By Frank Kamuntu
Grief hung heavy in the air on Tuesday afternoon as family, friends, and mourners gathered in Lugogo, Kampala to bid farewell to Rajiv Ruparelia, the young tycoon whose life was tragically cut short in a car accident over the weekend.
But it was Naiya Ruparelia — his wife, his partner, his first love — who gave voice to the heartbreak that no words could fully capture.
Supported gently at the podium, her voice trembling with emotion and sorrow, Naiya painted a portrait of the man behind the public figure. Rajiv, she said, was not just a successful businessman or philanthropist. He was her everything.
“Rajiv was my first real love,” she said, her voice cracking as tears welled up. “We had a bond that was complex, deep, and always real. I truly loved him — with all of me.”
In a tribute that felt more like a love letter than a eulogy, Naiya spoke of Rajiv’s radiant energy, describing him as “greatly magnetic and impossible to ignore.” She recalled how he would walk into a room and somehow fill it with laughter, warmth, and a rare kind of spark that drew people toward him.
“He had an undeniable spark,” she said, “the kind that made people feel seen, heard, and loved just by being around him.”
But beneath the public admiration and business headlines was a man who cherished his role at home more than any accolade — a devoted husband and an extraordinary father.
“To many, he was a hero, a brother, a friend,” Naiya said, pausing to steady herself, “but to his daughter Inara, he was her dad. And in her eyes, that made him someone extraordinary.”
Her voice softened as she spoke of the little girl who now has to grow up without her father — but not without his presence.
“I will always make sure she carries the best of him with her: the goodness he gave, and all the light he left behind.”
Rajiv, the only son of business magnate Sudhir Ruparelia and brother to two sisters, was known for his fierce entrepreneurial spirit and deep generosity — traits that have now become his legacy. But for Naiya, it was the private moments, the unseen acts of love, and the simple joys of being together that she will hold closest.
Her words were not just a farewell — they were a promise: that his memory would be cherished, his light kept alive, and his love never forgotten.
As the flames of the cremation rose and the sky dimmed over Lugogo, one truth lingered: Rajiv Ruparelia may be gone, but the love he gave — and the love that was returned to him — will burn on in the hearts of those who knew him, especially the woman who called him her first real love.
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