Rajashree Birla at Park Plaza. Picture: Rashbehari Das

Engaged at 10, married at 17, Rajashree Birla’s life could have taken the known trajectory of many a bahurani in India. But instead of getting used to the privileges, at 40 she stepped ahead to make use of the same privileges to make a difference to the lives of others. In Calcutta earlier this month to speak on the topic of ‘hands that help are holier than lips that pray’, for the members of Young Ficci Ladies Organisation (YFLO), she touched on family and philosophy.

Calcutta connect: I lived in Madurai. I was 10 years old when I was engaged and 17 when I got married and moved to Calcutta. Now when I look back, I think I should have been nervous, but I wasn’t. I had been going over to their house since I was 10! I came to Calcutta, I studied in Loreto College and lived in this city till we decided to move to Mumbai. We kept coming back with the children and my parents-in-law visited too. I was fortunate because in a sense, we were living in a four-generation family. Daduji, Ghanshyam Das Birla, was alive then. My children imbibed the values naturally. I never had to sit them down and tell them don’t do this or don’t do that.

Family legacy: Ghanshyam Das Birla was deeply influenced by his association with Gandhiji. Gandhiji’s idea of trusteeship — that wealth should be held in trusts that work towards the welfare of people — was deeply ingrained in him. Profit, he felt, must be ploughed back to help the underprivileged. Daduji, throughout his life, went on to build schools, temples, dharamshalas...

My parents-in-law B.K. Birla and Sarala Birla kept the legacy alive, as did my husband Aditya, my son Kumar Mangalam or my daughter-in-law Neerja. My grandchildren are following in the same footsteps. My 19-year-old granddaughter runs micro-finance projects in villages. And for the third year running, my grandson did a photography exhibition to raise money for the underprivileged.

It was 17 years ago that we set up the Aditya Birla Centre [for Community Initiatives and Rural Development] to actively contribute to the uplift of communities where we operate. We treat our social projects as business projects and our social vision is a part of our business vision. We work in partnership with NGOs and the government.

Philanthropy: I had dreamt of building an orphanage ever since I must have been 11 or 12. I got that chance at 40. We started from there and gradually took on other projects. We made mistakes and we learnt from them. Our work now encompasses five areas — healthcare, education, sustainable livelihood, infrastructure and social causes relating to women’s welfare.

We had worked with Rotary International towards polio eradication, which has been successful in India. Polio drops have been administered to 18 million children. However, we can’t be complacent about the issue because polio still exists in countries like Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria. The virus can travel.

Then there’s Habitat for Humanity, which helps build low-cost housing for the homeless. By 2015, we want to see 100,000 homes built. The figure so far is 44,000, of which we built 4,000. We work on providing vocational training too. Our next centre in Kerala is to train nurses, masons and plumbers.

Spirituality: If there are hands that help, there is also the spirit goading you to help, to lift yourself to a higher level. I read the Bhagavad Gita regularly. It emphasises on doing our duty, empathising with our fellow travellers.... One has to be a karmayogi.... I feel you need to do your duty towards yourself, to your family and to the extended network of relationships with fellow human beings. Many other religious scriptures talk of this duty. Service to mankind, I believe, is service to god.

How can each one help? Start small. Start with your own personal and professional circle. Embed a sense of corporate social responsibility in your workplace and your spouse’s. Identify with larger national concerns like hunger, education or livelihood. Look around. Take charge of betterment of your household staff. Help their children get education, help them become better citizens. And from two people you help, you’d see the ripple effect spreading from one household to an entire community.

HER MANY SIDES

Chairperson of the Aditya Birla Centre for Community Initiatives and Rural Development. On the board of directors for all major group of companies under the Aditya Birla Group.

Awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2011 for her philanthropic work.

Amongst the causes she is passionate about, polio eradication and women’s welfare rank high. “Female infanticide is a great problem for our country. And it is not confined to the ignorant or illiterate people. An affluent city like Bombay has one of the highest rates of female infanticide,” she says.

Her attention to problems comes in response to “the need of the hour.” For instance, her attention is now on Uttarakhand. “We want to help Uttarakhand and we are already talking to the government.”

Reading is one hobby she is passionate about. “I devote an hour each day to reading.”

A typical day? “I wake up at 6am. From 7.30am to 9.30am, I exercise. I go to office and stay till about 6.30pm or 7.30pm. Days are so short.”