Dhirubhai Ambani's memorial was today inaugurated in Chorwad in the presence of estranged brothers Mukesh and Anil Ambani. It was inaugurated by the Ambani family guru Rameshbhai Oza.
After the inauguration, Mukesh Ambani was seen departing from Chorwad. The remaining members, including younger brother Anil, are expected to leave later in the day.
The Ambani clan had converged in Chorwad, which is their home-town, for Dhirubhai's 80th birth anniversary.
"The entire Ambani family got emotional at the inauguration of the memorial, which is nothing less than a Bharat Ratna type of fitting tribute to the patriarch Dhirubhai Ambani," Parimal Nathwani, Group president of Reliance Industries said.
Nathwani said it was significant that a memorial in his name came up at a place from where Dhirubhai began his career as a young entrepreneur. The house in Chorwad, where Dhirubhai lived, till he left for Eden (now Yemen), is transformed into a memorial. A memorial in the name of an industrialist is unheard in this part of country, Nathwani said.
It was after several years that estranged brothers Mukesh and Anil were seen together in public. Kokilaben Ambani and her two daughters--Dipti Salgaonkar and Neena Kothari, were among those present for the ceremony.
The family reunion in Chorwad took place after a hiatus of 15 years, the last one was in 1996, when Dhirubhai was present and a grand feast had been organised for the villagers, sources close to the Ambani family said.
Nathwani said that Ambani family took part in havan (ritual) yesterday and the reunion culminated with raas-garbha played at the Chorwadi temple premises. Anil, Nita and Tina Ambani were seen dancing to the tunes of garbha along with many other members of the family.
There were hopes that the two brothers might speak about the possibilities of them coming together again but no formal announcements were made.
"This was completely a family function and therefore no friends were invited," he added.
(With PTI inputs)
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