Miles to sail before I sleep... By RAI UMRAOPATI RAY

Globetrotter, entrepreneur and workaholic, Gulu Lalvani lives life kingsize

The widely acclaimed Hollywood movie ‘The curious case of Benjamin Button’ is not only unique in its adaptation but also has a subtle message — life is a beautiful gift that has little to do with age. And for those of us who look beyond the here and now, age is just another number that takes one’s experience graph a little higher…
Living life to the full and blessed with an indomitable spirit and a never-say-die attitude is telecom tycoon Gulu Lalvani. Globetrotter, entrepreneur and workaholic Lalvani believes in doing everything himself despite his luxurious and lavish lifestyle. But as he says, all he has today has been achieved through sheer hard work, perseverance and dedication.
Born in Karachi to a Sindhi business family, Lalvani completed his education in Mumbai. Binatone was his first venture — a foray that was undertaken while he was still doing a business management course in the UK.
Named after his sister Bina (Ramani), Binatone has grown from a small family business to the world’s second-largest manufacturer of digital cordless phones (worth £450 million). Today, however, Lalvani is gradually handing over the reins of the company to his son Dino and seems content to spend more and more time in Phuket, Thailand.
“I am an avid sailor and love to travel around the world. In fact, my current marina venture (Royal Phuket Marina) in Thailand was conceived when I sailed to Amanpuri — on the west coast of Phuket — in the early 1990s. My love for sailing combined with everything the city offered — sunny weather, subtle tides and warm people made me decide to built one of the world’s premier luxury lifestyle marinas and yachting havens here,” says Lalvani who admits that the idea behind the marina was to keep himself occupied! But as he says, “The more I got into the project, the more I discovered that it was going to be a dream run.”
Apart from sailing, golfing and cars this perfect Sindhi host takes great pleasure in entertaining friends and family. A brief relationship with Princess Diana — which according to reports was only to spite her beau, Dr Hasnat Khan — and the glitzy, week-long wedding of his daughter to Cadbury heir, Joe Cadbury in Phuket were events that brought Lalvani onto centre stage. And though he’s still firmly in the spotlight, Lalvani hasn’t stopped craving for more. He wants to develop a marina in India … “I would love to bring the concept of a ‘luxury lifestyle marina’ to my country which has a long and beautiful shoreline — provided the government supports it,” he says candidly.
Obviously this tycoon’s motto is: Yeh dil mange more!