COIMBATORE: When R Arumugam (80) and his wife A Dhanabakkiyam (75) looked at what they had accumulated over a lifetime in Coimbatore, they did not see mere land or property. Their eyes locked on to something that could outlive them — a shelter of love. The image flickered through their minds, filling them with a sense of serenity.
The retired couple, both ex-government employees, had owned a 32-cent plot in Arisipalayam near Madukkarai, valued at approximately Rs 1.60 crore. They could have easily kept it as an asset, but in an act of compassion, they chose to give it away. Today, that land is home to ‘Anbu Kudil’, an 8,000-square-foot residential facility for elderly blind people who have been abandoned and left without support.
Constructed by the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) at a cost of around Rs 2 crore, Anbu Kudil was inaugurated in May 2026 and became fully operational on July 24, 2026. Five elderly blind residents now live under its roof, receiving food, accommodation and medical attention free of cost.
For Arumugam and Dhanabakkiyam, however, the story began long before Anbu Kudil opened its doors.
Arumugam of Palani, who worked as an administrative staff member in a government school in Coimbatore, and Dhanabakkiyam of Coimbatore, who worked as a nurse in a government PHC, purchased the 32-cent plot with their hard-earned savings in the 1990s.
Over the years, the couple, who has no children of their own, quietly watched the vulnerabilities faced by the people around them. “At a family function of a visually-impaired relative, we saw how blind people support one another. We decided then that we must do whatever we could for them. We did not have large amounts of cash, so we chose to give the land we owned. It was only a seed. Many good-hearted people have joined hands and turned it into a great tree. We feel deep contentment,” said Arumugam.
The idea found a path through T Sadhasivam, coordinator of NFB, who had known the couple through the organisation’s work in Coimbatore. For 15 years, NFB has been running free coaching classes for blind students preparing for competitive examinations so they can secure government jobs. It also provides free boarding and food for those students at its centre in Varadharajapuram.
In 2019, Sadhasivam shared with the couple a dream he had been carrying: to establish a free residential home specifically for destitute elderly blind people. “We do not have cash to give right now,” they told him, “but we will donate our land in Arisipalayam for this service. Use it to build the centre and begin the work.”
Within a short time that same year, they executed the gift deed in favour of NFB. The land was their contribution. Others followed. With contributions from many well-wishers, the two-crore-rupee building was completed — a permanent home where elderly blind people without anyone to care can live free of cost for the rest of their lives.
Sadhasivam stressed that the home welcomes any visually-impaired person above 60 who has no one to care for, irrespective of which part of India they come from. Food, shelter and medical care are provided free of charge for life.
Anbu Kudil is not the first time this couple turned what they owned into something meant for others. About 20 years ago, after retirement, they constructed a school on 2.5 acres of land they owned in Nachipalayam near Madukkarai. For four years, the school offered free education up to high school level to children from poor families.
When they could no longer sustain the institution financially, they donated the land and school to a trust about a decade ago, with the explicit condition that free education for underprivileged students must continue.
The latest gift is therefore not an isolated act of generosity. It continues a quiet philosophy the couple has followed for years: to turn personal assets into lasting public good.
Anbu Kudil now stands with five residents already beginning a new chapter of their lives under its roof, free from the fear of abandonment. More are expected to join as word spreads.
(Edited by Jotsna Bellani)