‘I Believe Any City Truly Becomes Great When It’s Diverse’

Prabhat Vira
Georgetown Resident

Prabhat Vira knows a world-class city when he sees one. And he’s seen them all.

The international banker settled in Georgetown two years ago, but not before stints in Singapore, Amsterdam, London, Chicago, Boston, and New York City.

For his money, Georgetown can go toe-to-toe with any of them.

‘Georgetown is a great place to live to start with, and it can be a place that rivals the best of Paris, London, and New York City. We have the river, the Canal, M Street, great restaurants. It has huge potential, and it checked all of our boxes.’

Born and raised 8,000 miles away in Bombay, Prabhat left his home country to study at the University of Michigan. After graduation, he returned to India, began his career, and eventually married. When their children were 6 and 7, the family moved to Singapore—the start of two nomadic decades.

What may have felt like a life of upheaval to many was a blessing to Prabhat.

‘Thirty years ago, there was less opportunity in terms of types of careers. There were obvious careers where I came from in India, and banking was one of them. But it was a good one, because I was international from day one, interacting with different types of people. We lived in all of these places for at least two years, and got to know each of them. Banking has taken my family all over the world, and it’s been a lovely, lovely career.’

With more than 50 countries and countless flights under his belt, Prabhat developed a nuanced world view. Diversity, he gathered, was the hallmark of every great city.

‘I believe any country, any city, truly becomes great when it’s diverse. Think of New York City and London, and diversity is what defines them. I’ve lived and worked on three continents, and I’ve never worked with anything less than 10 nationalities on a team. Beyond nationality, there’s diversity of age. I have a team now in London where, besides me, no one is older than 38—and I’ve had teams where people were 23 to 60. It’s about diversity in every way. Georgetown has always been diverse thanks to the university, but in terms of people who live here, I’m seeing an increase. It’s moving in the right direction.’

Prabhat was smitten with Georgetown more than a decade ago, when he and his wife dropped their daughter off at GW. They were living in Chicago at the time, and were impressed with the historic neighborhood’s vibrancy and natural beauty. The C&O Canal left the biggest impression.

‘The water was flowing, the boat was in operation, and there was a grandeur. It’s a grand, man-made achievement to have a Canal that stretches hundreds of miles. It was a very unique place to visit, but I never thought we’d live here.’

Prabhat’s children both settled in DC after college. When he left banking two years ago to work for a London-based financial services company, he and his wife missed the kids and decided to follow their lead.

‘For all the years of moving homes and living in rented accommodation, we craved a home base. We weren’t looking for a brand new, shiny building downtown. We wanted a place with more character, outdoor space, and access to the river where we could settle down for the long run. Georgetown was very much No. 1 on our list because it was the closest in terms of the lifestyle we were used to, being able to walk everywhere. We found this condo, and unless our kids move very far away, I’d hate to ever have to move again.’

While some claim Georgetown is dying, Prabhat says quite the opposite is true. In the most literal sense, Prabhat looks to the unique nature living and breathing all around him. Georgetown’s greatest call, he says, is to nurture it better.

‘You can compare the nature in Georgetown to any city—with a mighty river running beside it, a beautiful canal, and all of this greenery in terms of a semi-forest. There’s so much opportunity, but I stress the phrase ‘nurture nature’ because I’m not referring to subduing it or making concrete parkways. One doesn’t have to do that to bring out the beauty of nature. The Canal is the obvious opportunity, and Georgetown Heritage has plans for that, but there’s a lot more work to be done. I think of Amsterdam, which is a complete mix of water, greenery, and people’s homes, and they kind of blend with each other. I think Georgetown can do that, and it doesn’t have to contend with something like New York’s skyscrapers.’

Content for the time being on his patio overlooking the Potomac, Prabhat is committed to working with other residents to ensure Georgetown lives up to its full potential—from more innovative cultural programming, to enhanced public space experiences.

‘The lifestyle potential here is huge, and I believe it’s in the grasp of all residents to realize it’s in their own making. To take spaces and make them even more vibrant. I’m very interested in that, because we’ve never really lived in one place longer than five or six years, and we hope this is our final home.’