Remembering legends: Rare facts about Dhirubhai Ambani

Dhirubhai Ambani was one of the sons of a village school teacher, belonging to the Modh community, born in Chorwad Gujarat. His first step towards entrepreneurship was when he started selling chaat-pakoda to pilgrims at Mount Girnar in Gujarat. At the age of 17 in 1955, he made his first overseas trip to Aden in Yemen as he left his home to join his brother, Ramniklal. While in Aden, his first job was that of a gas station-attendant.

He initially served as a clerk at A Besse & Co., which then was the largest transcontinental trading firm east of Suez. He worked as an employee in Yemen. He then came to India with ₹1,000 and started a textile trading company in 1977. He started ‘Majin’ in partnership with Champaklal Damani, his second cousin, who lived with him in Turkey. Majin was to import polyester yarn and export spices to Yemen.

Dhirubhai Ambani founded Reliance Industries in 1977. The first office of the Reliance Commercial Corporation was set up at the Narsinatha Street in Masjid Bunder. It was a 350 sq ft (33m2) room with a telephone, one table and three chairs. Initially, they had two assistants to help them with their business.

During this period, Ambani and his family stayed in a two-bedroom apartment at the Jai Hind Estate in Bhuleshwar, Mumbai. In 1965, Champaklal Damani and Dhirubhai Ambani ended their partnership and Ambani started on his own. Ambani was a known risk-taker and believed in building inventories to increase profit.

Dhirubhai married Kokilaben in 1955. In an interview she said, “I did not dream that my life would change so much. It was after marriage that I saw Mumbai for the first time. I had not seen a car in Jamnagar, but when I went to Chorwad after marriage, my father-in-law, Hirachand Ambani, owned farms and bullock carts. Just before I left for Aden, Dhirubhai wrote to me, ‘Kokila, I have bought a car and I will come to collect you in that car. Guess what the colour of the car is?’ Then came the punch line! ‘It is black, like me.’ His sense of humour was something I adored most. When I reached Aden, he was there with the car. So from the bullock cart at Chorwad to the car at Aden and now on to planes and helicopters in Mumbai!”

Speaking fondly of him she also said, ‘Once Reliance was set up, newer directions opened up for us. Dhirubhai would always keep me updated on new projects and I would attend inauguration of every plant of ours. He would insist on my accompanying him to every function. When dignitaries came home, he would insist on my joining him. I was educated in a Gujarati-medium school and learnt English on Dhirubhai’s insistence. An English tutor used to come home to teach the children, and Dhirubhai suggested that I join them. I grabbed the offer. He made it a point to take me to different hotels and introduce me to international cuisine.’

Dhirubhai would remember his friends when he was planning an outing. After he got his aircraft, he would often ask Kokilaben to take her friends on the plane and helicopter. But it is said that he was also very down to earth and not arrogant.

His company was named and renamed often. First, he named his company as Reliance Commercial Corporation then renamed it as Reliance Textiles Pvt. Limited and finally to Reliance Industries Limited. He expanded his company’s business to textiles in 1968 under the brand name, Vimal. His diligence and perseverance ensured that Reliance became an international conglomerate and also earned the status of first Indian Private company to be rated by international credit rating agencies like S&P, Moody’s, etc in 1996.

His unauthorized biography, The Polyester Prince by Hamish McDonald, was published in 1998 but was not allowed for sale due to the legal threats by the Ambanis. In 2016, Indian Government honored him posthumously with the 2nd highest civilian award of India Padma Vibhshan.

Ambani was admitted to the Breach Candy Hospital in Mumbai on 24 June, 2002 after he suffered a major stroke. It was his second stroke, the first had occurred in February 1986 and had paralyzed his right hand. He was in a coma for more than a week and a number of doctors were consulted. He died on 6 July, 2002.