A small but growing number of firms in Indian cities now sell company to older people, sending young companions who are paid by the hour.
In Gurugram, 26-year-old Roney Raju looks after the Budhirajas, a couple in their 80s. He takes them to the temple and sits with them at hospital visits.
They also play cards, and he listens. "I feel he understands me 200 percent," Budhiraja told Al Jazeera.
The companions are usually young graduates, many with social work degrees. They go through police verification before they start working with a senior.
Raju's boss, Gaurav Mittal, charges 450 rupees an hour for 10 hours a month, or 400 rupees an hour for a 25-hour booking.
That is out of reach for most people. India's average per capita income is about 220,000 rupees a year, so clients are mostly well-off city families.
Bengaluru founder Santosh Abraham says children worry about emergencies and errands, while their parents mostly wanted someone to talk to.
The idea is not new. A 2017 report counted at least five such startups, and in 2022 Ratan Tata promoted one based in Mumbai.
People over 60 made up 10.5 percent of India's population in 2022. That share is projected to reach 21 percent by 2050.
Academic Shilpa Bandyopadhyay says hiring a companion "should not automatically be interpreted as evidence that their families have failed."
Read the full report on rent-a-grandchild services in India on Trends News Stories.