The Warmth of the September sun did not daunt Neeta Ambani to sit in the dug-out at the Sector 16 Cricket Stadium. For the self-confessed,complete cricket addict, theres nothing that comes close to the experience of a nail-biting cricket match,watched live. The long,six-hour flight from Mumbai to Chandigarh notwithstanding,Neeta glowed in pink,her warm smile reaching her eyes,as she cheered for her team Reliance 1,which played its second match in the J P Atray Tournament on here. Its so wonderful to be here. After Mumbai Indians,Reliance has been gripped with cricket fever and Reliance 1 gives young players a chance to play with star players. Its going to be a learning experience for them,not just on the field,but even off it,including the dressing room, the youthful energy and the gleam in their eyes,smiles the classic beauty,is heartening to watch. Playing mentor to young players,being a totally involved mother,an enthusiastic educationist,multi-tasking,agrees Neeta,comes easy to women,and they do it the best. Sports,education and arts are the three passions which drive her,during IPL 1,I was involved with the softer aspects of cricket,but during the South Africa tour,I left my children who were in the middle of their exams to be there for the matches. After that,my involvement with the game has been complete and Reliance 1 is a step towards the development of sports in India and a platform for young talent. Talking of platforms,is expansion in the field of education also on the agenda? We began the Dhirubhai Ambani International School as an experiment to bring international education to India,one thats worked really well,but its rural education,at the grass-roots level that I now want to focus on, adds Neeta. While cricket does rule the day,Neetas also back to her first love,classical dancing and attributes her new,lean look to her daily riyaaz,yes.cant think of anything else that I have done. I am now practicing every day for more than an hour and am also open to small concerts. Ive been dancing since I was five and I was spotted as an Ambani bahu during a dance recital, Neeta gets back to the game.
