BackRichard Branson reveals his family link from Tamil Nadu
Richard Branson said that he has decided to place a picture of his great, great, great grandmother AriaRichard Branson said a 'saliva test' was done in the labs, which revealed these results
PremiumNEW DELHI : Richard Branson, the owner of Virgin Atlantic during his recent visit to India has revealed that a part of his ancestral origins lie in India.
Talking to mediapersons, the maverick investor has said that lab tests have revealed that a part of his ancestral origins lie in Tamil Nadu's Cuddalore, dating back to 1793.
Branson said that he has decided to place a picture of his great, great, great grandmother Aria, who was an Indian, on their Virgin Atlantic planes connecting Mumbai from London.
Richard Branson took to social media site Instagram to share the news,"Great to be in India to celebrate @virginatlantic’s new route to Mumbai and join #AnandMahindra for our Business Is An Adventure event. We also unveiled our newest flying icon, named Aria, after my great great great grandfather’s wife who was Indian".
"I knew that I had past generations living in India, but haven't realised how strong our connections were. So, it turned out that from 1793, we had four generations living here in Cuddalore and one of my great, great, great grandmothers was an Indian named Aria who was married to one of my great, great, great grandfathers," Branson told reporters here.
He said a 'saliva test' was done in the labs, which revealed these results.
The billionaire who dabbles in many businesses, including space tourism, said the family had a very grainy picture, and have used the image of Aria as a 'flying icon'.
"Every time I meet an Indian, I say we might be relatives'," he quipped.
The carrier has re-launched a daily service connecting Mumbai with London in October, the third time that it has started the service.
Meanwhile, a young boy named Arhan Hegde, an eight-year-old city boy, seemed to have non-plussed maverick investor Richard Branson whose venture, Virgin Galactic, is among the firms seeking a pie of space travel.
"I would like to go to the international space station for a week, the only thing I am concerned about is hygiene," the boy said.
It left Branson and the audience at the event organised by his another firm, Virgin Atlantic, in splits.
The billionaire sought to assuage Hegde's worry, saying, "I promise that we will get it properly cleaned."
Hegde had been invited to ask questions to Branson at the event.
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