Who was Vijaypat Singhania? Architect of Raymond’s rise, record-breaking aviator & Padma Bhushan awardee

The curtain has fallen on one of the most storied lives in Indian industry. Vijaypat Singhania, the man who turned the Raymond Group into a household name and scaled the literal edges of the earth’s atmosphere, left behind on Saturday a legacy as textured as the fine woollens he once sold.

A titan of the 20th-century corporate landscape, Singhania was the rare breed of industrialist who was just as comfortable in a pressurised cockpit as he was in a wood-panelled boardroom.

Also Read | Vijaypat Singhania, former Raymond chairman, Padma Bhushan awardee and aviator, passes away


A pioneering spirit

Vijaypat Singhania assumed leadership of Raymond in 1980, inheriting a business that, while respected, had yet to realise its full potential.

Under his stewardship, the group underwent a radical transformation.

He moved beyond traditional woollen manufacturing to diversify into synthetic fabrics, denim, and even high-precision engineering.

By the 1990s, Raymond had become synonymous with the "Complete Man," a branding masterstroke that resonated with the evolving identity of the Indian male.

His ability to blend industrial scale with refined quality ensured that the Raymond name remained a cornerstone of the Indian economy for decades.

However, Singhania’s identity was never solely defined by his commercial success.

He was a quintessential adventurer who sought to conquer the horizons. His passion for aviation led him to achieve feats that few dared to imagine.

A life lived at 30,000 feet

While he successfully transformed Raymond from a modest mill into a global empire, his heart belonged to the sky.

In 1988, he stunned the world by solo-piloting a microlight aircraft from London to Ahmedabad, a journey of over 9,000 kilometres that cemented his status as a legendary aviator.

He didn’t stop there. In 2005, at the age of 67, he set a world record for the highest flight in a hot air balloon, reaching a staggering altitude of 69,852 feet - literally touching the fringe of space.

For these feats, he was not just awarded the Padma Bhushan, India’s third-highest civilian honour, but was also made an Honorary Air Commodore of the Indian Air Force.

The turbulent horizon of an empire

However, the later years of Singhania’s life were marked by a tragic groundedness.

The most poignant chapter of Singhania’s life began in 2015, not in a cockpit, but in a lawyer's office.

In a move he would later describe as his "biggest mistake," he gifted his entire 37% stake in the Raymond Group, worth over Rs 1,000 crore, to his son, Gautam Singhania.

What followed was a public and painful fallout that saw the elder Singhania stripped of his titles and, at one point, battling in court for a roof over his head in the very skyscraper he had built.

The soaring heights of his youth were replaced by the jagged reality of a high-profile family feud.

The man who once owned the sky spent his twilight years fighting for a roof over his head, ultimately authoring a memoir poignantly titled An Incomplete Life.