This story was part of HealthBeat's live storytelling event, “Aha Moments in Public Health,” held at Brooklyn's Powerhouse Arena Bookstore on November 18th. Watch the entire show here. Sign up here to receive Healthbeat's free New York newsletter.
My story begins in a small, sleepy village called Bangalamma Pettah in Andhra Pradesh, India, far from Queens.
In that village lived a gentle scholar named Vangapadu Lakshmi Naidu, my father.
A man who spent his days surrounded by books, ideas, and the quiet joy of thinking deeply.
But one day, age brought a silent thief, vascular dementia. Slowly, the words he loved so dearly began to fade away… until even the names of the people he loved could no longer reach him.
At the time, I was a young psychiatrist in New York.
I understood dementia theoretically. But when it hit home, my home, no textbook could prepare me for the pain.
And what hurt the most was that he had nowhere to go. There is no community center in his village. There is no space to meet, talk, laugh, or belong with people your own age.
he was isolated. And long before his illness did, that loneliness crushed him.
I wanted to take him to New York, but as I searched for culturally appropriate senior care, I kept hearing things like, “We don't have a curry facility.”
If doctors can't figure it out, what happens to elderly people who don't speak much English, living a daily life built over decades from the other side of the world?
Around me, I meet families like Dr. Kiran Dave, whose late mother Swarupa Kumari faced Alzheimer's disease with little culturally appropriate programming.
And Dr. Nagarajan, Dr. Deepika Sood's father, spent his later years longing for conversation, community…connection.
different families. Same pain.
My father made me a doctor at a time when girls were not necessarily encouraged to study, especially in villages like ours.
And yet…when he needed care the most, I couldn't give him what he really needed: a space to belong, to be understood, to feel at home. It's a pain that never goes away.
But it is also the fire that built India's home.
Because even if you can't change his ending, you can change the story of someone else's father or someone else's mother.
In doing so, I honor him every day.
In 2007, a friend and I founded a nonprofit organization, India Home.
What is my goal? To build spaces where our seniors can age with dignity, connection, and cultural pride.
It started small. In 2008, India Home established its first senior center that caters to South Asian values and culture at Adult Services Now in East Queens.
A few aunties. A few uncles. A little chai. some samosas too
And what about today?
Let's share what home care in India is like, not just by feeling but by real numbers.
arrival:
It operates five senior centers in Queens. Since our founding, we have served more than 5,000 South Asian and Indo-Caribbean seniors.
nutrition:
Last year, we served 60,000 group meals and 5,200 home-delivered meals. We hosted 70 food pantries. Provided 4,600 nutrition education credits.
Health and Wellness:
49,000 physical exercise sessions, plus yoga, meditation, and health education. Hosted 20 mental health group sessions.
Creative aging:
Offers 4,400 arts and cultural activities (painting, crafts, karaoke, jewelry making). Over 1,300 technology sessions for digital literacy. (Yes, we're teaching you WhatsApp, because nothing says connection like 73 unread messages from your cousin in Delhi.)
Dementia care:
For mild to moderate dementia, we provide “Digi Dementia Daycare” (3D Care) that involves cognitive and physical activities and provides support for caregivers.
housing:
We operate an innovative co-living residence for vulnerable seniors in Queens, providing communal living and case management.
Case management:
Support for SNAP, SSI, Section 8 Housing Vouchers, Access-A-Ride, and rental assistance. The success rate for benefit applications is 90%.
Community education:
Delivered 21,000 educational credits in English as a second language, citizenship coaching, elder abuse prevention, knowing your rights information sessions, Arabic language classes, and health workshops.
Special initiatives:
The SACCHI Project: South Asia Colon Cancer Health Initiative has impacted over 40,000 people with culturally adapted education.
Future plans:
The main center has been transformed into a South Asian community home with a library, arts and crafts corner, and technology lab. Providing seniors with 100% low-income affordable housing units.
At India Home, seniors don't just receive care. They rediscover community.
And the best part? You can feel it when you step inside.
You'll hear Hindi, Gujarati, Bengali, Urdu, Punjabi, English, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, Sinhalese, Creole…and smell the aromas of spices like cumin, cardamom, and black tea.
I hear laughter. Not from the staff, but from the elders who have rediscovered joy.
One aunty said, “I don't wait for the weekend anymore. I wait for Monday, because I can go home to India.''
When Monday becomes popular, you know you're doing something right.
And this space is not just for our parents. It's for us.
Because someday we will be that elder. Hopefully I'll do some yoga. It's probably a rumor after that.
And when that day comes, we will want a space that accepts us.
India Home is now a national model for culturally competent elder care. But for me, it's more personal.
Every smile I see there contains a piece of my father's legacy. He taught me that words can heal.
India Home is my way of providing that healing. One elder. One story. One day at a time.
What happens when compassion meets culture? You get an Indian homeland. A place where aging is celebrated rather than endured.
Dr. Vasundhara Kalasapudi, known as Dr. K., is a psychiatrist specializing in geriatrics. She is the founder and executive director of India Home. Her story was read out by India's Treasurer Neetu Jain at a Healthbeat event.
India Home sponsored the event.
