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I believe he had God's gift: Goenka

Rama Prasad Goenka

I first met Dhirubhai Ambani in the early 1980s, though I had heard about him earlier. It was a meeting that happened quite by chance in New Delhi. To be honest, we were both waiting for T A Pai with whom we had separate appointments.

I was very impressed by his analytical mind and clear vision and also overwhelmed by his charm and behaviour. I took an instant liking for him and I felt it was reciprocated.

We used to meet quite often at various places, mostly in Delhi and Mumbai, and as a rule we got on very well together. We never let our short meetings be hijacked by our business interests. In fact, we never discussed business.

What did we discuss? That will be our secret. But when two like-minded gentlemen meet they have many things to discuss. There was also a lot of friendly banter involved.

I used to visit his residence in Mumbai quite often and enjoyed visiting the family. I have pleasant memories of these visits to the Ambani home and my last meeting with him was about two years ago when he called me over and I spent quite some time with him at his residence.

Dhirubhai Ambani was a man without parallel. There is no other way I can describe him and I think this assessment is beyond discussion. For many years, people have discussed his achievements in the world of Indian business and I am sure this will be so for many years in the future.

The successes he attained in one lifetime will astound and confound businessmen and young people for the next 100 years. Even economic writers will find themselves describing the rise of Dhirubhai Ambani with a sense of awe and wonder to the next generation.

I firmly believe what he had was God's gift. Others will mention his initiative or his vision but all these were but parts of the gift he received from God. Indian business is poorer by the loss of its star performer. Generations to come will find it difficult to believe that so much could be achieved by one man in one life.

As told to Pradeep Gooptu over the telephone from the Ritz Carlton hotel in Hong Kong.

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