Ahmedabad: "Since childhood Sonal has been doing what she wants to. To achieve her goals, she puts in all her energy and hard work until she attains it." Expressing these words, Kokila Shah describes to DNA her daughter Sonal Shah's success mantra.
Kokilaben, however, sounded unhappy while talking about the hype created by the media in Gujarat over the association of Ramesh Shah (her husband) with various community organisations. She also fears that such projections might affect Sonal's image. Kokilaben said, "We as a family are doing community work for many years and Ramesh is associated with various community groups and associations. That doesn't mean that we have links with the RSS."
She explained how she and her husband Ramesh Shah have grown up their three children - Sonal, Rupal and Anand. She said, "Sonal's achievement is a matter of pride indeed, not only for us as her parents but also for our community here and in India. Everybody here is happy and congratulating us.
She recalls the time when they flew to the US in 1972 with their three children. She said, "Ramesh and I moved to the US and we had to struggle to settle down. Kokilaben said, "We never compromised on their (children) education because of financial issues. When required, we took loans to send them to good institutes. Sonal has done her Masters in Economics from Duke University and Rupal and Anand have studied at Harvard."
Kokilaben believes that because of the freedom they have given to their children to live their own dreams, Sonal and her siblings are progressing well in their respective careers. She said, "Sonal didn't want to get married, as she wanted to do something remarkable in her life. She has her vision for her life and she wants to live according to it."
