While talking about one of his favourite charitable causes VidyaGyan, an educational venture which picks the brightest of children from all over northern Uttar Pradesh and sponsors their education from Class 6 till 12, billionaire, philanthropist Shiv Nadar reveals that to make it big in life today on must have
the competitive spirit in them. He wants to inculcate this quality in kids from rural backgrounds so that they too get a real chance at success. “I went to a municipal school in rural Tamil Nadu, which was perhaps donated by a raja of a place. When I moved to the North to pursue my career, I met people who were so much better prepared than me in life. Not only were they competitive, even their parents were competitive for them.”
Though he is one of corporate India’s biggest success stories, Mr Nadar feels he didn’t have that competitive spirit since he was brought up to co-exist in peace. “When you come from a large family like I do (they are eight siblings), parents teach their children to co-exist with love and peace rather than compete.”
So guess the Tiger Moms of today do have a point when they tell their children to be the best in school. But Mr Nadar is not looking to groom business leaders. His aim is bigger, he wants to see at least one Prime Minister emerge out of VidyaGyan and helping him achieve this dream is his daughter Roshni. “My daughter is working with the Shiv Nadar Foundation and she may witness a PM emerge from this background in her lifetime.”
Chances of Roshni seeing this happen are high, as her mother Kiran says, “Shiv is a great father and a greater teacher to our daughter.”
Is Mr Nadar grooming her to head his company too? “No,” says Mrs Nadar, adding, “Roshni is not an IT expert and is certainly not being groomed to handle the company. She is actively involved with the foundation at present.”
Apart from the foundation which the family is very passionate about, they also love art and the Kiran Nadar Museum of Arts has some of the best works by famous Indian artists. When asked about the `16 crore Raza painting she picked up from an auction at Christie’s, Mrs Nadar casually says, “Oh..., it’s there at the museum, you must take a look.” But the paintings of the goddesses Lakshmi and Saraswati done by Raja Ravi Varma seem to be extra special to them as Mrs Nadar reveals, “We were at an auction when Shiv saw the catalogue and told me he wants them as they were original creations by Raja Ravi Varma. The deities are in his office and he loves them.”
Along with being proud owners of many Husains, the couple were also good friends with the late artist. “We had a wonderful relationship with Husain saab. I have known him since 1989, when he did a few paintings for our home. It’s rather unfortunate that the government could not protect him,” she says sadly.
Just like how they love to frequent auctions to pick up paintings, the family also loves to do lots of things together. “Our family loves to travel together. We go on safaris and last year went to South Africa to watch the soccer world cup, it was great fun,” said Mrs Nadar.