WILLEMSTAD/PHILIPSBURG--Boolchand Group of Companies Chairman Doulatram Boolchand Nandwani, affectionately known as "Dada," died peacefully in Curaçao on Tuesday. He was 92.
Dada was known for his business acumen, a trait he passed on to his children and grandchildren who, like him, are active in the commercial life of the Dutch Caribbean. He was a dedicated family man who strove to balance this family business and the business of keeping a family together, happy and prosperous.
The first Boolchand's store was opened in Curaçao by Dada's late father Boolchand Nandwani in 1930 after he settled there.
The legacy of Boolchand's, a household name in St. Maarten and elsewhere in the Dutch Caribbean, the US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, started when Dada's father left Panama, where he had been working on the Panama Canal, en route to Guyana to start his own business. A chance stop of his ship in Curaçao led him to stay there and open a business called Oriental Art Palace on Heerenstraat selling items from India and China.
Dada headed to Curaçao in 1950 after his father passed away in Pune. The Hindu family lived in Pune after the parting of India and Pakistan made them refugees from Hyderabad. That state was annexed to Pakistan.
Dada expanded the business, one of the first Indian- (Sindhi-) owned enterprises, by opening new branches in Venezuela, St. Maarten, Aruba, Bonaire, St. Thomas and St. Kitts, among other places.
Under his leadership, a second store – Cortesia – was opened in Curaçao in 1952.
Fast forward just over a decade and the first Boolchand's location opened on Front Street in St. Maarten, selling linen tablecloths and clothing. Dada was seen at the 50th anniversary of Boolchand's in St. Maarten, one of his last public appearances here.
When the 1969 riot in Curaçao claimed the Heerenstraat 10 store with flames, Dada had no insurance. Knowledge of his hard work and dedication as a businessman saw him gain the support of Maduro and Curiel's Bank to rebuild his store on the same street, but at number 4B. He also established a location in the Curaçao Free Zone.
Dada and his children grew the business over the years. The Boolchand's Group opened several new stores in St. Maarten, including Pandora and Crocs. One of the last expansions under Dada as group chairman was Pandora Concept Store in Puerto Rico.
Dada leaves to mourn his children, grandchildren, extended family and friends across the Dutch and wider Caribbean, India and elsewhere in the world.
Dada will be cremated according to Hindu rites at the Crefona Crematorium in Brievengat, Curaçao, on Friday.
In lieu of flowers, the family has set up a donation box for the benefit of Casa Cuna Villa Maria and Huize Welgelegen "Habaai."
Sympathies to the family may be sent to
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