Meet the Thackers, a family whose rise dates back to the Swadeshi movement, and whose lows matched the moody stock market. But through it all, they have consistently given back to society by building some of the country’s foremost educational institutions.
When I first met bonsai artist and author Urvashi Thacker over a decade ago at a friend’s home in Mumbai, there was an instant connect despite our 20-year age gap. It was, of course, her warmth and hospitality that drew me in. In the years that followed, I would learn more about her family’s past and current accomplishments, and why the Thackers are so well respected in the field of education. And what upholding a family legacy truly means. >
SCHOOL OF THOUGHT
If you drive around suburban Mumbai, you’ll find several educational institutions, and even a road, named after Narsee Monjee Thacker, Urvashi’s late grandfather-in-law. Ironically, the autodidact never received a formal education. Instead, he spent hours under streetlights perfecting his mother tongue, Gujarati, and learning English, Hindi and Marathi while prudently mastering accountancy even as he made ends meet as a street hawker selling hats. “He was one of the leading stockbrokers in the city, and even after suffering a severe financial setback he didn’t concede defeat,” recalls Urvashi during one of our thali lunches at her palatial bungalow, Nirant, in Vile Parle, Mumbai, where the family has been living since 1929. She tells me how the family patriarch went on to join Mahatma Gandhi’s Swadeshi movement and subsequently set up successful companies that would take on the British Raj as well as further his philanthropic efforts in the field of education and other humanitarian causes, making him a hero for many.
Denne historien er fra November 2018-utgaven av VOGUE India.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra November 2018-utgaven av VOGUE India.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Breathe In, Breathe Out
A powerful tool to help you master your nervous system or another biohacking buzzword? SIMONE DHONDY explores the inhalations and exhalations of breathwork
Red Pill, Blue Pill
India's nutraceutical industry is booming thanks to advanced technology, distrust of the medical system and rising vanity. With multivitamins becoming purer and more effective, NIDHI GUPTA finds out if supplements have become the new serum
Sign of the times
No longer do you need to have an answer to, \"What is the significance of this?\" when people point to your new tattoo. ARMAN KHAN discovers that everything is on the table when you get inked temporarily
Return to form
Watching the world's most elite athletes deliver the best performances of their careers rekindled SONAKSHI SHARMA's own love for sports
Dimple, All Day
YOU MAY HAVE WATCHED HER ON THE BIG SCREEN FOR OVER FIVE DECADES, BUT DON'T MAKE THE MISTAKE OF ASSUMING THAT YOU KNOW DIMPLE KAPADIA.
MUSIC, TAKE CONTROL
As someone who had always sought safety in numbers, ALIZA FATMA often wondered what her own company would feel like. The answer arrived unexpectedly when she attended her first-ever music festival, one of the largest in the world, all alone
Let it grow
When we think of hardworking farmers toiling in India's scorching heat, we often think of men, the sweat on their brow, the sinews in their arms. JYOTI KUMARI speaks to four women who are championing the invisible female labour that keeps these fields running
YOU'LL NEVER WALK ALONE
When armless archer Sheetal Devi set her sights on the Paralympic Games this year, she knew she had a tough journey ahead of her. Luckily, her mother was with her every step of the way.
Beauty and the feast
The appeal of Indian weddings has always been in a sprawling spread. For additional bragging rights, Aditi Dugar recommends going beyond designer tablecloths and monogrammed napkins.
Sweet serendipity
From a scavenger hunt-inspired proposal to a Moroccan-themed baraat, Malvika Raj and Armaan Rai's love story prioritised playfulness throughout their blended celebrations.
