Narayanan Vaghul cremated in Chennai, industry doyens pay last respects to veteran banker

CHENNAI: Veteran banker and Padma Bhushan recipient Narayanan Vaghul, who died in the city on May 18, was cremated here on Sunday, family sources said.

Vaghul was cremated at a city crematorium, after industry titans including Ajay Piramal and R Seshasayee paid their respects to the departed veteran here.

Admitted to a corporate hospital in the city due to health-related ailments, Vaghul (88) breathed his last on Saturday. He is survived by his wife Padma, son Mohan, and daughter Sudha.

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das, Mahindra and Mahindra Group Chairman Anand Mahindra had condoled his demise.

On Sunday, former Union Minister and senior Congress leader P Chidambaram mourned Vaghul's demise and credited him with creating many legendary women bankers.

"He was a legendary banker who turned ICICI into a financial powerhouse, but he was more than that. He was the one who spotted talent among men and women, mentored them, promoted them and entrusted them with high responsibilities," Chidambaram said.

"Dozens of them, especially women, became legendary bankers themselves. May his example guide the banking industry and may his soul rest in peace !", he wrote in a social media post.

Industry leaders--Piramal Group Chairman Ajay Piramal, Asian Paints Ltd Chairman R Seshasayee, ICICI Bank MD and CEO Sandeep Bakshi among others paid their last respects to Vaghul at his house here.

Former MD and CEO of Axis Bank, Shikha Sharma, Cognizant Co-founder Lakshmi Narayanan, Tractors and Farm Equipment Ltd (TAFE) Chairperson Mallika Srinivasan, Larsen and Toubro CMD S N Subrahmanyan also paid their respects to the late veteran.

Anand Ramakrishnan, a chartered accountant with a 45-year association with Vaghul said the banker was part of a closely knit family of seven brothers and sisters and "they were available for each other."

In a brief interaction with PTI, Ramakrishnan said, "He (Vaghul) was always available for advice and was so punctual and was never late even for a small function in the house."

"Vaghul used to share his insights on most topics and even last week he was active in all family social media groups. His humor and wit were amazing and his knowledge was vast in areas like sports, history, economics, politics," Ramakrishnan said.

Vaghul used to tell stories of the 1933 heroics of legendary Australian cricketer Sir Don Bradman and Indian ace Sachin Tendulkar's innings in 2003.

He used to watch Tamil and Hindi classics of the 1950s. Later, his favourites movies were those made by late director and Dadasaheb Phalke recipient K Balachander and director Mani Ratnam, he said.

Vaghul's favourite pastime also includes visiting the Music Academy in Chennai to attend concerts of Carnatic musicians, he said.

"We all will miss him dearly and will cherish the good moments we had", he said.