Will always carry fond memories of India: Richard Branson | India News
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MUMBAI: When British billionaire Richard Branson flew to the edge of space with India-born Sirisha Bandla and four other crew members on Sunday in Virgin Galactic’s Unity 22 mission, in a unique way, it was a space adventure for Mumbaikars too.
Branson visited the city in December 2019 and many Mumbaikars will recall him saying that he will always carry fond memories of this city and its people. He had come to explore the possibility of launching a hyperloop project between Mumbai and Pune. However, for several reasons the project did not take off.
After meeting Maharashtra chief minister Uddav Thackrey, Branson tweeted: “I’ve always been so inspired by the entrepreneurial spirit of the Indian people.”
Branson also met businessman Anand Mahindra, during his visit to Mumbai.
Branson wrote on Instagram: “Great to be in India to celebrate @ virgin galactic’s new route to Mumbai and join Anand Mahindra for ‘Our Business Is An Adventure’ event. We also unveiled our newest flying icon named Aria after my great great grandfather’s wife who was an Indian virgin family.”
Apart from business and the hyperloop project, Branson was also in Mumbai to be what he called “third time lucky”. This was in regard to Branson’s airline Virgin Atlantic making a third-time entry into Mumbai through the Mumbai-London sector. Virgin Atlantic started flights to Mumbai and then stopped. Later, it restarted its service but pulled off again. When Branson was in Mumbai in December 2019, it was his third effort to restart Virgin’s operations.
Regarding his India connections, he said that his great great grandmother was an Indian from Cuddalore in Tamil Nadu.
He tweeted: “Since 1793 we had four generations living in Cuddalore. Every time I meet an Indian, I’m proud to say we may be related. A few years ago, I traced my roots and was thrilled to discover that I’m actually part Indian. I loved finding out how some of my ancestors on my father’s side moved to India in search of fortune and started their own successful businesses.”
Branson visited the city in December 2019 and many Mumbaikars will recall him saying that he will always carry fond memories of this city and its people. He had come to explore the possibility of launching a hyperloop project between Mumbai and Pune. However, for several reasons the project did not take off.
After meeting Maharashtra chief minister Uddav Thackrey, Branson tweeted: “I’ve always been so inspired by the entrepreneurial spirit of the Indian people.”
Branson also met businessman Anand Mahindra, during his visit to Mumbai.
Branson wrote on Instagram: “Great to be in India to celebrate @ virgin galactic’s new route to Mumbai and join Anand Mahindra for ‘Our Business Is An Adventure’ event. We also unveiled our newest flying icon named Aria after my great great grandfather’s wife who was an Indian virgin family.”
Apart from business and the hyperloop project, Branson was also in Mumbai to be what he called “third time lucky”. This was in regard to Branson’s airline Virgin Atlantic making a third-time entry into Mumbai through the Mumbai-London sector. Virgin Atlantic started flights to Mumbai and then stopped. Later, it restarted its service but pulled off again. When Branson was in Mumbai in December 2019, it was his third effort to restart Virgin’s operations.
Regarding his India connections, he said that his great great grandmother was an Indian from Cuddalore in Tamil Nadu.
He tweeted: “Since 1793 we had four generations living in Cuddalore. Every time I meet an Indian, I’m proud to say we may be related. A few years ago, I traced my roots and was thrilled to discover that I’m actually part Indian. I loved finding out how some of my ancestors on my father’s side moved to India in search of fortune and started their own successful businesses.”
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