My life is a tribute to Mumbai -- Dhirubhai

My life is a tribute to Mumbai -- Dhirubhai
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE

MUMBAI, DEC 16: It was a congregation of the creme de la creme from fields as diverse as business and commerce, politics, films, performing arts and the like. They were all there to give a standing ovation to industrialist Dhirubhai Ambani who was accorded the civic reception today by the BMC at the Kamala Nehru Park.

``My life is a tribute to Mumbai's generous heart,'' said Ambani after receiving the scroll of honour from Mayor Hareshwar Patil. The scroll, embossed with the seal of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation details on the contributions made by the industrialist and the accolades he won from both Indian and foreign institutions in recognition of his work. With this Ambani joins the ranks of the Prince of Wales (the first recepient in year 1876), Pherozshah Mehta, Subhash Chandra Bose, Dadabhai Nowroji, Dr Rajendra Prasad, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Mother Teresa, JRD Tata and Sunil Gavaskar.

``This is an honour to thousands of young men and women who have made Reliance what it is today,''Ambani said in his acceptance speech. It was also a good day for the BMC, with Ambani announcing that Reliance Infocom with assistance from Bharatiya Vidya Bhawan will arrange for computer education and training for 68,000 students from 51 municipal school. The programme will be followed by a second phase which plans to cover 5,000 upper primary municipal school.

Ambani, who was all praises for Mumbai in his speech, said that this city had given him opportunity when he had looked for it, had given him courage when he faced challenges, given him strength when difficulties had stared in his face. Moreover, the city had given him the spirit that has moved him throughout life.

``Yes I was born in Gujarat. But I was re-born in Mumbai. It is here that I developed the basic philosophy of life,'' said Dhirubhai, the man who had started his business career with only a table and chair at Rs 150 per month and a care-of telephone number for contacts. Going down memory lane, he spoke of his days at the commodity market at Bhat Bazaar and the yarn market at Tamba Kantha where he sharpened his business instincts.

Unlike government receptions, the civic reception which had a touch of class about it, began dot on time at 5.30 pm.

The reception, which witnessed about 1,500 guests, had Adi and Parmeshwar Godrej, Murli Deora and his wife, Jayawantiben Mehta, Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Bachchan and Abhishek Bachchan, Amar Singh, M F Hussain, Ananya Goenka, Anuradha Mahindra, Bharat Shah, Ronnie Mendonca and other dignitaries.

The Ambani family, which was present in full strength (children, grandchildren and all), hogged the limelight only to share it with the Bachchan family which strode in late causing a flurry among photographers, thus drowning the Mayor's speech.

The stage set for the reception was also different as it had the wives of the dignitaries also seated alongside with them on the dias. So there was Dhirubhai Ambani with Kokilabehn Ambani alongside and Anil Ambani standing guard behind his father throughout the function. Then there was the Mayor with his wife Chaya Patil, Deputy Mayor Arun Deo with his wife and Municipal Commissioner V Ranganathan and his wife. Only the Chief Minister, the Deputy Chief Minister and Leader of Opposition in BMC, Khan Bastiwalla made it to the stage without their better halves.