Family Brew

From moving away from tea gardens to being married to a supermodel, the reticent Paul gives Ishita Ayan Dutt a rare glimpse into his life

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Karan Paul has never been one for the front row or the high-octane Indian Premier League (IPL) auction table. It's "not his style." But that should come as little surprise. The chairman of the Apeejay Surrendra Group and co-owner of the Punjab Kings franchise (along with businessmen Mohit Burman and Ness Wadia, and actor Preity Zinta) has long mastered the art of making himself scarce. Painfully media-shy, he makes an exception for this lunch.

We are at Flurys on Park Street, the gastronomic hub of Kolkata. Anyone remotely familiar with the city would know of this iconic tearoom set up by Swiss couple Joseph and Frieda Flury in 1927. Several decades on, the patisserie retains a fan following—its long, snaking queues for breakfast or plum cakes a familiar sight during the holiday season.

A chance meeting had brought Flurys to the Apeejay Surrendra Group in 1965. The story goes that Karan Paul's uncle, the legendary late Jit Paul, bumped into Joseph Flury one morning while he was waiting to cross the road. Paul Senior made an offer Joseph couldn't refuse. So it comes as no surprise when Karan Paul picks Flurys for lunch.

Most dining places on Park Street don't take reservations. But a table for two has been reserved—one of the perks of lunching with the owner. The glass facade offers a view of a road that's almost synonymous with the Pauls—The Park hotel is a stone's throw away; there is Apeejay House, Park Mansions, Apeejay School, and so on.

My guest arrives presently and takes a seat. Dressed in a dark grey suit, the 55-year-old businessman cuts a dapper figure. "I am almost invisible, and hardly in Kolkata these days—about 12 days in a month," he says.

Invisible? I wonder at the paradox of it. How is it possible to be married to supermodel Indrani Dasgupta and yet be invisible?