Meet Ravi Ghai, The Hotelier-Ice Cream Baron At The Centre Of Arjun Tendulkar-Saaniya Chandhok Engagement
The private engagement, held on August 13, 2025, has brought two high-profile Mumbai families together - one known for cricketing glory, the other for five-star hospitality and ice cream empires.
Who Is Ravi Ghai?
As chairman of the Graviss Group, Ghai's portfolio reads like a list of hospitality heavyweights.
He owns the InterContinental Hotel on Mumbai's Marine Drive, a landmark property he transformed from the old Natraj Hotel into a beacon of luxury. His reach goes well beyond hotels - he has steered brands like Kwality and Brooklyn Creamery and brought Baskin-Robbins to India and the SAARC region back in 1993, making global flavours a familiar treat here.
Global Training, Local Impact
A graduate of Cornell University's School of Hotel Administration, Ghai has blended international know-how with Indian business instincts for decades. In 1967, he returned to Mumbai and took over the business legacy.
Under his leadership, Graviss Food Solutions Private Limited reported revenues of Rs 624 crore for FY23-24, marking a 20% year-on-year jump. The group's net worth is estimated between Rs 800-1,000 crore, with business interests that straddle both luxury hospitality and mass-market food.
Creating New Brands
Ghai's journey has been shaped by both continuity and reinvention.
He carried forward his father's legacy with Kwality Ice Cream, expanded the reach of the Gaylord restaurant chain, and launched The Brooklyn Creamery to capture a younger, health-conscious market.
He has also maintained a strong global outlook, building collaborations that introduced high-end service standards and international brands to Indian consumers.
However, all the headlines aren't all sweet. Around a month ago, Ghai faced personal turbulence, most publicly in a dispute with his son Gaurav, whom he accused of taking control of the Graviss Group during his cancer treatment.
He accused him of forging his signature, committing fraud, and taking control of the company while ending his monthly allowances during his cancer treatment.
The matter, treated as a family dispute by police, has gone to arbitration.
An Ever Lasting Legacy In Hospitality
Despite these challenges, Ghai's influence on India's hospitality sector is hard to overstate.
Since joining the family business in the 1960s, he has been a pioneer in luxury service, a dealmaker for international tie-ups, and a custodian of heritage brands. Whether it's a hotel suite overlooking the Arabian Sea or a tub of ice cream in a corner shop, his work has touched multiple layers of Indian life.
Now, with his granddaughter's engagement to Arjun Tendulkar, Ravi Ghai finds himself at the intersection of business news, society pages, and cricket chatter.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hindustan Times
29 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
OpenAI rolls out its most affordable ChatGPT plan ever, for India
OpenAI on Tuesday launched its most affordable subscription plan in the world, ChatGPT Go, exclusively for use in India. Priced at ₹399 per month, this is the organization's most affordable offering as it aims to deepen its presence in its second largest market, as claimed by CEO Sam Altman. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman had earlier told HT that he hoped to have something 'exciting to share soon'.(AP File Photo for representation) The new plan adds to the existing top-tier version, ChatGPT Pro, priced at ₹19,900 per month and ChatGPT Plus at ₹1,999 per month, which offer priority access, faster performance, and higher usage limits for heavy users, read a report by PTI. ChatGPT's vice president Nick Turley also announced that all subscriptions to the platform can now be paid via UPI and in Indian rupee. What are the features of the new ChatGPT Go? ChatGPT Go will enable users to send messages and generate images, up to ten times more than the free version, along with faster response times. The message limits are designed to increase with higher subscription models. 'We just launched ChatGPT Go in India, a new subscription tier that gives users in India more access to our most popular features,' Nick Turley wrote on his official X handle. ChatGPT's Indian market India is OpenAI's second-largest market by user base after the United States and may soon become the biggest, a Reuters report dated February, quoted OpenAI CEO Altman as saying. Earlier this year, CEO Sam Altman met with India's IT minister and discussed a plan to create a low-cost AI ecosystem. 'India will build great models,' Altman earlier said in the interview with HT in February 2025, adding that while the company did not have anything to announce about an India-specific investment, he hoped to have something 'exciting to share soon'. (With inputs from agencies)
Indian Express
29 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Karnataka passes gig workers welfare bill; rules for welfare fee soon, says Labour Minister Santosh Lad
The Karnataka Legislative Assembly on Tuesday passed legislation aimed at protecting the rights of gig workers, placing obligations on aggregators for the social security, occupational health and safety of the gig workers. This would cover around 4 lakh gig workers employed by various platforms across the state. The Karnataka Platform Based Gig Workers (Social Security and Welfare) Bill, 2025, was taken up for discussion on Tuesday, after months of deliberations by various stakeholders regarding the contents of the proposed legislation. Labour Minister Santosh Lad, piloting the Bill, said that it would apply to eight services provided by aggregators—ride sharing, food and grocery delivery, logistics services, e-marketplace, professional activity provider, healthcare, travel and hospitality, and content and media services. The Bill allows the government to levy a welfare fee ranging from 1 to 5 per cent on aggregators meant for a welfare fund of gig workers. 'The fee cannot be implemented uniformly (from all aggregators). When rules are framed, the government will also determine the welfare fee,' he said. Deputy Leader of Opposition Arvind Bellad argued that variation in the fee for various aggregators could lead to corruption. 'Fixing one rate is appropriate,' he suggested. Lad, in response, said that it would not be possible to do so as there were differences among various aggregators. 'For instance, Namma Yatri (ride-hailing app) transfers the amount charged directly (to drivers). Should we then take it from the user fee? Companies such as Urban Clap will pay service and transportation charges. How should it be collected from them?' he asked, adding that the government has held discussions with experts to finalise the fee. Explaining the necessity of the Bill, he said that some gig workers were putting in 16-hour shifts to earn around Rs 1,600 to Rs 1,800. Due to the kind of work, these workers will face health problems in the future, Lad said. BJP legislator Dheeraj Muniraju asked whether the government could fix minimum wages and stipulate maximum working hours for a gig worker. The minister said that all gig workers were employed on a 'flexi-hour basis' and were free to work as much as they wanted. 'They have the right to reject work too,' he added. Before the Bill was tabled in the Legislature, it was promulgated as an ordinance earlier this year.
Deccan Herald
29 minutes ago
- Deccan Herald
Devotee to donate 121 kg gold worth Rs 140 crore to Lord Venkateswara Swamy: Andhra CM
Noting that the devotee wished to remain anonymous, Naidu said he made USD 1.5 billion or about Rs 6,000 crore to Rs 7,000 crore by selling 60 per cent of his company shares and decided to give back to the deity as Sri Venkateswara Swamy gave him those riches.
