Dhirajlal Ambani was born on December 28, 1932 in Chorwar, Saurashtra, Gujarat. Hirachand Govardhandas was his father. He was a teacher by profession. The name of the mother was Jamunaben Hirachand Ambani. The family was very ordinary. Both the parents were of pious nature. Economically the family was not very rich but it was self dependent. Dhirubhai (Dhirajlal) was greatly influenced by the traditional ways and piety of his father and mother. It was his father from whom he learnt the first lesson of Karma philosophy. He was proud of his father being in a respectable profession like teaching. But it hurt his adolescent mind that such respectable profession could not make life rich financially. Perhaps it was this reason because of which Dhirubhai did not follow the tradition of the son carrying on the profession of the father. From the beginning he was moving into the path the destiny had charted out for him. He was the fourth child of the parents. The financial tightness of the family had given him a cue that in near future he would be expected to shoulder the responsibility of winning bread for the household. For this reason he could not continue his education. At matric level his learning ended and professional life began. He did some minor hawking business.
Then, his elder brother, Ramniklal called him to Aden to put him to some better gainful work. He started at the job of a clerk in A. Bessy & Co. There he showed the glimpse of his talent very soon. He made fast progress and at the young age of only 24 years won the post of General Marketing Manager of the distributor of Burma Shell Products. The company was owned by a Jew who had spotted the business acumen in the young Indian. The Jewish owner wanted to use his talent for advancement of his company. He thought that he had bought Dhirubhai with that well paid post and the Indian would remain yoked to the interests of his firm for life. But he had not read the ambitious mind of the young man correctly. Dhirubhai was not born to serve others in the capacity of an employee. He had dreams the fairy tales are made of and he believed in himself.
Everyone looked incredulous when in 1959, 24 year old Dhirubhai tendered his resingnation from the high post of that company. He wanted to return to the home country. The youngman had gained enough experience he needed to realise his dreams. To others his plans sounded more like pipe dreams. But the youngman had conviction in his ability and entrepreneurship. That is the confidence that separates the great from the ordinary. He knew he would be able to set up his own works in India. A 25 year old Dhirubhai returned to the home land. Back in Mumbai, with his small capital he floated Reliance Commercial Corporation. Having studied the Aden market Dhirubhai knew he would supply spices and other products in demand there. His company began to export ginger, turmeric, cardamom and cloth primarily to Aden. It also supplied any other item in demand. Dhirubhai started his trading business from a hired flat. Ambanis lived in a three room set on fourth floor of Apartment House-3 A of Jai Hind society in Bhuleshwar zone of South Mumbai. It was about 50 year ago when Dhirubhai had returned to India with his wife Kokilaben and son Mukesh. They were staying with brother Ramnik and Natu (his wife). With his good business sense and marketing talent at work, the trading business flourished and Dhirubhai prospered. Only four year hence he was able to buy a Fiat car which then used to be a big deal, a symbol of great financial advancement. His buying a car became the talk of the colony which was populated by middle class traders or employees. Then the people of the colonies of Mumbai lived in social ambience. Everyone knew every other person of the locality. A few years later Dhirubhai was blessed with another son who was named Anil. By then his business had expanded. He had shifted to a hired flat in ‘Usha Kiran Building’ situated on Eltamount Road. It was a five room set. Thus, began the business of a person who was to become later the king of Indian industries.
In his memoirs, Dhirubhai admitted that he had studied the ropes of the business world deeply while working for the distributor of Burma Shell Company of Aden. He alluded to an important point—‘Burma Shell Co. never flinched from spending money on business works (Research and development). In contrast Indian firms won’t even spend ten rupees on expansion work. For the same work the firm in Aden would gladly spend five thousand rupees. Because that company knew it was investment in future that would fetch it lacs of additional profit. It was not wastage of money but a wise investment made at proper time.
For this reason Dhirubhai later set up companies that dared to invest in future and put a question mark before the existing mindset of Indian business world. Because of him working system of the trade and business went through revolutionary changes. Some important points of 1932-1965 period were as the following:
- Dhirubhai was born in Saurashtra’s (Gujarat) Mogh Bania family. The same bania caste gave to the nation—Mahatma Gandhi.
- Due to financial difficulties of the family Dhirubhai couldn’t continue his education beyond matric.
- To financially help out the family he did not mind doing menial trade. As a teenage entrepreneur he sold bhajia packets to pilgrims at Girnar Hill on weekends.
- Before leaving for Aden Dhirubhai had to face the tragedy of untimely death of his father. His death reminded him harshly of his future responsibilities towards the family.
- During his employment with Burma Shell Company he kept feeling the market to see what he could export to that country when he started his business in India. He had already drawn up his future plans in his mind and suffered from no confusion or uncertainty.
- Dhirubhai started as a clerk and in less than a decade he went up the ladder to become the company’s General Marketing Manager inspite of the handicap of being just a matriculate in education.
- To take the country forward on the path of economic progress he resigned from a lucrative job and headed for the country. He wanted to be a part of the India Shining story.
- It was during this period he got married to Kokilaben who bore him two sons namely Mukesh Ambani and Anil Ambani. The two have separated and are taking the Dhirubhai legacy to new heights individually as the country’s two brightest stars.
