Sunanda had a never say die spirit

From the hills of Kashmir this girl grew to become a high-flying business woman in Dubai. A born rebel, her friends remember a bold girl who could speak her heart out on critical issues.

Hailing from Bomai village of the apple-rich town of Sopore, Sunanda’s family migrated to Jammu after the onset of militancy leaving behind all the land, orchards and a grand house. 

Sunanda Pushkar met and married fellow Kashmiri Pandit Sanjay Raina, a hotel management graduate, while she was still studying in the Government College for Women in Srinagar.

But the marriage soon failed and she went on to marry Raina’s best friend Sujith Menon. This was what led her to Dubai in the early 90’s —Menon settled in a job with an insurance company, while Sunanda worked as an accounts exec with the marketing and ad agency, Bozell Prime. 

She was not a woman to be bogged down by the mundane, but loved glamour and craved for a flashy social life. Sunanda begged her friends for invitations to glam events and then cashed in on the ’90s marketing trends of organising small-time fashion shows.

She then begun an event management business called Expressions, becoming well known for her networking with sponsors and artists for fashion shows. Her company organised several model shows for product launches, featuring several Indian fashion designers and models, including Hemant Trivedi, Rhea Pillai, Vikram Phadnis and Aishwarya Rai. 

Catapulting into the world of event management, the C-class variety—of starlets and bimbos— she stunned her colleagues with her insatiable ambition. She knew how to catch the eye of sponsors and was charmingly brazen.

Sunanda met Shashi Tharoor in October 2009 at a party organised by billionaire Sunny Varkey. She came into the public life when she was seen accompanying Tharoor at social gatherings. Later in 2010, she married Tharoor after he was elected as Member of Parliament.

The two were known to have the best social gatherings and Sunanda in particular for her social vitality.

But she had her fair share of controversies. One such was the IPL where Sunanda was the co-owner of Rendezvous Sports World, the consortium that bought the Kochi team. It was alleged that Shashi Tharoor had used her as a shield for collecting INR 70 crore and helping the Kochi owners get their IPL team, Kochi Tuskers. 

In April 2010, she had to relinquish her stake in the Kochi IPL team, estimated to be worth INR 70 crore when allegations of corruption against Shashi Tharoor created a furore. 

On January 1, 2014, Sunanda was found dead under mysterious circumstances at five-star hotel in Delhi. Sunanda’s body was reportedly found by Tharoor when he returned after attending a meeting.

Sunanda’s death left everyone dumbfounded. Many celebrities from Bollywood, to influential ministers expressed grief at the shocking news. She was a woman envied and loved.