Dorabji & Meherbai Tata’s Love Story
Today is Valentine’s Day. For all Indians, the symbol of love is the Taj Mahal. However, there is another place that is even more romantic than the Taj Mahal. To know which place it is, see the video.
Today is Valentine’s Day. For all Indians, the symbol of love is the Taj Mahal. Because King Shah Jahan created the beautiful Taj Mahal for his wife Mumtaz Mahal. However, there is another place that is even more romantic than the Taj Mahal. Entry to this place is completely free and lakhs of people go to this place every day. When they go there they are always sad and crying. When they leave, they leave with a huge smile on their face. Now you must be wondering, what is this place? Before I tell you this, let us talk about what is love? However, I can’t answer such a big question by myself. I will need the help of one person named Dorabji Tata. We all know about Ratan Tata, JRD Tata and Jamsetji Tata. They are some of the greatest businessmen from the Tata family.
Today we will talk about a person called Dorabji Tata and try to learn the meaning of love from his life story. India’s first hockey team was sponsored by Dorabji Tata to go to the Olympics in 1928. Because of him, for the first time, India was able to participate in the Olympics. The same team then won India’s 1st gold medal at the Olympics. He was a great man! On 14th February 1898, he got married to a woman named Meherbai. Their marriage was a very strong marriage and we will get to learn so much about them. 2 years later on their anniversary, he gave his wife a gift. A diamond. This is not an ordinary diamond. It is twice the size of a Kohinoor diamond. Its weight was 247 carat. That time it was priced at 1,00,000 pounds. In 2021 the price would be Rs 131 crores! The name of the diamond was Jubilee Diamond. The diamond was made by experts in London and they wanted to give it to the Queen of England so she could put it in her crown. But Tata was adamant to buy this diamond for his wife Meherbai and he did it! He loved Meherbai because she was a strong independent woman. She was the first woman to demand that women be allowed to vote. When she was living in London, she did not wear dresses, instead, she showed India’s culture by wearing a saree!
Now you may wonder, where is this expensive diamond? Well, let me tell you. After Jemsetji Tata, Dorabji Tata took over the Tata Company. Tata was known to be a very strong company in the world. But they were even more strong in the field of steel. However, after World War 1, Tata faces a very bad financial problem. They had no money. They could not pay salaries. Labourers started protesting. In 1924, Dorabji Tata came to know that all the money from the treasury had ran out. They simply had no money. When Meherbai saw that her husband and his company was in such big trouble. Do you know what she did? Whether any hesitation, she mortgaged all her jewellery. In return, she got Rs 1 crore rupees! She even mortgaged the Jubilee Diamond. Tata used this money to pay the salaries of the labourers. Not a single person lost their job. Maybe this is the meaning of love. Sacrificing your most loved possession for the person you love, the meaning of love. Because of Meherbai’s sacrifice, a few years later Tata company and Tata steel recovered and Tata Steel became the strongest company in the world. The Tata company is alive today because of them. Slowly Dorabji repaid all his loans and even got back all his wife’s jewellery. Everything was going well, however, they faced another problem. In 1931, Meherbai celebrated her 50th birthday but she was diagnosed with cancer. She did not have a long time to live.
Dorabji then contacted several big doctors and did everything possible to save his wife. Just imagine if a man is so concerned about his labourers and employees, imagine what he would have done for his wife. Sadly Dorabji could not do anything and Meherbai died in 1931 in 1932, Dorabji died himself as he could not live without his wife. But before he died, he did something very big for his wife. Remember the jubilee diamond? He sold the same diamond and started a trust. The very famous Dorabji Tata Trust also started the Tata Memorial Hospital. This famous hospital in Mumbai treats lakhs of cancer patients for free. All because Dorabji Tata was so hurt on losing his wife to cancer, he never wanted anyone to suffer. Now isn’t that a romantic story? Maybe this is true love? When Shah Jahan completed Taj Mahal, he cut off the hands of all his labourers because he did not want anyone to make a copy of the Taj Mahal. Dorabji Tata also had created a building for their love of his but he insisted that people copy his concept of a free hospital. There are Tata hospitals in Kolkata, Varanasi, Tirupati, Bhubneshwar, Ranchi, Mangalore, etc. Gifts are not important. Big romantic gestures are not important. What you do is important? How are you helping the world, your partners? That is important. Tata & Meherbai’s love story is so pure because even after their deaths, lakhs of cancer patients are getting a second chance at life. Maybe this is the meaning of love. I hope this Valentine’s day you spread not only with your partner but also to those around you!
