me and Nita

This week I picked up the recent issue of Vanity Fair, and found a story I could not put down.  (just ask my mom, who listened patiently as I followed her around her house, reading paragraphs aloud to her:)


The article introduced me to Nita Ambani.  I was interested in reading about her attempts to raise three grounded, outwardly focused children.  I was intrigued that she transformed herself with a 100 lb weight loss through yoga and diet,  And how could I not want to know more about her just-finished-creation of the largest and most expensive house in the world?


But even more compelling was how Nita Ambani gives back to the world.  Read a small excerpt about her, in James Reginato's words, from the article.


In the past years Nita has built a series of enterprises that are proud success stories in contemporary India, including an international preparatory school, a premiere League cricket team, the nation's first Braille newspaper in Hindi, and a 400 acre model township that houses 12,000 people and stands adjacent to the world's largest oil refinery.  A 400 bed hospital wing is under construction and plans are proceeding for a world class university on 1000 acres of property.


While it is true that all of these undertakings are owned or financed by her husband, Mukesh, the richest person in India and the 19th richest in the world, Nita has earned respect in her own right through the country for her vision, drive and willingness to get her jeweled and manicured fingers dirty.


In 1997, when Mukesh was building the world's largest oil refinery, he put Nita in charge of creating an entire town from scratch in order to house the facility's work force of 4,800 and their families.  Located in the remote desert near the city of Jamnagar, in Gujarat, the new town required a hospital, a school, recreational centers, and shopping facilities, in addition to housing.  For about two years, she commuted to the site three times a week, leaving at seven am on one of the company plans for the hour long flight to Jamnagar, where she worked out of tin sheds in blistering heat, wading through brambles and bushes to various construction sites.


While the township has been recognized world wide as a model project, what Nita accomplished in the arid countryside around it is just as extraordinary.  She and Mukesh planted 138,000 mango trees on what was once barren land, to create the largest mango orchard in Asia.  Planting another 2.4 million mangrove trees for good measure, they basically built their own rain forest, which has altered the area's micro-climate and eco-system: the trees have brought rain, which in turn has brought migratory birds and animals.   


Wow!  Right?  And this is only a small taste of her accomplishments.  What?  You want to know more?  How about this....

...Emboldened, Nita decided Mumbai needed a first-rate preparatory school that was up to international standards.  Before the Dhirubhai Ambani International School opened its doors, in 2003, she attended to its every detail, riding school buses to assess their comfort, designing uniforms, choosing fabric for upholstery, sampling the cafeteria fare, as well as planning the curriculum and overseeing faculty appointments.  The school is now ranked as one of the best in India.  Vanity Fair June 2012  James Reginato

This woman is a tornado of plans, resources and energy.  O.K. I'm putting the magazine down.  Even though that means I can't write about how Nita remodeled the nation's scrubby rugby team into victorious champions...


Here's what learning about Nita made me think about personally.


1.  When I day dream about being, say for example, the 19th richest person in the world, my thoughts usually go to what I won't have to do any more.  Permanent vacation from work, never have to scrub another toilet, no more trying to figure out what's for dinner because my chef will have that covered.  Etc, etc, etc. Harmless, I think, since there is no danger of me actually becoming filthy rich.  But still, I'm so inspired that someone who actually has that kind of money spends so much time looking for ways to help others.  To the extent of revolutionizing educational systems and developing new rain forests.  Wow again.  Surely there can be ways I can be more like that, more generous, less selfish, even on a budget.


2.  This article reminded me again of how big our world is.  For the most part my world is Buncombe country.  All 660 square miles of it. And yes, I am the center of this little universe.  And then I read about this remarkable woman, who I have never heard of, in a place I know nothing about.  It's humbling to be reminded of my place in this global community.  To continue to grow and flourish in my little place, but to be thoughtful and compassionate to my world.  Tonight I am anticipating the Olympics in London, and am grieving with the families in Aurora, Colorado.  It's a start.


Thank you Nita.  Keep up the good work!