Captain Krishnan Nair’s wife Leela Krishnan Nair has passed away
Leela Krishnan Nair, wife of late C P Krishnan Nair who was the founder of The Leela Group passed away on Sunday. She was 90 years old.
She was being treated at the Breach Candy Hospital in Mumbai. Her funeral will take place on Sunday. Leela was the daughter of former NMCC President AK Nair.
C P Krishnan Nair married Leela in 1950. He named his hotel Group Leela after his wife. According to the group’s website, when actively scouting for land in Mumbai to construct the first hotel, he and his wife stumbled upon a vast tract of 11 acres situated close to the international airport. “His wife Leela’s deep instincts that travellers to the airport would need a place to stay, prompted him to take up the challenge of building a luxury hotel without conducting a market survey.”
Leela was married when she was 18 years old. Her parents first named her Sumathi. It was changed to Leela by her brother Raveendran Nair. Since there was another Sumati in the village he wanted his sister’s name to stand out. When her husband Captain CP Krishnan Nair developed that name into an industrial empire, ‘Leela’ became one of the most precious names in the business world. With just one day to go before the seventh death anniversary of Krishnan Nair, his beloved wife Leela has passed away.
She is survived by her two sons — Vivek Nair and Dinesh Nair. Vivek is the present chairman and managing director of the Leela Group while Dinesh is the co-chairman of Leela group.
