Hosting celebrities

During their visit to India Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall were guests of billionaire philanthropist Dr Cyrus Poonawalla and his son Adar. On November 10, 2013 the Prince of Wales was taken on a tour of the Serum Institute of India Limited in Poona which is internationally recognized for the low cost vaccines that save millions of lives every year, while Camilla spent time with the thoroughbreds at the Poonawalla stud farm.

On its diary page Mumbai Mirror (MM) of November 1 mentioned that the businessman philanthropist had rubbished reports that the visit was to be a courtesy call because the Poonawallas had made handsome donations to some of the many charities of which the Prince is patron. He clarified that neither had the Prince asked for a donation nor had he offered any. "But if he wants us to contribute to any of the various charities he heads, we would gladly do so,” the jetsetter reportedly said.

Dr Cyrus Poonawalla with actresses Sharon Stone and Hillary Swank

A week later, on November 17 Poonawalla in a repsonse to a query from Parsiana emailed that he sponsored the AmfAR (American Foundation for AIDS Research) charity fund-raiser at the Taj Mahal Palace hotel where the philanthropist played host to Hollywood actresses Sharon Stone and Hillary Swank as well as Kenneth Cole who is on the board of directors of AmfAR. Poonawalla also sponsored the auction for raising funds at the charity event. The email mentions that Stone attended a select gathering at the Poonawallas’ Bombay residence to interact with the city’s top industrialists, entertainers, media barons and the cream of society. In its issue of November 18, 2013, MM revealed that the hosts were "bowled over” with her charm and grace, meeting everyone and acceding to every request for a photograph. The following day the film star flew to Udaipur in Poonawalla’s private jet, MM wrote.