From a Reliance executive to Jain monk: Journey of Prakash Shah

After serving Reliance Industries in various positions, Prakash Shah decided to follow the Jain ritual of renunciation. Last week, Prakash and his wife Naina Shah took 'diksha' on the auspicious occasion of Mahavir Jayanti.

After graduating in Chemical Engineering more than 40 years ago, Prakash post-graduated from IIT Bombay. He had a long career at Reliance before retiring last year as a vice president.

Prakash was playing a key role in Reliance's Jamnagar petcoke gasification project before his retirement. Earlier, he had also managed petcoke marketing for the company. Naina, on the other hand, is a graduate in commerce.

Immediately after his retirement, Prakash had expressed his desire to renounce the world and take diksha. However, his plan got delayed almost by a year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

After taking diksha, Jain monks give up all worldly pleasures. They walk barefoot and eat only what they have received in alms.

However, Prakash and Naina are not the first ones in the family to renounce the world. The couple have two sons, one of whom took diksha almost seven years ago. He was also an engineering graduate from IIT Bombay. The other son is married with one child.

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