What does Liz Hurley have to do here?

I was watching CNN when, all of a sudden, details of an Indian wedding in Rajasthan flashed on the screen. It appears there was a fracas when the Police and TV crews got into a brutal brawl outside of yet another Elizabeth Hurley wedding celebration in India..

This was the third time this lady was married, to the same man, during the last week.

Here are the facts about the bride:

Liz Hurley British Model,
Name : Elizabeth Hurley
Date of Birth : June 10, 1965
Place of Birth : Basingstoke, Hampshore, England
Sign : Sun in Gemini, Moon in Scorpio
Height : 5' 9''
Hair : Brown
Eye : Blue
Education : London Studio Center in London UK (majored in Dance and Theatre)
Occupation : Model Actress
Sister : Katie Hurley (literary agent)
Brother : Michael Hurley (engineer).
Ex-boyfriends : Hugh Grant; Steve Bing, the millionaire who dumped her after she revealed that she was pregnant with his son Damian

Elizabeth (Liz) Hurley is a 40+ British Model who shot to fame for several unrelated reasons including the break up with her boy friend British Hollywood actor Hugh Grant after his unfortnate episode with a prostitute. Liz then had an association with millionaire Steve Bing, the millionaire who broke up with her after she revealed that she was pregnant with his son Damian.

But why should this feature on our Seventh Heaven page?

The details on the internet about this union are plenty, so I am not going to dwell on that. It is difficult to separate the truth from the fiction with today's media.

A typical example is utter tripe that was written in the major English newspaper "The Independent". They refer to Vinod Nayar's, the father of the groom Arun Nayar, stay in a council house in Leeds in the early 1960's, when he was a student at Leeds University when he married Gunnar. They implied he was just a "poor" student from india in Leeds! And they state that Arun was sent to the "posh" Cathedral school because and AFTER his mother made money with her textile company, Tijarat Impex!

Maybe "The Independent" would like to know that Vinod used to go on skiing holidays to the Austrian or Swiss Alps when he was studying in Leeds! The Nayarä's were millionaires before The Independent came into existence!

The Nayar family has been traditionally a Cathedralite one and one which I am proud to have known for the last 50+ years!

The hubby, 82er Arun Nayar (born 1964) and his younger brother Nikhil, are the kids of 58er Vinod Nayar & German ex-wife wife, Gunnar, and nephews of 59er Vijay and his wife Meera, and 63er Anil. Meera, although not a Cathedralite, is the sister of late 60er Disha Chunnilal, who was also a great friend of us 59ers, along with Meher Tata, Rashida Kajiji (married to 53er Anees) and Jotysna Jaitly (sister of 54er Ravi Jaitly and 57er Ashok (Tony) Jaitly).

Arun, Nikhil, Vinod, Vijay and Anil are all Cathedralites.

Arun, like his uncle 59er Vijay, went to the Millfield School, Somerset, England, and then went on to do Physics at Christ Church College, Oxford. He is the co-founder and presently the CEO of Directions Software Solution operating out of Mumbai. This is a software solutions company that he set up with brother Nikhil.

Arun is also known to be very active in relief efforts for HIV positive and AIDS affected children in Africa.

Arun married Valentina Pedroni, a Milanese model in 1994, but separated four years ago when Valentina returned to Milan after pictures of Arun and Liz holding hands at a Paris fashion show hit the tabloids. Vowing never to divorce Arun, Valentina yielded after receiving an alleged 'whopper of a settlement'.

Father, Vinod, did his HSc in Cathedral after finishing his schooling at one of the expensive hill station schools. After his HSc, where he was classmates with 56ers Ernest Haskell and Ubi, he went to Leeds University and completed his degree in textile technology. He married a brainy and ambitious German beauty, Gunnar, and settled in Bombay.

They divorced soon after the children were born. Gunnar is reputed to have set up a major garment export company, which she still heads. This is reputed to be the source of the wealth of the boys, Arun and Nikhil. :-)

Vinod married Joanne Paes in 2004 after 6 years of courtship. Both were in their 50s when they married. Joanne used to run her own restaurant in London after starting her career in Oberoi Hotels.

Vinod's younger brothers, 59er Vijay and 63er Anil (Lucky), were Cathedralites from Nursery School to Senior Cambridge.

I believe sister Asha was also a Cathedralite. She married a German. Asha was her father's right hand till she got married. Wish I knew where she is as she used to be a really friendly person.

59er Vijay was School Captain, an outstanding cricketer, a great hockey, football and table tennis player and also a good squash player. Like his nephew Arun, Vijay studied at Millfield School and then went Southampton University to do mechanical engineering. Vijay runs some companies out of Delhi and visits St. Petersburg often supplying shoe uppers to industries there. I am waiting for him to drop in on us as St. Petersburg is just a stone's throw away from us!

63er Anil was Indian Squash Champion and got his scholarship to Harvard University because of his squash and academic talent. Anil now lives in the US. His career has been covered in an earlier blog entry.

Their home in Bombay was at St. James's Court on Marine Drive which is owned by the Nayar family. (The value of this building alone would put the Nayar wealth above £50 million!)

That corner was where we 59ers used to meet almost every evening in the late 50s and early 60s.

59ers Ashok Kapur and Jack Haskell also lived in St. James's Court, while 59er Arvind Thdhani lived next door in Earl's Court.

I used to spend many hours in Vijay's parent flat on the top floor of St. James's Court. His mother, whom I understand is still full of beans in Mumbai, used to insist of plying us with all sorts of goodies!

The Nayar family have been in the textile business for generations and owned Castle Mills which made some of the finest woollen suitings. It was a partnership company and, hence, had enormous problems when they became almost a multinational in the 50's. Taxation on large successful partnerships used to be prohibitive in those days. (It may be the same these days).

Castle Mills was famous for their woollen blankets which they supplied to the Indian Army as well as to major airlines. The Nayar family also used to produce the finest corduroy, probably the only manufacturer in India at that time. (So the story of Gunnar being the source of wealth of the Nayars rings a bit hollow knowing the standing of Castle mills and associated companies way back in the fifties, well before Vinod married Gunnar.)

Vijay's late dad was the real driving force that ran the Nayar empire, travelling out to Thana daily.



So when I saw the picture of Arun and Liz, I could see all the Nayar traits in this guy!

I remember meeting this young man way back in 1970, on our return to India, when he was just 6 years old. Annikki and I were being hosted to a dinner at Vijay's home in St. James's Court.

We wish them a very happy and successful marriage(s)!