Nita Ambani has found herself ranked number one on the Fortune Most Powerful Women list for the year 2026. As the Chairperson of Reliance Foundation, her vision, leadership and commitment to institution building and inclusive development through the Reliance Foundation have been recognised, as it has touched the lives of over 100 million people, including 29 million children.
To make this announcement, Swadesh, which comes under Nita Ambani, and aims to preserve, promote, and elevate traditional Indian arts and crafts, shared a series of photos of their benefactor at the awards ceremony.
For this momentous occasion, she chose a saree from her own retail initiative and wore an exquisite Tanchoi Banarasi silk saree from Swadesh. It is inspired by “the Gulab Holi of our sacred city Varanasi, where fragrant rose petals fill the air in a celebration of devotion and joy”. The blush-pink saree is a luminous work of art as it has an intricate all-over floral jaal, accentuated with elegantly woven floral buttas in soft ivory and antique gold. It creates a depth and luminous sheen that is characteristic of the celebrated Tanchoi weave, a near reversible weaving technique renowned for its refined finish.A look at the history of this Tanchoi weave, and one will realise that it originated in China. However, it crossed many borders before it was adapted in Surat by Parsi weavers and perfected in Banaras. According to lore, the term “Tanchoi” is derived from the Gujarati word for “three” (“tran” or “tan”) combined with “Choi,” the surname of the Chinese master weaver who taught the technique to three Parsi brothers from Surat in the mid-19th century. Tanchoi is an intricate silk weaving technique that produces fine, self-designed patterns without loose threads on the back of the fabric.
