active support of the Management Committee members, doing a commendable job.
In order to provide opportunities for members to bond, Sharan regularly organises cultural and social activities. Within ten years since Sharan started scores of activities covering lectures, visits to old age homes, outstation trips both within the country and abroad, Temple visits, celebration of all important festivals, musical evenings, workshops on health-related subjects and many other activities which would help members bond, were held regularly. On the personal level, any appeal or help sought by members through telephone calls or messages in the Sharan WhatsApp group was promptly addressed by members living close to the affected person.
Like all other associations, Covid Pandemic made Sharan go online. It was in July 2021, when the pandemic was at its peak, that K. Vishwakumar took over as the fifth President of Sharan with Raji Venkatesh as his secretary for a second term.
Raji says, “We conducted virtual meetings with Sharan members month after month during the first seven months from Aug 2021 to Feb 2022. In May 2021, the chanting of the Dhanvantri Mantra by a group of dedicated Sharanites was started for the good health of all members. I am glad to say that this online chanting is continuing even now every day without a break.”
It is interesting to note that a big Dhanvantri homam was performed on December 12, 2025 at Viswakumar’s residence for the well-being and prosperity of all members and mankind.
When the physical meetings started again, Vishwakumar offered the air-conditioned meeting hall on the second floor of Kokiladvani in Valmiki Nagar, which he owns, for free to Sharan to conduct all its meetings. He has also provided a basic sound system and a screen for use in meetings.
This hall can comfortably accommodate about sixty people. Since then, Sharan has had all meetings at this Hall. Only for special meetings like the AGM or the Founders Day celebrations, where the attendance is bigger, outside venues are considered. Expenses related to some of these meetings are sponsored by some members. This has helped Sharan save a considerable amount used for hiring a hall and paying for refreshments.
It was during Vishwakumar’s tenure as the President that Sharan brought out a book commemorating the Pearl Anniversary (12th Anniversary) of Sharan. The book gives not only the history of Sharan but also a brief bio of its members. Though Smt Janaki Venkatraman and R. Parameshwaran have succeeded him as President, Vishwakumar, supported by his wife Geetha, continues to be a live wire Past President, extending every possible help to the new teams in their efforts.
The members of Sharan.
Some of the new ideas introduced during the last three years include revival of Sharan E magazine (a quarterly online magazine edited by Parameshwaran), formation of three distinct WhatsApp groups covering Sharan News, Sharan Greetings and Sharan entertainment to ensure that important information is not lost in the deluge of responses and forwards by members and the formation of special interest groups like cards, music, share market, chit chat, potluck, etc. Besides programmes like Chai Pe Charcha and breakfast meetings in members’ homes, the President and Secretary also visit the homes of the new members and others who are having mobility problems, creating better bonding.
Sharan started with just 10 members. As of June 2026, it has 130 members. Interestingly, except for a few singles, most of the members are couples. Ladies take a more active part than men in all the activities. From an informal association of a few friends, Sharan has evolved into a very vibrant group which is run on professional lines while retaining the core principle of friendship & mutual support. It is a fact that in today’s digital world, it is friends, more than the family, who help in fighting loneliness among elders.
I would like to conclude this article with a quote from a member, Mrs Malthy Sinha, “Good friends are like stars; you don’t always see them, but you know they are always there for you.”
— by R.V. Rajan, rvrajan42@gmail.com