Resident Shushila Jain, who is about 80, sits on her bed at Saint Hardyal Educational and Orphans Welfare Society, or SHEOWS, a home for the aged and unwanted, Friday, April 12, 2024 in Garhmukteshwar, India. Jain believes they are living in what Hindus call Kali Yuga, the worst of times, a period marked by conflict and cataclysm. She raised two sons and two daughters and cared for her husband and in-laws and three grandsons, too. But no one reciprocated as her own needs grew. "I never thought it would come to this," she says. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Kusum, 48, who doesn't use a surname, dances to a traditional Hindi song as part of the morning activities at Saint Hardyal Educational and Orphans Welfare Society, or SHEOWS, a home for the aged and unwanted, Friday, April 12, 2024, in New Delhi, India. Shelters are struggling to accommodate a swell of exiles. Though India has experienced decades of phenomenal growth, economics are a major driver of abandonment. Most older people in India do not receive a pension, government assistance or health insurance and families are often looked to for support. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Residents begin their day with yoga at Saint Hardyal Educational and Orphans Welfare Society, or SHEOWS, a home for the aged and unwanted, Saturday, April 13, 2024, in Garhmukteshwar, India. A feeling of acceptance is pervasive here. Those who call this home may have been cast away by their families, but they have been saved from the streets. Comfort comes with the rhythm of reliable meals and afternoon teas and their own quiet prayers. Castes disappear and friendships bloom. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
A father holds his baby during an evening Aarti, a Hindu religious offering, along the bank of the Yamuna River, Sunday, April 14, 2024, in Vrindavan, India. Until recently, Indian widows were expected to follow the sociocultural codes of a patriarchal Hindu society that demands a woman lead a life of asceticism after a husband's death. The holy city of Vrindavan, which has thousands of temples, is known as the City of Widows because it has given shelter to thousands of these women. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Dr. Salim Ahamad, left, and nurse Manisha Polak check on residents in the hospital at Saint Hardyal Educational and Orphans Welfare Society, or SHEOWS, a home for the aged and unwanted, Saturday, April 13, 2024, in Garhmukteshwar, India. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Residents gather in the foyer of the government-run ashram Krishna Kutir in Vrindavan, India, Monday, April 15, 2024. For hundreds of years, its serpentine maze of temple-lined streets and alleys have drawn widows whose families abandoned them after the death of their husbands left them branded as purveyors of bad luck. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
A man living on the street is urged by passers by to go with an ambulance from the Saint Hardyal Educational and Orphans Welfare Society, or SHEOWS, a home for the aged and unwanted, Thursday, April 11, 2024, in New Delhi, India. By 2050, two-thirds of the world's population of people 60 and older will reside outside the world's wealthiest nations. India is projected to see growth among its old that far outstrips that of the young. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Residents tend to the gardens at Saint Hardyal Educational and Orphans Welfare Society, or SHEOWS, a home for the aged and unwanted, Saturday, April 13, 2024, in Garhmukteshwar, India. The backgrounds of many here might be surprising, including academics, businesspeople and professionals. SHEOWS residents are more likely to hail from middle-class families than poor ones. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Women line up for food distribution for abandoned women and others in need on a site where the charity plans to build an ashram, Sunday, April 14, 2024, in Vrindavan, India. For hundreds of years, its serpentine maze of temple-lined streets and alleys have drawn widows whose families abandoned them after the death of their husbands left them branded as purveyors of bad luck. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Baleshwar, who does not use a surname, is lifted onto a stretcher by onlookers and Avanish Kumar, left, part of a rescue crew from Saint Hardyal Educational and Orphans Welfare Society, or SHEOWS, a home for the aged and unwanted, Thursday, April 18, 2024 in New Delhi, India. Baleshwar had been living on the street with a fractured leg when he was found. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Files of former residents are stored in two categories, those who have died and those who have been reunited with family, at Saint Hardyal Educational and Orphans Welfare Society, or SHEOWS, a home for the aged and unwanted, Saturday, April 13, 2024, in Garhmukteshwar, India. It is left unsaid when someone arrives here: More than likely, this is the place they will die. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Atmaram, who does not use a surname and was found living on the street, is transported by ambulance to the Saint Hardyal Educational and Orphans Welfare Society, or SHEOWS, a home for the aged and unwanted, Thursday, April 11, 2024, in New Delhi, India. The stories of the abandoned are often incomplete, riddled with holes punched by time, their reticence and, sometimes, the fog of dementia. Atmaram is no different and, this night, has no explanation for why he was living on the street. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Resident Vijaya Lakshmi, 85, walks through a courtyard at Saint Hardyal Educational and Orphans Welfare Society, or SHEOWS, a home for the aged and unwanted, Friday, April 12, 2024, in Garhmukteshwar, India. SHEOWS has taken in 10, 000 people since its founding, but there is no reliable tally of India's total population of abandoned elders. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Avanish Kumar, approaches a man living on the street to offer transporting him to the Saint Hardyal Educational and Orphans Welfare Society, or SHEOWS, a home for the aged and unwanted, Thursday, April 11, 2024, in New Delhi, India. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Rajhu Phooljale, 65, weeps while recalling his story of abandonment as he's comforted by Dr. Salim Ahamad, right, and manager Naved Khan at Saint Hardyal Educational and Orphans Welfare Society, or SHEOWS, a home for the aged and unwanted where he is a resident, Saturday, April 13, 2024, in Garhmukteshwar, India. "I nurtured them from the time they were small," he says. "Isn't it their duty to take care of me?" (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Atmaram, who does not use a surname and was found living on the street a day earlier, eats breakfast at Saint Hardyal Educational and Orphans Welfare Society, or SHEOWS, a home for the aged and unwanted, Friday, April 12, 2024, in New Delhi, India. Some clues about Atmaram's past drip out in the days to come: He used to make clay pots. He and his brother shared a home with their respective wives. His wife died, then his brother. Then, his sister-in-law forced him out. "This house is not yours," he says she told him. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Abandoned by her sons, Brajrani Gaur, 62, left, sews a garment as part of the skill development classes offered at the government-run ashram Krishna Kutir, where she is a resident, Monday, April 15, 2024 in Vrindavan, India. An Indian born just 70 years ago was forecast to live nearly half as long as one today. But longer lives have often brought with them greater medical need and thrust the next generation into economic binds that force them to balance the needs of their parents with the needs of their own children. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Residents are served lunch at Saint Hardyal Educational and Orphans Welfare Society, or SHEOWS, a home for the aged and unwanted, Saturday, April 13, 2024, in Garhmukteshwar, India. By 2050, two-thirds of the world's population of people 60 and older will reside outside the world's wealthiest nations. India is projected to see growth among its old that far outstrips that of the young. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Yellamandha, who doesn't use a surname and is about 30 years old, poses for a photograph with the image of how he was found on the street by Second Chance Foundation, a rescue home for the abandoned and elderly where he is a resident, Tuesday, April 16, 2024, in Hyderabad, India. Shelters are struggling to accommodate a swell of exiles. Though India has experienced decades of phenomenal growth, economics are a major driver of abandonment. Most older people in India do not receive a pension, government assistance or health insurance and families of those who need care, young and old, are often looked to for support. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
The Madan Mohan Temple rises in the background Monday, April 15, 2024, in the holy city of Vrindavan, India, also known as the "City of Widows." For hundreds of years, its serpentine maze of temple-lined streets and alleys have drawn widows whose families abandoned them after the death of their husbands left them branded as purveyors of bad luck. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Renu Dasi, who said she was 106, smiles at five-month-old Saanvi Dagur while visiting with his parents who donate to the Maitri Ghar Vidhwa Ashram where Dasi is a resident, Sunday, April 14, 2024, in Vrindavan, India. Until recently, Indian widows were expected to follow the sociocultural codes of a patriarchal Hindu society that demands a woman lead a life of asceticism after a husband's death. The holy city of Vrindavan, which has thousands of temples, is known as the City of Widows because it has given shelter to thousands of these women. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Mustan, left, who doesn't use a surname, helps lead fellow resident Begam, who also goes by one name and is blind and deaf, through a morning walk in the small courtyard at Second Chance Foundation, a rescue home for the abandoned and elderly, Wednesday, April 17, 2024, in Hyderabad, India. By tradition, Indian parents live with a son, who is responsible for their care, though in practice, the work typically falls to women. That remains the norm. In the very worst cases, parents are ousted from their home by a child in a dispute over money or in a wits-end solution to incontinence they can't stomach or dementia they can't handle. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Atmaram, who does not use a surname and was found living on the street, is washed up as he's brought to the Saint Hardyal Educational and Orphans Welfare Society, or SHEOWS, a home for the aged and unwanted, Thursday, April 11, 2024, in New Delhi, India. His shower is done and Atmaram is given fresh clothes and served a hot meal on a metal tray before being shown to a bed in a communal room. The shelter's staff has repeated this routine many times but none utters what they know to be true: Few who arrive here will ever see their families again. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
The scars from an infestation of maggots are seen on the leg of Sikander, who doesn't use a surname and his age is unknown, as he lays on his bed at Saint Hardyal Educational and Orphans Welfare Society, or SHEOWS, a home for the aged and unwanted, Saturday, April 13, 2024, in Garhmukteshwar, India. When he was picked up, maggots were infesting parts of his body and his lower back was so infested they believed if it was left untreated just a few more days, it would have caused severe damage to his spine. He told the staff, "I was thrown out of the house," they say. He has dementia. They say they often find him crying and they wonder if he is thinking of his family. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
A tear rolls down the cheek of Brajrani Gaur, 62, as she recounts how she was abandoned by her sons, Monday, April 15, 2024, as she sits in the government-run ashram Krishna Kutir, where she is a resident, in Vrindavan, India. By tradition, Indian parents live with a son, who is responsible for their care, though in practice, the work typically falls to women. That remains the norm, but a growing number of older Indians now have absentee children and inadequate help to keep up with expenses or care. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Traffic backs up during the evening commute, Thursday, April 18, 2024, in New Delhi, India. This is a country where grandparents routinely share a roof with children and grandchildren. But expanding lifespans have brought ballooning caregiving pressure, a wave of urbanization has driven many young far from their home villages and a creeping Western influence has begun eroding the tradition of multigenerational living. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
A resident walks past a mural at Saint Hardyal Educational and Orphans Welfare Society, or SHEOWS, a home for the aged and unwanted, Saturday, April 13, 2024, in Garhmukteshwar, India. SHEOWS houses about 320 people on 16 acres of land in this small north Indian city. Nearly all of them were abandoned by their families.(AP Photo/David Goldman)
Abandoned by his family, the body of Yadagiri, who didn't use a surname, is cremated as Jasper Paul, right, founder of Second Chance Foundation, a rescue home for the abandoned and elderly where Yadagiri was a resident, looks on Tuesday, April 16, 2024, in Hyderabad, India. No words are spoken and no tears are shed. When it is over, the ashes are scooped into a sack and placed in a locker. They will be held for a year in case a relative comes. Paul has arranged hundreds of funerals, though, and has little hope. "Nobody's going to come and claim them," he says, "even after they die." (AP Photo/David Goldman)
The body of resident Yadagiri, who didn't use a surname, is wrapped by Jasper Paul, left, founder of Second Chance Foundation, a rescue home for the abandoned and elderly, with the help of employee Mohammed Fahad, Tuesday, April 16, 2024, in Hyderabad, India. Beyond noting his name and that he was quiet, in declining health, and abandoned by his family, the staff don't know much more.(AP Photo/David Goldman)
A wheelchair sits in a room at Second Chance Foundation, a rescue home for the abandoned and elderly, Wednesday, April 17, 2024, in Hyderabad, India. Wealthy countries have grappled with aging societies for decades, but the issue is only now beginning to ripple in the developing world, where the idea of growing old is still new for swaths of the population. (AP Photo/David Goldman)