An Indian-origin businessman has claimed that he lost everything to divorce and had to rebuild his life from scratch at the age of 55. Harish Dabasia recently appeared on ‘The Voices Podcast With Arafat’, where he claimed that he had to give up “all his assets” to his ex-wife and two daughters during the split.
Event Context
Dabasia said he moved from London, UK to Rwanda after the divorce from his wife and rebuilt his life quietly, choosing to move away from the family business of construction to become a life coach.
Dabasia explained that he was born in India to a family of builders and spent most of his childhood in Nairobi, Kenya. He described himself as a “sixth generation builder” who has “cement and blocks and bricks in his blood”.
The Indian-origin businessman revealed that as a youngster, his father sent him to the UK to live with an uncle. He attributed this to differences between him and his father.
Elaborating further on his decision to move back to Africa, the Indian-origin builder said: “when the divorce was finalized, I gave up everything.
Dabasia further said that it was painful to be around familiar faces in London, while moving to Africa gave him a fresh sense of purpose.
Match Outlook
Dabasia explained that once in the UK, he was expected to stay on and not return to Nairobi. Instead, he married an Indian-origin, UK-educated woman and spent the next 35 years with her, joining the family business of construction.
(Also read: Wife seeks divorce after husband brings family along on Nainital honeymoon)
Asked if he did not want to return to Nairobi, Harish Dabasia said: “I had no choice. I had no options. And the same thing has happened again at the age of 55.”
The businessman drew parallels between the two stages of his life — as a youngster who had no options and as a 55-year-old who, again, had no choice but to give up assets worth millions in his divorce.
This time, however, he did have the option to return, which he did — Dabasia moved back to Africa at the age of 55.
“Through my divorce, I’ve had to give up all my assets, all my properties, all my businesses to my ex and to my two two daughters,” he revealed. “And I’ve deliberately come back to Africa.”
I decided, okay, I’m not going to stay around with the circle that I knew, with the people that I knew, the territory that I knew. I want to go back to Africa.
“And in Africa, I’m not just going to do buildings. I’m going to build businesses and I’m going to build people.”
