Team Blitz India
HAD anyone else conveyed the message, it’d have been dismissed as an April Fools’ Day prank. But this April 1, when Chairman and Editor-in-Chief Deepak Dwivedi himself announced that the world-famous billionaire philanthropist, Chairman of Caparo Group, the first and only Indian-origin Deputy Speaker of the UK House of Lords, Lord Swraj Paul, was going to visit the Blitz India office, everyone knew that this was no joke. The breaking news was treated with the seriousness that it deserved.
He chatted. He regaled. He shared anecdotes.
And he recalled history he was part of, some he even created.
And then, started the wait, with baited breath. There was anticipation in the air, a little uncertainty too. The editorial and technical teams from all seven print and online editions of Blitz India and its YouTube channel waited … waited … and waited, to meet an ardent reader and supporter of Blitz India.
The clock was ticking… The uncertainty lay heavy… will he, won’t he? And then he came – radiant and beaming! He chatted. He regaled. He shared anecdotes. And he recalled history he was part of, some he even created. Suddenly the awe, the awkwardness among those waiting for one of the world’s leading NRI entrepreneurs vanished. All participated in an inspiring adda. Lord Paul holds a unique distinction in British Parliament. Though people of Indian origin have held ministerial berths in the UK Cabinet, it was the first time in 2008 that an Asian was appointed as the Deputy Speaker in the House of Lords.
The nonagenarian Lord is a powerhouse and is on a world-tour, visiting his offices and plants in several countries. He took a couple of hours off his packed schedule in New Delhi to spend with Team Blitz India.
Did you know he loves pani-puri, or that he was offered “any ministry” in the Indira Gandhi Cabinet? Watch his soon-to-be-released interview at Blitz India YouTube channel to get your answers.