An impromptu poem by Dr Swati Piramal at the just concluded Express Awards for Women Entrepreneurs or ExpressAWE, as many call it, turned out to be a hard-to-miss highlight that lent gravity to the much-admired and timeless virtue of ‘Grace,’ also the title of the poem.
While, in her long career, Dr Piramal has indeed racked up a stunning array of awards and accolades but the Express awards for women entrepreneurs did seem special to her and to her family. The awards with its independent and distinguished jury of industry icons – Deepak Parekh, Zia Mody, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Meher Pudumjee, Preetha Reddy and joining them Sachin Bansal, the co-founder of Flipkart and Navi Technologies this year, did seem to stand out and special for her. The jury spent long hours to evaluate and deliberate upon the merits of every nomination and unanimously felt Dr Swati Piramal needed to be honoured with the lifetime achievement award. As is to be expected, all the winners have played a big role as scriptwriters of the India success story with each carving out a niche in select domains with not just an impressive footprint but also with their pathbreaking endeavours.
At the much awaited awards evening at the St Regis hotel in Mumbai, listening in rapt attention to each word spoken were all these successful women entrepreneurs.
As for Dr Piramal, with her husband Ajay Piramal, son Anand Piramal, brother Nirav Shah among other close family members in a ballroom full of leading industrialists like Kumar Mangalam Birla, Zia Mody, Ronnie Screwvala and a whole host of finest minds from the entrepreneurial arena, Dr Piramal read out the following:
1. In the same week that you awarded me Lifetime Achievement, my daughter Nandini received an award – The Most Influential Woman.
And my daughter-in-law Isha is Most Powerful Woman award.
Its not about awards but the Grace of the Lord
That the women are educated, powerful, Influential.
and control their own destiny.
We as a family are blessed that not just the men.
But their women are also making the world a better place.
Its about the Grace of the almighty
2. In our life there is always an inflexion point
Mine was seeing a young girl paralyzed from neck down.
Her little limbs unmoving because of polio
I resolved to make a no polio zone.
In Parel- a mill district endemic with polio
In a few years the goal was achieved.
And there was a taste for public health.
Prevention is better than cure.
Mother Teresa visited my clinic and wrote.
“Keep the joy of loving in the suffering children you serve.
and then share this joy with all you meet.
Remember-works of love are works of peace.”
3. Life took another turn when we acquired Nicholas Labs
As Ajay and I built the pharma company
Climbing step by step to reach the top.
Lessons were learned with the greatest hard work.
The Grace of the Almighty was holding our hand
Then it was time to give back to the country
And I served as the head of an apex chamber of commerce.
I started 100 women led committee at Assocham.
A force that could never be ignored for policy change.
It’s the Nari shakti of the Almighty that makes us powerful women.
4. Serving on global boards was a great experience.
France, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, Japan, The Middle East, USA
What makes my heart sing is that I could help form new policies.
that help correct eye problems, heart disease or
nutrition of children. around the world.
The spirit of service transcends and binds us all as humans.
Grace is seen everywhere.
Knowledge, Action and Care are the values in the Geeta.
My heart sings when I serve a 350-year-old board at Harvard.
with a commitment to learn, constantly learn and
apply solutions to complex real-world problems.
Being on the Board of LIC, ICICI, SBI, IIT Bombay
each one a learning experience.
Gyana is the grace of Knowledge.
Acting on the knowledge and preserving it meant a battle.
For intellectual property where mine was a lonely voice
Karma and Bhakti are the grace of values.
What makes my heart sing is
a)When a young girl aged 8 can read a newspaper in her village school
b)When a young girl aged 17 runs a self-help group to combat the ills
of alcoholism and child marriage in tribals in Odisha
c)When a young graduate decides to impact a million –
children who are out of the school system
d)When a group of young students decide to drop maternal and
infant mortality in the border areas of Kashmir
e)When a young disabled woman becomes a teacher
f)When you teach medical students sewa bhav- compassion
This is work of our foundation that works in 26 states in
112 aspirational districts and in tribal areas impacting millions of people.
These are what make my heart sing.
It is the grace of the Almighty
This evening I must express gratitude.
My parents and in-laws have made what I am today.
Their grace has been with me every step of the way.
My Husband Ajay is the wind beneath my wings.
What makes my heart sing is my family.
Where our values transcend time and generations
and how strong is our legacy of spirituality.
When my son builds a magnificent temple in
Thane in the memory of his grandmother
My children Nandini, Peter, Anand and Isha
Have given me the greatest gift 4 beautiful grandchildren.
Anya Dev, Aadiya Krishna. It makes me heart sing.
When my granddaughter Anya bakes cookies to raise
funds for an animal shelter for elderly animals in Lonavla
When Anya and dev make a robot for autistic children
When the first word my one-year-old granddaughter
Aadiya speaks is the word “book”
When my grandson Krishna- age one holds my hand and makes me his best friend
Grandchildren are the Gift and Grace of the Almighty
I have gratitude for Our spiritual gurus on this earth help.
us to increase our spirit of sewa or service.
I have Gratitude for my teachers in science, technology,
And culture, the spoken and written word and the arts
Gratitude for my mentors and friends who were always.
With me on my journey in good times and challenging ones
And the work is not complete by far.
Miles to go before I sleep.
When light will destroy the darkness of ignorance
Into that freedom let my country awake.
Ladies and Gentlemen
My heart sings when I wear my mother’s saree today.
as I accept this award with humility and on
behalf of the men and women who work with me.
for making the world a better place
