The Women Who Shaped My Journey — A Reflection on Strength, Values and Gratitude

Ahmedabad, March 2026 : Throughout my life, I have often felt that I exist between two very different worlds — the world of work and the world of family. The first is where ambition lives, where businesses are created, where challenges are faced and decisions are made every day. The second is quieter, but far more powerful. It is the place where strength comes from, where values are shaped, and where the true meaning of life is constantly rediscovered.

Everything I have achieved in the first world has been possible only because of the strength I draw from the second. On International Women’s Day, therefore, I want to pause and express my gratitude to the women who shaped my journey and helped build the foundation of my life.

Before the world began teaching me anything, my mother, Shantaben, had already begun shaping who I would become. My earliest classroom was not a school building. It was my mother’s lap. That was where I first heard the stories of our great epics — stories that were far more than simple tales. They carried lessons about courage, sacrifice, duty and faith. These stories quietly planted values in my mind long before I could fully understand them.

One story in particular remained with me through the years — the story of Kaushalya from the Ramayana. She was the mother who watched her son, Lord Rama, give up the right to his kingdom and walk away from Ayodhya to live in exile for fourteen years.

When I first heard that story as a child, I could not truly understand the depth of that moment. I could not imagine what it meant for a mother to stand there and watch her son walk into an uncertain future. At that age, the story simply felt like another dramatic episode from our epics.

But as the years passed, and as life unfolded in unexpected ways, I began to understand that moment differently.

At the age of sixteen, I left home for Mumbai with almost nothing in my pocket. Like many young men of that age, I carried only a dream — the belief that I must try to build something of my own. There were no guarantees, no clear path, only determination and hope.

My mother let me go.

Looking back today, I often think about what that moment must have meant for her. A mother who had given her youngest child everything she could — her care, her protection and her guidance — suddenly had to gather the courage to let him step into the unknown.

Over the years I have wondered whether she remembered the very stories she had once told me. Perhaps, somewhere in her heart, she recalled Kaushalya’s quiet strength.

I believe every Indian mother carries a little of Kaushalya within her — the courage to let her child step beyond the safety of home and begin his own journey.

Many decades later, when we launched the Adani Indology Initiative on the day of the Ayodhya temple inauguration, those childhood memories returned to me once again. I realised that the stories my mother shared had done something profound. They had planted in me the belief that civilizations endure when their values are remembered and passed on from one generation to the next.

India has many brilliant storytellers, writers and historians. But in my view, there is no greater storyteller of our epics than an Indian mother. Through these stories, mothers quietly pass on lessons of courage, sacrifice, faith and responsibility. They shape the moral compass of a child long before the world begins measuring success in terms of wealth or power.

If my mother gave me my values, my wife Priti has been the keeper of my conscience.

When we married, Priti was a qualified dentist with a promising professional future ahead of her. She could have pursued a successful career in her field. Yet she chose a very different path. She stepped away from her profession and, in many ways, from her own identity to dedicate herself to building the Adani Foundation.

What began as a small initiative has today grown into a movement that touches the lives of more than ten million people across 22 states of India. Through work in education, healthcare, sustainable livelihoods and community development, the foundation has brought hope and opportunity to countless families.

But for me, the real impact of this work is not found in statistics or reports.

Every evening when I return home after a long day at work, Priti usually has a story waiting to share. Sometimes it is about a young girl whose life changed because she was able to go to school. Sometimes it is about a farmer who has found new hope for his family. At other times it is about a community that has been empowered to build a better future.

Listening to these stories has become one of the most meaningful parts of my day. They remind me that progress is not measured simply by what we build, but by the lives we improve.

In public life, people often see the leader. They see the speeches, the meetings and the decisions. What they rarely see is the partner who quietly acts as the moral compass.

For me, Priti has always been that compass.

I have two sons — Karan and Jeet. For many years, I sometimes wondered what it might have been like to have a daughter. Life, however, has a way of fulfilling our wishes in unexpected ways.

When Paridhi and Diva entered our family, they did not arrive as daughters-in-law. From the very first day, they became daughters.

Both of them have built strong identities of their own. Paridhi is a remarkable lawyer — thoughtful, intelligent and deeply analytical. Conversations with her are always stimulating because she brings clarity and curiosity to every subject she discusses.

Diva expresses herself through creativity. She is one of the most imaginative designers I know, bringing artistry and originality into everything she creates. Yet what I admire most about her is her compassion. She works closely with specially-abled individuals, using her creativity to make a genuine difference in their lives.

Beyond their achievements, Paridhi and Diva have brought something equally important into our family — diversity of thought, fresh perspectives and a new generation’s energy.

With the arrival of Karan’s daughters, the balance in our household has shifted even further. Today our family of nine includes six women.

Which means, quite simply, that in our home every day feels like Women’s Day.

And now I come to the three apples of my eye — my granddaughters.

My colleagues know that when I am in the office, the atmosphere is usually serious. Meetings are intense, discussions are focused and every minute matters.

But there is one interruption that everyone has come to recognise instantly — the moment my granddaughters walk through the door.

In that instant, the Chairman disappears and a grandfather quietly takes his place.

Their laughter has a remarkable ability to dissolve the seriousness of any boardroom. Their curiosity reminds me how beautifully simple the world appears through the eyes of a child.

And when their tiny hands reach out to hold mine, I am reminded of something very powerful — the extraordinary trust that the next generation places in us.

A man can spend his life building ports, airports, power plants and businesses. He can devote decades to pursuing ambition, scale and progress.

But when a granddaughter climbs onto his lap and looks at him with complete trust in her eyes, everything suddenly becomes clear.

Why we build.

We build because the world we are shaping must be worthy of every child who will grow up in it.

So today, on Women’s Day, I want to say a simple but heartfelt thank you.

To my mother, who gave me the values that shaped my life.

To Priti, who has been my conscience and the quiet force behind a mission that has touched millions of lives.

To Paridhi and Diva, who brought strength, talent and perspective into our family.

And to my granddaughters, who remind me every day that the future must be worthy of the next generation.

If the world remembers anything from my journey, I hope it remembers this — the strongest foundations in life are not built with concrete or steel.

They are built by the people who shape who we become.

Happy Women’s Day to all.