Grandmama to 3 kids
Nita Ambani is the chairperson and founder of the Reliance Foundation, Dhirubhai Ambani International School and a director of Reliance Industries. She is also a professionally trained Indian classical dancer and is currently grabbing attention for her dream project – Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre.
In several past interviews, Nita Ambani has talked in detail about her life and values, and her various roles as a businesswoman, philanthropist, wife, mother and numerous other roles. Recently, the entrepreneur talked about her role and responsibilities as a loving grandmother to 3 kids – Prithvi Akash Ambani, Krishna Piramal and Aadiya Piramal.
Prithvi is son of Akash Ambani and Shloka Mehta, while the twins Krishna and Aadiya are the children of Isha Ambani and Anand Piramal. Currently, Shloka Ambani is expecting her second child.
'Remember you are not the mother'
In an interview with The Week magazine, Nita Ambani shared that her son Akash continuously reminds her that she should remember she is not the mother, but the grandmother of these little ones, when it comes to her roles and responsibilities.
"Akash keeps on telling me, ‘Mom, you have to remember you are not the mother.’ But I am as hands-on as any grandmother would like to be, while also giving enough space to the parents to do their things,” she said.
‘Give them unconditional love’
“Luckily, I don’t have to discipline them now, that is the parents’ job. With my children, I was very conscious. My job is to give them unconditional love," Ambani added.
Responsibility as a grandparent
“I believe children absorb what they see around them,” she said. “I think, as grandparents, we have the responsibility of transferring the values to our children, which they will learn from us.”
Remembering her own grandparents
In the same interview, Nita Ambani shared that she lived in a joint family and her “grandfather was a French professor and worked for the Birlas.” Her grandmother was a Gandhian and Ambani remembers her as a “highly principled lady.”
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'Interest is more important than the principal'
The doting grandmother ensures not just pouring love on her grandchildren, but also teaching them skills and values from early on.
She shared, “I was practicing for the NMACC opening and I used to make Aadiya, Isha’s four-and-a-half month daughter, lie down on the cot thinking, ‘let her soak in whatever she can absorb’. I tell them, ‘for me the interest (grandchildren) is more important and more precious than the principal (children)’.”
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