Socialite, philanthropist Parmeshwar Godrej dead

Mumbai : Well-known Indian socialite and philanthropist Parmeshwar Godrej, wife of Godrej Group Chairman Adi Godrej, passed away here on Monday night, official sources said on Tuesday. She breathed her last at the Breach Candy Hospital where she was admitted recently. No further details were available. Besides Adi, Parmeshwar, a former air hostess with Air India, is survived by three children -- Nisaba, Pirojsha and Tanya Dubash. Parmeshwar was renowned for her work in combating AIDS through the Heroes Project which she launched in 2004 along with Hollywood actor Richard Gere and supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Clinton Global Initiative. The news of her demise was received on Tuesday with shock and disbelief by friends and celebrities.