LONDON, Feb 19: Leading NRI industrialist Lord Swraj Paul has inaugurated a grand new hall in memory of his late wife, Aruna, at the historic Indian Gymkhana Club in London.
The opening of the Lady Aruna Swraj Paul Hall at the over 60-year-old multisport venue in west London took place at a special event attended by British parliamentarians and diplomats on Saturday, which also marked the 92nd birthday of Lord Paul.
Lady Aruna passed away peacefully at her home in London in May last year, aged 86.
“This hall is a tribute to my wonderful wife whom I miss very much; we never had an argument during our 65 years of marriage,” said Lord Paul.
He announced plans to name a building at the University of Wolverhampton, where he is Chancellor, after his late wife.
The founder of UK-based Caparo Group of industries, with operations in the US, India, Canada and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) also spoke of his vision to create a new nursing college and hospital in Varanasi, following discussions with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“I have a great love for India, where I was born in Jalandhar. So, India is in my heart, America is in my heart and Britain is a country I love,” said Paul.
Some of the special guests at the memorial event included UK Foreign Office Minister in charge of South Asia Lord Tariq Ahmad, Indian High Commissioner to the UK Vikram Doraiswami and his wife Sangeeta and Bangladeshi High Commissioner to the UK Saida Muna Tasneem.
The Indian Gymkhana Club dates back to 1916 and has a history of the most prominent cricketers and hockey players from the Indian subcontinent having played on the grounds at one time or another, including Vijay Merchant, Vijay Hazare, the Nawab of Pataudi, and more recently, Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev and Imran Khan.
Lord Paul has been closely associated with the club as a past president in the 1980s and also has a hall in memory of his late daughter, Ambika Paul, within the grounds.
With the opening of the new memorial hall, the club management are keen to work towards creating a centre of excellence for sports, culture and healthy living. (PTI)
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