While Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s tragic death stunned India on 14 June, not many realised that the same day Nita Ambani’s daughter-in-law Shloka Mehta also lost her grandfather, who was instrumental in her taking up philanthropy as her career. One of Shloka Mehta’s fan pages on Instagram has now shared some unseen photos of late Arunkumar Ramniklal Mehta with his loved ones including Shloka.
While sharing the throwback photos, the fan page of Shloka Mehta wrote, “Sh. Arun Kumar Mehta (Shloka di’s grandfather) breathed his last on 14th June, 2020 at Sir. H.N. Reliance Foundation Hospital. May the departed soul rest in eternal peace. He was truly a LEGEND of the diamond world. Our heartfelt condolences to the entire Mehta Family. May God give strength to all his loved ones and the industry to bear this irreplaceable loss. Om Shanti.”
While in one photo, late Mehta could be seen enjoying a cute moment with his affable granddaughter, another photo saw him posing for the camera with his extended family members. In another throwback photo, Arunkumar Ramniklal Mehta is seen sharing a laugh as a young man with his friends.
Not many know that it was late Arunkumar Ramniklal Mehta, who originally inspired Shloka to take up philanthropy as part of her career. Speaking about her dada (grandfather), Shloka had once said, “My dada actively served on the board of several trusts and projects, and even today, after he has officially resigned, people continue to approach him. He never just signed a cheque but always went deeper and met the beneficiaries, got involved with the organization and its processes.”
Ramniklal Mehta is survived by son Russel Mehta, Shloka Mehta’s father, and a daughter. Born in 1940 in Gujarat’s Patan district, Shloka’s grandfather moved to Mumbai in the 1960s to start his diamond business. It was here that he started his business of diamond cutting and polishing. The company was originally called Arunkumar & Company before it became the now-famous Rosy Blue Group.