Noella Kambli nonetheless has her dimpled smile and the glint in her eyes – qualities that captivated Vinod Kambli, the cricket sensation of the early ’90s. He first noticed her as he walked into Pune’s Lodge Blue Diamond, the place she labored as a receptionist, and he fell in love together with her at first sight. Three many years later, though her marriage to Kambli was not with out its challenges and ultimately ended after just a few years, Noella has retained her radiance and vivaciousness.
Whereas some may retreat from the highlight and search anonymity to heal from heartbreak, Noella took a special method. She selected to open her coronary heart even wider and devoted herself to serving to others. At 53, she has gained a notable popularity in Pune for her quite a few charity initiatives which have considerably impacted the lives of prisoners, underprivileged ladies, and destitute kids.
The third of 5 kids, Noella had a contented childhood in a close-knit Catholic household. With a propensity in the direction of sports activities, she was a desk tennis champion in addition to the youngest individual to signify Maharashtra in hockey at 13 and “the quickest runner in my faculty”. Along with profitable many medals in sports activities, she was additionally a faculty prefect at St Anne’s.
An element-time job as a receptionist while in faculty, on the Koregaon Park’s Lodge Blue Diamond, Pune’s solely five-star on the time, modified her life when Vinod Kambli got here to play a match in Pune and noticed her there. A whirlwind romance culminated in a good looking bridal ceremony on the St Patrick’s church in Pune in Might 1994.
“I used to be simply 21 once I married Vinod. Having married a star, life completely modified for me. The limelight, the additional media consideration and the possessiveness of Vinod made me really feel on prime of the world,” says Noella who, regardless of not understanding a lot about cricket, plunged into that world with attribute enthusiasm.
“I loved myself on the cricket matches, sitting there within the VIP seats cheering the loudest. Vinod was at his greatest these days with two consecutive double lots of added to his profession graph. I didn’t know a lot about cricket, however love conquered all of it; I nonetheless remained his greatest cheerleader,” says Noella, who toured the world round with Kambli.
Kambli’s back-to-back double lots of – 224 and 227 – in Check matches towards England and Zimbabwe additional cemented his place within the group and cricketing information. Life with the Mumbai southpaw turned the stuff desires are manufactured from for Noella.
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“However all this crashed……..,” says Noella. The magic started to unravel, and eventually, the wedding was dissolved in August 2012. “As I confronted the realities of life and began placing the damaged items collectively, I realised that God had a larger plan for me – to do small issues with nice love. That’s once I began my very own small dream charity undertaking,” she provides.
Getting recognition for charity works
Together with her household’s help, Noella arrange Ladybird Occasions, an organization that provides a platform to small-scale ladies entrepreneurs to showcase their skills by organising exhibitions for them to promote their merchandise. Her efforts to rehabilitate prisoners earned her the designation of joint secretary of the Jail Minister of India.
Her church recognised her for personally arranging transportation for over 700 homebound senior residents to obtain the vaccine throughout the Covid pandemic, for which she acquired the Maharashtra Rajya Puraskar. Nonetheless, her most treasured accolade is being a recipient of the distinguished Mom Teresa Award for her social work, which she acquired for 3 consecutive years: 2019, 2020, and 2021.
Destiny dealt a harsh blow when Noella misplaced her hero, her father, in 2024. Regardless of this sudden and premature loss, she says, “I nonetheless draw my energy from my late dad, whom I proceed to look as much as with love and admiration.”
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Noella is a faithful household individual, however she by no means remarried. “Remarriage was by no means in my plans. My full involvement with my household and my brother’s three kids made me really feel fulfilled and never like I used to be lacking out on having my very own children. My nephews, David, Daniel, and Darren, imply the world to me, and I really feel like their second mom.”
Creditably, life’s ups and downs haven’t turned Noella bitter. “I’ve taken all the pieces in my stride. I cherish the great occasions I had with Vinod and am nonetheless in contact with him. The information of his well being was very saddening. My concern, help, and prayers had been sufficient for him to make a shock go to to me final 12 months. I imagine that humanity performs an vital position in each relationship,” says the girl who has modelled her life on a motto she ardently believes in: “There isn’t a elevator to success; one must take the staircase”.
