At his son’s wedding, Gautam Adani commits to ‘seva’ with a Rs 10,000 crore social donation

Ahmedabad: On his visit last month to the Maha Kumbh Mela, Gautam Adani had said that his son’s wedding would be conducted in a “simple and traditional way”. Staying true to his word, and also ending all rumours and speculation that his son Jeet Adani’s wedding would be a lavish and spectacular affair, the billionaire industrialist not only kept the wedding simple but also donated Rs 10,000 crore.

This distinctive wedding gift from one of the richest men in the world will be channelled into various social causes.

Sources close to him said that Gautam Adani’s cause list for his sizeable donation has been shaped by his social philosophy of ‘Seva sadhana hai, seva prarthana hai, aur seva hi parmatma hai”. The larger part of his donation is expected to go into funding massive infrastructure initiatives in healthcare, education and skill development. These initiatives will focus on giving all sections of society access to a network of affordable world-class hospitals and medical colleges, affordable top-tier K-12 schools and advanced global skill academies with assured employability.

On the occasion of the wedding of his younger son, Gautam Adani posted on X (formerly Twitter): “Parampita parmeshwar ke ashirwad se Jeet aur Diva aaj vivah ke pavitra bandhand mein bandh gaye. Yeh vivah aaj Ahmedabad mein priyejano ke beech paramparik reeti-rivajon aur shubh mangal bhav ke saath sampann hua.”

“Yeh ek chota aur atyant niji samaroh tha, isliye ham chah kar ke bhi sabhi shubhchintakon ko amantrit nahi kar sake, jiske liye main kshamaprarthii hoon.”

“Main aap sabhi se beti Diva aur Jeet ke liye sneh aur ashish ka hridya se akanshi hoon.”

Interestingly, in the tweet, he addressed his daughter-in-law as “daughter Diva”.

At the Belvedere Club in Ahmedabad’s Adani Shantigram township this afternoon, Jeet Adani married Diva, daughter of diamond trader Jaimin Shah. According to family insiders, the wedding was a simple affair, with the usual religious rituals followed by a traditional Gujarati ceremony attended only by close relatives and friends. Conspicuous by their absence were politicians, business leaders, diplomats, bureaucrats, film stars, entertainers and other celebrities.

Jeet Adani currently serves as Director at Adani Airports, managing six international airports and overseeing the building of a seventh in Navi Mumbai. Jeet is an alumnus of the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.

Just two days before the wedding, Gautam Adani announced ‘Mangal Seva’, a program to support newly married women with disabilities. To begin with, every year, 500 such women will be provided financial assistance of Rs 10 lakh each. Jeet Adani met 21 newly married ‘divyang’ women and their husbands to launch this initiative. The Chairman of the Adani Group took to X (formerly Twitter) to express his joy that Jeet and Diva are starting the first chapter of their journey with a virtuous resolution: https://x.com/gautam_adani/status/1887088216131375172

At Prayagraj on 21 January, when asked by reporters at the Maha Kumbh if his son’s wedding would be a “Maha Kumbh of celebrities” as was being widely speculated, Gautam Adani had said: “Definitely not. We are like common people. Jeet came here to take Ma Ganga’s blessings. His marriage will happen in a simple and traditional way.”

Gautam Adani’s exemplary gesture of “Seva Over Self” on his son’s wedding day has set an example. By choosing to support social causes, he has redefined the essence of celebrating personal milestones by introducing a thoughtful, community-focused approach that creates an impact transcending the public display of wealth.

–IANS