Noella Kambli still has her dimpled smile and the sparkle in her eyes – qualities that captivated Vinod Kambli, the cricket sensation of the early ’90s. He first saw her as he walked into Pune’s Hotel Blue Diamond, where she worked as a receptionist, and he fell in love with her at first sight. Three decades later, even though her marriage to Kambli was not without its challenges and eventually ended after a few years, Noella has retained her radiance and vivaciousness.
While some might retreat from the spotlight and seek anonymity to heal from heartbreak, Noella took a different approach. She chose to open her heart even wider and dedicated herself to helping others. At 53, she has gained a notable reputation in Pune for her numerous charity initiatives that have significantly impacted the lives of prisoners, underprivileged women, and destitute children.
The third of five children, Noella had a happy childhood in a close-knit Catholic family. With a propensity towards sports, she was a table tennis champion as well as the youngest person to represent Maharashtra in hockey at 13 and “the fastest runner in my school”. In addition to winning many medals in sports, she was also a school prefect at St Anne’s.
A part-time job as a receptionist whilst in college, at the Koregaon Park’s Hotel Blue Diamond, Pune’s only five-star at the time, changed her life when Vinod Kambli came to play a match in Pune and saw her there. A whirlwind romance culminated in a beautiful marriage ceremony at the St Patrick’s church in Pune in May 1994.
“I was just 21 when I married Vinod. Having married a celebrity, life totally changed for me. The limelight, the extra media attention and the possessiveness of Vinod made me feel on top of the world,” says Noella who, despite not knowing much about cricket, plunged into that world with characteristic enthusiasm.
“I enjoyed myself at the cricket matches, sitting there in the VIP seats cheering the loudest. Vinod was at his best those days with two consecutive double hundreds added to his career graph. I didn’t know much about cricket, but love conquered it all; I still remained his best cheerleader,” says Noella, who toured the world around with Kambli.
Kambli’s back-to-back double hundreds – 224 and 227 – in Test matches against England and Zimbabwe further cemented his place in the team and cricketing records. Life with the Mumbai southpaw became the stuff dreams are made of for Noella.
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“But all this crashed……..,” says Noella. The magic began to unravel, and finally, the marriage was dissolved in August 2012. “As I faced the realities of life and started putting the broken pieces together, I realised that God had a greater plan for me – to do small things with great love. That is when I started my own small dream charity project,” she adds.
Getting recognition for charity works
With her family’s support, Noella set up Ladybird Events, a company that gives a platform to small-scale women entrepreneurs to showcase their talents by organising exhibitions for them to sell their products. Her efforts to rehabilitate prisoners earned her the designation of joint secretary of the Prison Minister of India.
Her church recognised her for personally arranging transportation for over 700 homebound senior citizens to receive the vaccine during the Covid pandemic, for which she received the Maharashtra Rajya Puraskar. However, her most treasured accolade is being a recipient of the prestigious Mother Teresa Award for her social work, which she received for three consecutive years: 2019, 2020, and 2021.
Her efforts to rehabilitate prisoners earned her the designation of joint secretary of the Prison Minister of India.
Fate dealt a harsh blow when Noella lost her hero, her father, in 2024. Despite this sudden and untimely loss, she says, “I still draw my strength from my late dad, whom I continue to look up to with love and admiration.”
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Noella is a devoted family person, but she never remarried. “Remarriage was never in my plans. My complete involvement with my family and my brother’s three children made me feel fulfilled and not like I was missing out on having my own kids. My nephews, David, Daniel, and Darren, mean the world to me, and I feel like their second mother.”
Creditably, life’s ups and downs have not turned Noella bitter. “I have taken everything in my stride. I cherish the good times I had with Vinod and am still in touch with him. The news of his health was very saddening. My concern, support, and prayers were enough for him to make a surprise visit to me last year. I believe that humanity plays an important role in every relationship,” says the woman who has modelled her life on a motto she ardently believes in: “There is no elevator to success; one needs to take the staircase”.