Mother India

This week belongs to just one person — Kokilaben Ambani. Ma ho to aisi! Honestly. Faced with one of the toughest jobs in the world (playing fair with two warring sons), she has emerged not just smelling of freshly-pressed gulab-attar, but like Hercules himself, strong, just and decisive. And to think, it was her, more than any of the other brilliant economic advisers co-opted by the feuding tycoons, who finally managed to come up with a solution.Imagine. A tiny, Gujarati lady with no fancy education, no airs and graces, nothing but a mother's steely determination and steady love to reclaim peace within her family, achieved what was being thought of as "Mission Impossible" in corporate circles — an acceptable division of an impossibly unwieldy and ridiculously huge empire.
Dhirubhai would have been immensely proud of his wife. A wife, who used to sit in at formal dinners presided over by her legendary husband, without as much as opening her mouth. A wife who raised a largish family without fuss, and learned conversational English along with the kids, when Dhirubhai decided to hire the services of a tutor for that very purpose — to make the proceedings of those frequent business dinners more accessible to Kokilaben. She must have imbibed one hell of a lot during these encounters, for with this single painless and swift act, she has emerged as Mother India — a shrewd and competent arbitrator, who could find her way adroitly through the complex maze that many before her had found dizzying.
More than anything else, Kokilaben's response and responsibility lay in her ability to be neutral. How tough is that! No matter what they say about a mother's love being blind/equal/unprejudiced, that's not how it works in real life. Mothers are human, too. All this talk of "Ma ki Mamta" is just that — talk. Sure, any mother aspires to be perfectly unbiased and completely fair at all times but is that possible, achievable or even desirable?
And Kokilaben is not just another mom. In this case, she's turned out to be surrogate mummyji to countless Reliance shareholders. Regular folks who'd invested their faith, trust, and money in her husband's dream. Along with her own biological offspring, these faceless men and women are also an integral part of the humongous Reliance Family. Not only has she discharged her duty to Anil and Mukesh, she has done the same for a much larger community as well. If the share market is bouncing, it is largely on account of her timely intervention.
Kokilaben's personal stock (not listed!!) has gone through the roof. Those who know this quiet, graceful lady, are giving her the entire credit for her role in resolving the battle. One will never know whether it was really she who gave the boys a deadline and a blueprint. But that's how history books will record this momentous decision. As for more lowly mothers of squabbling sons the world over, we shall continue to ask ourselves what we would have done in Kokilaben's place. While I personally loved Anil's "pillow talk", I couldn't help wondering whether it was the younger son syndrome at play. Younger sons in our society are often dubbed 'Mama's Boys' since they do receive different (read: preferential) treatment. Anil's frequent and mushy references to mom, have definitely contributed to that general impression.
The Dowager Empress has played a magnificent role, and shown that it's possible for a mother to be both Fair and Lovely, in a battle between sons. Except in this case, it was a fight over vast assets and a controversial legacy. Today, neither Mukesh nor Anil have to play the "Mere paas ma hai" card. The surgical incision has been clean and precise. Both men have displayed sobriety and maturity in victory. As for Kokilaben, she gets my vote as 'Hero No1'. The Boys will have to make do with Best Supporting Actors in a melodrama.