Dara H.B.A. Patell

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The Express Photo Service was a well-known Steamer Point business located opposite the Prince of Wales Pier (saluting bunder) and was a magnet for freshly-landed tourists, many of whom took the opportunity to buy a duty-free camera, or even a Rolex watch. 

 

The owner, Dara H. Patell was maternal uncle to the Jehangir Patel who owned the British Colonial Stores in The Crescent. Dara was among the very few in his generation to have gone to university (Bombay) where we understand he earned his BA degree.

 

M.G. Patel, (not a relative of Dara), was chief accountant for Antonin Besse, a role he had taken over from the former chief accountant, Tarachand Amritlal Parekh who had arrived from India and taken a position with the Besse firm as a junior book-keeper in 1918.