Nita Ambani’s daughter-in-law Shloka Mehta has had to deal with a huge bereavement in her family during the COVID-19 pandemic as she lost her mentor and grandfather Arunkumar Ramniklal Mehta earlier this week. He was in his 80s and had to be admitted to Mumbai’s HN Reliance Foundation Hospital after he fell down in the bathroom a few days ago. Mehta, who founded the famous diamond firm Rosy Blue India, has had a profound impact on the upbringing of his granddaughter Shloka, who’s married to Akash Ambani, the son of India’s richest businessman Mukesh Ambani.
It was late Arunkumar Ramniklal Mehta, who had inspired Shloka to take up philanthropy as part of her career. Speaking about her dada (grandfather), Shloka had once said, “My dada actively served on the board of several trusts and projects, and even today, after he has officially resigned, people continue to approach him. He never just signed a cheque but always went deeper and met the beneficiaries, got involved with the organization and its processes.”
Ramniklal Mehta is survived by son Russel Mehta, Shloka Mehta’s father, and a daughter. Born in 1940 in Gujarat’s Patan district, Shloka’s grandfather moved to Mumbai in the 1960s to start his diamond business. It was here that he started his business of diamond cutting and polishing. The company was originally called Arunkumar & Company before it became the now-famous Rosy Blue Group.
Shloka later joined her family-owned Rosy Blue Foundation and successfully engaged with multiple mentoring organisations. She also went on to co-host the first national mentorship conference in Mumbai. In 2014, Shloka joined a team which conducted programmes for teachers from government-aided schools in the tribal areas of Sanali and Dalpura, Gujarat. She later took charge of ConnectFor, a tech platform to enable effective volunteering.
By her own admission, Shloka’s dada had once told her that getting involved in charity work would give her mental satisfaction even though he was not sure about the financial side. Arunkumar Ramniklal Mehta had once reportedly said about Shloka, “I advise her that please go more in-depth and focus on one or two projects rather than trying to juggle so much. Once that is done successfully, then only think about something else. I think she should expand her work in education, and then continue to healthcare.”
It was her grandfather that changed Shloka’s perception of charity and philanthropy. Nita Ambani’s daughter-in-law had said that her perception of charity was that one needed to earn a lot of money before she starts giving. In other words, she felt that money was key to charity. “Money is undoubtedly an enabler, but the value of human resource is infinitely greater,” Shloka had said after realising that her impression about charity wasn’t correct.
The tragic passing away of Arunkumar Ramniklal Mehta will no doubt deal a cruel blow to Shloka Mehta, who’s set to celebrate her second birthday as Ambani daughter-in-law on 11 July.
