Leading Indian businessman Ganesh Srinivasan dies

Doha-based Indian entrepreneur Ganesh Srinivasan died of a heart attack late Saturday. He was 58.Srinivasan complained of chest pain around 11pm and though an emergency ambulance was summoned, his life could not be saved.He leaves behind his wife Vidya and children Pooja and Rohit.  His body will be kept at the Hamad Hospital mortuary at 5pm today to enable his friends and well-wishers to pay homage. Funeral will take place in Bangalore, India, tomorrow, one of his friends said. A versatile personality, Srinivasan was actively involved in community forums and was the founder president of the Indian Business Promotion Network (IBPN) which is under the aegis of the Indian embassy. He was an advisory council member of the Indian Cultural Centre (ICC).Srinivasan was the general manager of Gulf Incon which he had set up with a prominent local business group in 1980. The company is the country distributor of a number of global brands in industrial applications and consumer products.      Known more among his friends and well-wishers by his first name, Ganesh, he was in the forefront of organising a number of cultural events, mainly music programmes, in Doha in the last two decades. Close to many Indian musicians, Srinivasan liberally patronised many concerts in the last two decades.Occasionally, Srinivasan also entertained audiences at music shows; for instance, at the concert of popular Indian ghazal artiste Hariharan at the Ideal School grounds in 2012, his immaculate rendition of some popular numbers wowed the huge gathering.Srinivasan chaired a forum, the Music Lovers Group, which hosted several musicians through the years. He sponsored the ICC music show for several years.  An avid cricket enthusiast, Srinivasan was involved in a number of cricketing activities in Qatar.   In the initial years of the Ideal Fiesta, Srinivasan was one of its frontline organisers.    A voracious reader and one who keenly followed the day-to-day global economic and other developments, Srinivasan was a major source of utility news to journalists working in Qatar. He had a huge collection of books and musical albums at his residence.He was associated with the activities of at least two of the country’s Indian schools, the Ideal Indian and DPS-Modern. He was one of the founding members of the DPS school.Doha-based Indian businessman C K Menon expressed shock at the death of Srinivasan. Many of Srinivasan’s friends and associates praised his contributions to the Indian community in Qatar.  Mohan Thomas, a senior doctor and leading Indian social worker, said Ganesh’s death was a “terrible loss to the community.”  Dr Thomas said he had met Srinivasan and his wife Vidya on Saturday evening “and we had a long talk.” “Ganesh was in a cheerful mood and he talked about his ideas and plans to serve the community further; it was all so inspiring.”Dr Thomas said he was “shocked” to hear about the death hours after their meeting. “As a friend of long standing, his death is a huge personal loss to me.”“Ganesh was a wonderful friend,” former Gulf Times news editor Babu Mather said. “Doha will miss a multifaceted personality who was actively involved in music, cricket, philanthropy, business and education.” Former Doha resident Subramanian Nambisan, who was involved with the Music Lovers Group’s work, said Srinivasan was a pillar of the Indian community in Doha. “He was instrumental in arranging so many concerts by top Indian musicians in Doha. His organising powers were amazing. The Indian community in Doha will miss him badly.” The Indian Cultural Centre (ICC), Indian Community Benevolent Forum (ICBF) and Indian Business Promotion Network (IBPN), Qatar Tamizhar Sangham (QTS), Karnataka Sangha, North Indian Association (NIA), Indian Cultural and Arts Society (Incas), Sanskriti, Kerala Muslim Cultural Centre (KMCC), Friends of Thrissur (Fota) and Friends of Tiruvalla (FoT) were among those forums which mourned his death.