'You can start any day': 98-year-old Ahmedabad woman is Anand Mahindra's inspiration. Who is Prabhavati Nani?

Most startup stories begin with funding rounds, pitch decks, and ambitious twenty-somethings chasing scale. This one began in a quiet kitchen, after loss, loneliness, and a life already well lived. In an age obsessed with early success, one Ahmedabad grandmother has become a reminder that purpose does not follow a calendar. Her journey caught the attention of Anand Mahindra, who called her words a daily source of inspiration. But who exactly is the woman behind this remarkable second act?

Anand Mahindra took to X and shared the story of Prabhavati Nani, an elderly entrepreneur from Ahmedabad whose late-life business journey deeply moved him.

In his post, Mahindra recalled that he had earlier celebrated Harbhajan Kaur of Chandigarh, who started a successful homemade barfi business at the age of 90. He said he had once considered her his choice for Entrepreneur of the Year. Now, he added, Prabhavati Nani’s story proves that such examples are far from isolated.


What particularly resonated with Mahindra were her words on age and reinvention. According to him, her message was powerful enough to serve as daily motivation for people of all generations.

So, who is Prabhavati Nani?

Prabhavati Bhagwati spent decades building a full family life with her husband. The couple reportedly shared 68 years together. But after his passing in 2017, everything changed. The home that had once been active and full of routine suddenly grew quiet. For someone whose language of care was cooking, the emotional shift was profound. With children settled elsewhere and grandchildren grown up, daily life began to feel emptier. The kitchen, once central to family connection, no longer had the same purpose.

Then came an unexpected turning point.

At a simple tea gathering, Prabhavati served homemade Gujarati khandvi. The response was immediate and enthusiastic. Guests loved the dish so much that they requested more for an upcoming event and even offered to pay for it. What may have seemed like a small compliment became the spark for an entirely new chapter.

Nani's Nashta idea

Initially, she hesitated. Starting a business in her 90s was not something she had ever planned. There was no grand strategy, no formal launch blueprint, and no corporate roadmap. But orders kept coming. What began casually soon gathered momentum, and in 2018, her home-based food venture officially took shape under the name Nani’s Nashta.

The concept was simple yet deeply personal: traditional food made with care from her own kitchen in Ahmedabad. There was no flashy infrastructure or aggressive marketing campaign behind it. Instead, the business grew through taste, trust, and word of mouth.

Her menu

Today, her menu reportedly includes a range of Gujarati favourites and popular street-food style dishes. Among them are khandvi, dhokla, thepla, bhakri, vada pav, sev puri, and pav bhaji. Of all the offerings, khandvi remains the signature item most closely associated with her journey, the very dish that helped transform grief into renewed purpose.

Reports suggest she now cooks for more than 200 families, turning a personal space of loss into a thriving centre of flavour and community. Yet the real power of her story lies beyond food. Anand Mahindra’s admiration reflects exactly that. In Prabhavati Nani, he did not just see a successful home chef. He saw a living reminder that life can still open new doors at any age, sometimes from the very room where you thought the story had already ended.