MY LONG-LOST BROTHER IS ONE OF WORLD’S RICHEST MEN
Ida reunited with Indian tycoon after 60 years apart
A SCOTS great-gran was tracked down by her long-lost “brother” – who is now a multimillionaire tycoon.
Asgar Patel was brought up in Ida Wilde’s family as he fled bloodshed in his native India.
After he found her on Facebook, the pair had an emotional reunion at Ida’s Ayrshire home.
A PHOTOGRAPH from a family wedding helped reunite Ida Wilde with the long-lost brother she hadn’t seen for 60 years.
But over the six decades since Ida had bid a tearful farewell to a little boy on a Glasgow railway platform, he had done rather well for himself.
Asgar Patel, to whom her family gave refuge during India’s troubled Partition, had built up one of the largest logistic companies in India – and become one of the world’s richest men.
His fortune of about £600million placed him at number 45 on Forbes’ top 100 Indian business owners in the Arab world in 2017.
Now, the pair have been reunited at Ida’s home in Irvine, Ayrshire.
Great-gran Ida, 83, said: “I hadn’t seen Asgar in so long. It turns out he’d spent years searching for his adopted Scottish family but we moved out of Glasgow and he couldn’t find us.
“Then, out of the blue, I got a message on Facebook from Asgar and it was just lovely to hear from him again.
“I couldn’t believe he had spotted my photograph after all these years – it was a miracle really.
“I’d said goodbye to a wee boy and now he was returning a hugely successful multi-millionaire. It was surreal.”
In 1947, Ida was a child growing up in the west end of Glasgow.
At the stroke of midnight on August 15 that year, British rule was ended in India after a long struggle and the territory separated into two new countries, India and Pakistan.
Millions of people were forced to leave their homes to move to the other state in the largest mass migration in human history, with the majority of Hindus staying in India and most Muslims moving to Pakistan.
The split sparked riots, with up to a million people losing their lives.
It was against this backdrop that the parents of young Asgar sought to find refuge for him and their other three children.
At the time, Ida’s great-aunt ran a boarding house in Willowbank Street in Glasgow’s west end, mainly catering for overseas students attending the University of Glasgow.
She was contacted by two former lodgers to see if she could provide a safe haven for four of their friends’ children – Ramzan, Atabr, Kulsom, and Asgar.
Their father was a wealthy man with businesses in Bombay and Karachi and, concerned for his family’s safety, he wanted refuge for his sons and daughters.
Due to her advancing years, Ida’s great-aunt decided not to take the children in – only to open her door a few weeks later to find four frightened Indian kids shivering on her front step.
Ida’s mother stepped in to help and welcomed six-year-old Asgar and his big sister Kulsom, 12, into her home, while the older boys went with the aunt.
Ida said: “When they came at first, we thought, ‘How can any mum and dad send four kids like this to Scotland?’ But you could understand it a bit more when you saw all the horrible things that were happening in India and Pakistan.
“Kulsom got homesick and wanted to go home but Asgar would have lived here forever. He quickly became part of the family.
“We had a little dog called Sparkie and he loved playing with him. We also went on trips to the seaside and he loved seeing new places. It was great having them to stay and they were happy kids.”
Asgar and Kulsom stayed with Ida’s parents for five years, initially going to Hillhead High School.
And it wasn’t long until Asgar forgot his old life back in India.
Ida added: “When his mum came over to visit, he forgot how to speak Urdu and she couldn’t speak English, so they just waved at each other.
“But a lot of time had passed and he’d settled into a new life, so it must have been quite difficult for his mum to see. Although he loved his parents very much, when it was time for him to return home he didn’t want go.”
Saying goodbye to Asgar at the train station was upsetting for Ida and her parents, and she often wondered what happened to him.
They sent birthday and Christmas cards for a couple of years but lost touch after Ida’s family moved home several times.
She said: “We were heartbroken when he left. I often wondered where he ended up.”
After six decades Asgar, now 78, spotted a picture of Ida holding a bunch of flowers at a family wedding which had been posted on Facebook.
Ida was stunned to hear from her long-lost brother, who is now based in Dubai, and had given up all hope of ever being reunited with him.
She said: “The picture was put online and I got a message on my iPad asking, ‘Are you Ida Moreland?’ which was my maiden name.
“It was great to hear from him and I was surprised by how much he remembered. He asked if I remembered us all going to Ayr on holiday and away to Tighnabruaich.
“It wasn’t strange or awkward and we chatted away like two old pals.
“Asgar thought he would never find me until the photo went online.
“I just couldn’t believe it. He’s done so well for himself and he’s still such a genuine and lovely person.
“We chatted away for ages and he told me all about his family.
“He wants to fly me to Dubai to meet them and he’s coming back to visit again next year.
“We keep it touch now and it’s just wonderful to have Asgar back in my life after so many years apart.”
When his mum came to visit, he forgot how to speak Urdu so they just waved IDA WILDE