Essay
Born into the family of a village school teacher in a small village called Chowrad in Gujarat, India, Dhirubai Ambani is an apt example for the rags to riches story. This dynamic entrepreneur founded Reliance Industries in the year 1958 and Reliance Industries is the first Indian company to be featured in the Forbes 500 list and was also featured among the list of Top 50 businessmen in Asia by Sunday Times.
Dhirubai was a highly precocious student. He made extra money while still at school by selling onion and vegetable fries during village fairs. Unfortunately, he had to discontinue his studies after matriculation as his father became very sick and could not support the family. He left to Aden (now a part of Yemen) to work as a clerk with a firm called A.Besse & Co. He was 16 years then. At Besse, Dhirubai later worked in the commodities section if the firm where he learnt a lot about trading and business. Every night, during his stay at the boarding house with several other Gujarati boys working as clerks, Dhirubai used to spend hours trying to learn and improve his English grammar, essay writing skills, knowledge about current affairs. Jawaharlal Nehru’s the ‘Glimpses of World History’ and the ‘Discovery of India’ were his favourite books. Though he started reading these books as a means to improve his English vocabulary, these books opened to him a whole new world of adventure and human wisdom.
In 1958, he came back to India with a savings of Rs.50,000 to start a commodity trading and export firm with the name Reliance Commercial Corporation. Their first office was set up at the Narsinatha Street in Mumbai which was a 350 sq ft room with a telephone, one table and three chairs. Dhirubai was known to be a great risk taker. With his talent, knowledge about current affairs, keen business acumen and being able to anticipate price rises, Dhirubai was able to generate huge profits for Reliance Commercial Corporation.
In the year 1966, sensing a good opportunity
Dhirubai was a highly precocious student. He made extra money while still at school by selling onion and vegetable fries during village fairs. Unfortunately, he had to discontinue his studies after matriculation as his father became very sick and could not support the family. He left to Aden (now a part of Yemen) to work as a clerk with a firm called A.Besse & Co. He was 16 years then. At Besse, Dhirubai later worked in the commodities section if the firm where he learnt a lot about trading and business. Every night, during his stay at the boarding house with several other Gujarati boys working as clerks, Dhirubai used to spend hours trying to learn and improve his English grammar, essay writing skills, knowledge about current affairs. Jawaharlal Nehru’s the ‘Glimpses of World History’ and the ‘Discovery of India’ were his favourite books. Though he started reading these books as a means to improve his English vocabulary, these books opened to him a whole new world of adventure and human wisdom.
In 1958, he came back to India with a savings of Rs.50,000 to start a commodity trading and export firm with the name Reliance Commercial Corporation. Their first office was set up at the Narsinatha Street in Mumbai which was a 350 sq ft room with a telephone, one table and three chairs. Dhirubai was known to be a great risk taker. With his talent, knowledge about current affairs, keen business acumen and being able to anticipate price rises, Dhirubai was able to generate huge profits for Reliance Commercial Corporation.
In the year 1966, sensing a good opportunity