Why Anant Ambani is different from other animal philanthropists

There are many things that Anant Ambani could have taken up as a hobby or a cause, being a scion of one of the world’s richest families. He could have collected priceless art works or vintage cars or bought up vineyards or travelled to exotic places (including space) or simply done nothing at all except run the business that his parents tasked him with, primarily renewable and green energy. Instead, he has found a way to turn his passion into a mission.

In the many lists made of what billionaires and their families do with their spare time—and money, of course—sporting activities and collections of various kinds predominate. The youngest Ambani sibling, however, seems to have internalised Robert Frost’s immortal poem The Road Not Taken, especially the last stanza: Somewhere ages and ages hence:/Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—/I took the one less travelled by,/And that has made all the difference…

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This week, on the eve of his own pre-wedding celebrations, he announced the launch of Vantara—Star of the Forest—an off-the-beaten-track initiative for animal welfare that marries concern for wildlife with real-life solutions. Turning 3,000 acres of the green belt of Reliance’s Jamnagar Refinery into a sanctuary with a rehabilitation and healthcare centre for sick elephants as well as crocodiles, rhinos and other endangered animals is thoughtful indeed.

His parents, Nita and Mukesh Ambani, must be complimented for sensitising their youngest child to the fascinating world of wildlife by taking him to the great sanctuaries of India and the world and inculcating empathy for them. But Anant Ambani deserves special praise for not restricting his involvement to merely donating money but actually creating the necessary infrastructure to take care of endangered and injured wildlife, that too, right here in India.

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Ambani announced that the initiative has already brought together hundreds of the best experts in the field of wildlife welfare and healthcare from around the world. Animal lovers (including this writer) in India and abroad are justifiably exhilarated by the prospect of the might of the Ambanis being brought to bear on such a critical but usually undervalued and neglected aspect of life on our planet. It is not often that this cohort gets much to cheer about.

Ratan Tata’s love for Mumbai’s street dogs is one such ray of light. For many years now, stray canines have had right of access at Tata headquarters, Bombay House and their own room there. And from March, the Tata Trusts Small Animal Hospital in Mahalaxmi will open, offering the gamut of medical services from surgery and ICUs to dental, diagnostics and more, for dogs, cats, rabbits and other little critters. If only he would open outlets in other states too!

Now Ambani’s Vantara gives animal lovers a second reason to cheer, even louder. Of course, right now the young zoophilist is concentrating on developing the facilities at Jamnagar to leading-edge standards but given his youth and obvious passion for animals—so evident in the heartfelt interview with Anand Narasimhan of News18 this week—there is reason to hope that he will spread his philanthropy to other parts of India and even perhaps abroad.

He has already been moved by the plight of animals abroad and brought many of injured ones to Jamnagar, especially from hunting lodges in Africa. The fact that none of the rescued animals, Indian or foreign, are in cages or in chains, be they elephants (200 of them!) leopards (150) or any of the other 60-odd species at Jamnagar, is indicative. This is not going to be a zoo or a place where animals are displayed for entertainment. It is to be a ‘sevalaya’ as he put it.

Spearheading an Indian initiative in animal welfare worldwide—hitherto the preserve of ‘First World’ philanthropists—would be apt. While news about ill-treatment of animals here is publicised domestically and abroad, compassion and a live-and-let-live philosophy regarding animals have long been a leitmotif in Bharat. And Ambani, steeped in Sanatan sanskars, is just the person to spread that karuna mantra to the mercy-deficient ‘developed’ nations.

Although his stated focus is on wild animals rather than domesticated ones, by his own admission this current project is just a fraction of his whole vision. So animal lovers can hope that he will diversify to include rescuing pet animals too especially those in the West who desperately need Indian compassion. Millions of healthy abandoned pet dogs and cats in so-called animal ‘shelters’ there are put to death in ‘advanced’ Western nations every year, for instance.

While initiatives by some billionaires have reduced those numbers lately, killing animals who do not have ‘owners’ is still accepted as ‘humane’ in most Western nations. India has laws that protect even stray dogs and cats—without owners or homes—from being killed. Ambani, as a worthy inheritor of this tolerant tradition could perhaps consider turning his talent, empathy and resources to give those voiceless pet animals worldwide a safe future too one day.

Ambani is quite right, though, to point out that others have taken up the cause of pets. Besides Tata’s hospital in India, Maddie’s Fund set up by billionaire David Duffield has done a lot to reduce the number of dogs and cats killed in shelters in the US, giving over $265 million in grants in the past 20 years to groups devoted to saving pet animals. But wild animals receive little direct private philanthropic involvement; international agencies are at the forefront of that work.

So Ambani has indeed chosen the path less travelled by personally leading this initiative. His intention to make the Jamnagar sevalaya the benchmark for wildlife rescue, conservation and preservation is in keeping with rising India’s zeitgeist. And inviting the world’s most influential people to see his mission—and hopefully be moved by it—for the next three days as part of his pre-wedding celebrations is just the kind of leverage this worthy cause needs.

Anant Ambani will have the silent blessings of millions of animals and animal lovers as he and his fiancée Radhika Merchant embark on the next phase of their life together—and take Vantara forward too.

The author is a freelance writer. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost’s views.

Disclaimer: Firstpost is part of the Network18 group. Network18 is controlled by Independent Media Trust, of which Reliance Industries is the sole beneficiary.