Global gypsy with a heart of gold: Why Dubai-based Indian expat Jani Viswanath Jagtiani helps others

Dubai: Dubai-based Jani Viswanath Jagtiani is a woman who wears many hats. Daughter of distinguished educationist and diplomat Dr. T.K. Viswanath and wife of the founder of Landmark Group’s Home Centre Jonathan Jagtiani, the Indian expat is a humanitarian, acclaimed artist, author, filmmaker, PhD holder, archer and amateur flier.

But ask her what she derives the maximum satisfaction from, and pat comes the reply: “Helping others.”

That, now, is no empty boast.

The vast body of charitable work Jani, short for Janaki, does, ensures she is constantly on a mission across diverse geographies, giving what she calls the “global gypsy” in her a sense of purpose.

Born in Coimbatore of South India, and schooled in a Catholic institution at yesteryear Kabul in Afghanistan, the widely travelled Jani has amassed life lessons from different corners of the world. She can speak in many languages – at least six - but the one she seems most proficient in is the language of compassion.

Working through Healing Lives, a humanitarian family foundation that was set up 12 years ago, Jani has touched many lives. Her face lights up as she shares stories from her many missions.

The before-and-after pictures of some beneficiaries speak volumes for the transformation she has made possible. Among them are nine sharp doctors, who were once despairing and demoralised youth drifting on the streets of Kenya.

Mother of a talented girl currently studying in Italy, Jani says: “We worked with a local NGO to identify students with potential, mentored them and funded their education right through medical school. Today, they are fully qualified doctors making a huge difference to their communities. They are also the first to step in when we organise free medical check-up and surgery camps for patients – and that’s really heartening.”

There are many such inspiring tales in the archives of Healing Lives: Being an integral partner to Moran Blind School, Assam; building a concept called ‘Open Air Schools’ and donating school uniforms, bags, books and fees to over 3,000 village children and development of seed banks in India’s villages in Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh; donating tractors to those like Padmashree awardee and eminent agriculturist Rahibai Popare for her village in Akole; offering educational scholarships for nurses in India in association with the Tibetian Childrens Village in Dharamsala; providing educational scholarships for nurses in Bangladesh; constructing water retention bodies to help sustain five villages in Uttar Pradesh; disbursing disaster relief in Manipur, Assam, Tripura, Kerala and many other places; supplying 10 oxygen concentrators to a government hospital in Jhansi during COVID-19; granting funds for surgeries to the Association of Maxillofacial Surgeons of India following the outbreak of the mysterious Mucormycosis (Black Fungus) post-pandemic; organising ‘Run-for-Her’ marathons to empower rural women in Shirur, Ranjangaon, Pune; holding medical camps in India, Bangladesh, Angola, South Sudan, Somalia and Kenya; sponsoring IBFF National Blind Football Tournaments in India; the list can go on.

“Anyone who knocks on our doors rarely returns empty-handed once we are convinced that their concerns are genuine,” says Jani matter-of-factly.

The way she sees it, the privileges she has been blessed with would be to no avail unless they are shared.

In her book Echoes of Light, she writes: “The dire need of the moment is not how rich or famous or talented or gifted you are – but rather how kind and generous you are, how compassionate your actions are to the weak, poor and broken sections of society.”

Jani’s book is a collection of poems and short stories that reflect her most cherished beliefs.

“Positive change,” she tells you, “is not some lofty concept that needs to be discussed at seminars, forums and conferences. It is a simple act of healing that anyone and everyone can do – one life at a time.”

Jani’s “brush with the blade” is equally insightful. She has over 146 paintings to her credit, and has exhibited them at Solo exhibitions at the Bentley showroom, The World Art Dubai, World Trade Centre. The oil paintings done with palette knives have a distinct character.

Recalling how she started painting with palette knives, she says, “I received a box of oil paints for my ninth birthday. My father didn’t have the money or interest to spend on brushes and canvas for a ‘frivolous’ hobby as he called it, so I picked up the butter knife and started painting on a cardboard sheet. I loved the texture and there was no looking back since.”

Just back from Manipur after filming her latest movie (Dawn After Midnight). Jani talks of how she bacame an accidental producer who ventured into films to support independent filmmakers to harness their talent by telling a meaningful story. She excitedly talks about the four multi-award winning films she has produced so far, Xhoixobhote Dhemalite, JWLWI (Boro/Assamese) Gorai Phakri (Wild Swans) and Andro Dreams (a Manipuri documentary). Most of her films are set in north-east India, each exploring a subject of deep meaning.

But the geography is incidental for the humanitarian in Jani. Rather, it is the people, their trials and triumphs that she gets drawn to.

She believes there’s an inherent goodness in everyone, and all it takes is a small nudge to activate it.

“At Healing Lives, we are proud of the fact that we have the support of hundreds of volunteers wherever we go,” she says, adding that good deeds have a way of spreading the positivity.

But despite all the time and effort she spends on making a difference to others, Jani makes time for herself too. Not just to write or paint, but also to work out, meditate, and pursue her passion for archery and flying.

While archery helps her sharpen her focus, her flying lessons bring out the adventurer in her, enabling her to push boundaries and scale greater heights.