10 years of DAIS

As the Dhirubhai Ambani International School completes 10 years of its existence, I admire Nita Ambani for what she has created - out of sheer passion. She took on the task of creating a world class school and in ten short years has totally cracked it. 

I remember 10 years ago when we were moving to Mumbai and went school hunting. No school entertained us, and then someone recommended that we try the new Ambani School that was opening that year. I was not too keen - I thought it would be an elitist school and I did not want my kids to study in such a place. We called the School and they told us to come over - Mrs Ambani was there and  would meet us.

We were pleasantly surprised to meet Mrs Ambani. She was not dressed as she is for her photo shoots. She was in chappals, with her hair bunched up, as she chased the countless things that required her attention. She called us in for a meeting and spent a good half hour telling us her vision for the School.  (Truth be told, I only paid half the attention to her because my eyes were glued on her huge rocks!). While on our way out, a security guard got the dressing down of his life because a fire drill was on somewhere and he was still lolling around! We met the teachers and Nishna went through the admission process and we were impressed with the attention to detail on everything. 

Nita Ambani is relentless in her pursuit of excellence - and this is reflected in everything in the School. If grades are a success indicator, then the  Students get admissions  in Ivy League Colleges and year on year, the results are outstanding. 

But there are other indicators of success. An important one is the impeccable way in which children are paid attention to. The care is reflected in the bathrooms that are spanking clean, the classrooms that are bright and cheery, the learning centres that are world class,  the food that is served daily, and even the security drills that ensure the safety of the kids. The teachers  work tirelessly to deliver quality education to the kids and are always there to address an issue. The School sets best practices in all these areas. 

Perhaps the best indicator of success is the tremendous pride my kids have on being Indian. And this is driven by the School that celebrates Indian-ness in a big way. My children are proud Indians and also completely at ease with the International-ness of the whole experience. When they travel on school visits abroad, they come back with a fierce happiness that they are better at so many things than the others. 

It is easy to be dismissive and say that Nita has the backing of the Ambani power and clout. Yes, indeed she does - and she has channelised it well. The school events are impeccably organised and various luminaries from all walks of life visit the school for talks and student interactions. When Mumbai was flooded under, and kids could not make it back home, she flew in supplies to make sure that kids were safe , dry and fed. Her bodyguards helped School buses and children make it to safety. During the terrorist attack, she ensured that safety was hiked up in School and no untoward incident would take place there. When students go out on out-station trips, there is enough security to ensure safety. When a school student was fatally injured and battling for his life, Mrs Ambani stayed at the hospital with the family to support them. 

The lady has worked tirelessly to create a team that delivers world class education and a happy safe environment for her students. And she need not have done any of that. Most wealthy socialite wives adopt charities and make Page 3 appearances. It is easy to undermine or be dismissive, but this lady went out there and created something that has set standards for excellence.

And perhaps nothing brings home her success more than the presence of Mukesh Ambani at the Annual Days. He attends all of them and is unassuming and undemanding. And  the pride on his face when he views what his wife has achieved is priceless!