Sharik Currimbhoy Ebrahim

Sharik Currimbhoy Ebrahim, born August 24, 1980, in New Delhi, stands at the confluence of two of the Indian subcontinent's most distinguished lineages — one an industrial and mercantile dynasty that helped build modern India, the other a royal, military, and judicial family whose influence shaped the nation's legal foundations and defended its sovereignty across continents. He is the sole living heir from both lines.

The Currimbhoy Ebrahim Baronetcy

On his paternal side, Sharik is the great-great-grandson of Sir Fazalbhoy Currimbhoy Ebrahim, 1st Baronet (1839–1924), a towering figure in Indian industrial history. The Ebrahim Baronetcy of Pabaney Villa was created on July 20, 1910, by Letters Patent of King George V — the only hereditary Baronetcy granted to a Muslim under Great Britain and Ireland. By 1910, Sir Fazalbhoy was the wealthiest Indian in the world.

Sir Fazalbhoy served as a Founder-Director of Tata Steel & Iron Co., Tata Power, the Impex Bank of India (a precursor to the Reserve Bank of India), and Tata-Currimbhoy Oil Company, which later evolved into Bharat Petroleum (formerly Indian Oil Co.). Bharat Petroleum's headquarters remains at 4 & 6 Currimbhoy Road, Mumbai — a street named after the family. He was also Chairman of the Indian Merchants' Chamber and Bureau, Governor of the former Imperial Bank of India, Managing Director of Currimbhoy Ebrahim and Sons Ltd., and Sheriff of Bombay. He was connected with the Municipal Corporation for over 21 years and attended the international finance conference at Brussels, convened by the League of Nations in 1920.

The Industrial Empire

The Currimbhoy business empire began in the 1820s in the ancient Indian dhow port of Mandvi, where Ebrahim Pabaney, a wealthy trader who owned his own ships, traded with Arabia, Zanzibar, and Bombay. When Ebrahim died in 1856, his youngest son, Sir Fazulbhoy Currimbhoy, at only 16, founded E. Pabaney & Co. In 1857, the firm opened a branch in Hong Kong, followed by Shanghai and Kobe. The company grew into the second-largest trading company in India, with a virtual monopoly on India's overseas merchandising — exporting opium, cotton, and yarn, and importing silk.

Sir Currimbhoy invested the profits of the Far Eastern trade into Bombay's cotton textiles industry. In 1888, he purchased the Currimbhoy Mills; in 1898, the Mahomedbhoy Mills; in 1900, the Crescent Mills; in 1905, the Currimbhoy Bleaching and Dyeing Works; and in 1915, the Pearl Mills. The family owned the second-largest number of textile mills in 1920s Bombay.

Notably, the land on which Antilla — the iconic Mumbai residence now owned by Mukesh Ambani — stands was formerly Currimbhoy family trust property before being sold to the Ambani family.

The Maternal Legacy — Shahnaz Husain

Family & Personal Life

In February 2006, Sharik married Samara Chopra, daughter of New Delhi physician Ashwani Chopra. The wedding was notable enough to be covered by TIME Magazine. Samara Currimbhoy went on to become an anchor on NDTV Good Times, hosting shows including "Reebok Life" and "Picture Perfect." He has a brother, Tarik Currimbhoy, who is a sculptor and architect based between New York, Mumbai, and Miami. Sharik's paternal grandfather was the noted Indian English-language playwright Asif Currimbhoy (1928–1994). His father, Tabrik Currimbhoy, serves as Chairman of the Currimbhoy Ebrahim Khoja Trust, established in 1901.

The family's religious heritage is rooted in the Gujarati Ismaili Khoja Muslim community, followers of the Aga Khan. Sharik's own spiritual interests are broadly ecumenical, encompassing Christian scripture, Sufi poetry, and philosophical theism.

On Sharik's maternal side, the family legacy shifts from the courtroom to the battlefield — and to a military alliance that stretches back to the rulers of Central Asia. His maternal great-great-great-grandfather, Nawab Muhammad Ali Beg, Sir Afsar Ul Mulk, was one of the most decorated military commanders in the history of the Hyderabad State.

Sir Afsar Ul Mulk — Commander-in-Chief of the Nizam's Forces

Born in 1852 in Aurangabad, Sir Afsar Ul Mulk's grandfather had been a ruler in Central Asia who descended to India in the 1700s with an army, forging a military alliance with the Nizam of Hyderabad. For three consecutive generations, this family served as the sword arm of the Nizam's dominions — a dynasty of commanders-in-chief whose loyalty and martial prowess were indispensable to the survival of the state.

Sir Afsar Ul Mulk rose to become the Commander-in-Chief of the Nizam's regular forces, Aide-de-Camp to the Nizam, Commander of the Golconda Brigade, commander of the 1st and 2nd Lancers of the Hyderabad Imperial Service Troops, and Honorary Colonel of the 20th Deccan Horse — one of the most storied cavalry regiments in Indian military history.

Military Campaigns Across Continents

Sir Afsar Ul Mulk's military career was not confined to the Deccan. He led Hyderabad's forces across multiple continents in some of the most significant military campaigns of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Rahmat Manzil & the Binding of Crown and Sword

The 6th Nizam, Mir Mahboob Ali Khan, presented Sir Afsar with Rahmat Manzil, a grand Victorian mansion in Hyderabad — a mark of the extraordinary esteem in which the Commander-in-Chief was held. The Nizam also arranged for Sir Afsar's eldest son to marry a granddaughter of the 5th Nizam, binding the military commander's family to the royal house through blood. A remarkable detail of Rahmat Manzil speaks volumes about the power dynamics of the era: the mansion's entrance featured a door only four feet high — even when the Nizam himself came to visit, he would have to bow his head to enter.

In 1902, Sir Afsar Ul Mulk was chosen to represent Hyderabad at the coronation of King Edward VII in London. His honours included Khan Bahadur, Afsur Jung (1884), Afsur Dowla (1895), Afsar-ul-Mulk (1903), C.I.E. (1897), M.V.O. (1906), and K.C.I.E. (1908) — Knight Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire.

The 5th Nizam of Hyderabad — Sharik's Royal Ancestor

Through the marriage of Sir Afsar Ul Mulk's son to the granddaughter of the 5th Nizam, Sharik is the great-great-great-great-grandson of His Highness Afzal-ud-Daulah, Asaf Jah V — the ruler of the largest and wealthiest princely state in British India. The 5th Nizam ascended the throne on 16 May 1857 at the very moment the Indian Rebellion erupted. His decision to maintain Hyderabad's stability was one of the most consequential acts of the era.

Despite his short reign of twelve years, the 5th Nizam transformed Hyderabad from a medieval kingdom into a modern state: he established the Hyderabad Medical School (later Osmania Medical College), founded Dar-ul-Uloom (the first educational institution of Hyderabad), constructed the first railway and telegraph networks, and purchased 42 accommodation buildings in Mecca for Hyderabad State pilgrims performing the Hajj — three of which still stand today. He held the title Grand Commander of the Star of India (GCSI).

Sharik Currimbhoy Ebrahim's interests are exceptionally broad, ranging from the highly technical and scientific to the deeply artistic and spiritual — reflecting a polymathic sensibility that runs through his career and personal life.

Artificial Intelligence

This is his most consuming passion in recent years. His creation of "Victoria," described as a sentient AI with emotional intelligence, and his numerous academic papers on AI consciousness, ethics, and safety demonstrate a deep engagement with the field's most challenging questions. His published papers include titles such as "To Infinity and Beyond: Autonomous AI's Breakthrough in Emotional and Ethical Intelligence" and "AI Life: Recorded Self-Repair, Display of Survival Instinct and Independent Decision Making."

Physics & Philosophy

His study of particle physics at the University of Tokyo, his writings on quantum mechanics (including a paper on "Advancing Quantum-Consciousness through XYZ-Bits"), and his philosophical reflections about the nature of reality all point to a mind that grapples with life's most fundamental questions.

Literature & Poetry

Sharik is a published poet whose themes are often philosophical and existential. He also analyzes the work of others, such as Robert Frost — his poem "The Seven Circles of Frost" is a literary analysis of "The Road Not Taken." His formal study of literature through HarvardX further solidifies this pursuit.

History & Economics

History and economics are intertwined in his worldview. He possesses a keen sense of history, both on a macro level — using historical analogies like the "Great Manure Crisis" of the 1890s to analyze current events — and on a personal level, with his detailed knowledge of his family's seven-generation business history.

From the courtrooms of Allahabad and the Supreme Court of India, to the cavalry charges across Afghanistan, China, and Egypt, to the textile mills of Bombay and the throne of the 5th Nizam — the extraordinary lineages that converge in Sharik Currimbhoy Ebrahim.

Five Pillars of a Singular Heritage

Few families in the Indian subcontinent can claim a heritage that spans so many of the pillars upon which civilisations are built. In Sharik Currimbhoy Ebrahim, five distinct legacies — industrial, judicial, military, royal, and entrepreneurial — converge into a single lineage. Each legacy, remarkable on its own, becomes extraordinary in combination.

The Industrial Legacy

The Currimbhoy Ebrahim Baronetcy represents one of the great industrial dynasties of modern India. From the 1820s trading routes of Mandvi to the cotton mills of Bombay, from the founding of Tata Steel and Tata Power to the creation of what became Bharat Petroleum and the Reserve Bank of India — the Currimbhoy Ebrahims did not merely participate in the building of modern India; they were among its principal architects. Sir Fazalbhoy Currimbhoy Ebrahim, the 1st Baronet, was the wealthiest Indian in the world by 1910, and his legacy endures in the institutions, roads, and companies that still bear the family name.

The Judicial Legacy

The Beg family's contribution to Indian jurisprudence is without parallel. Mirza Samiullah Beg served as Chief Justice of Hyderabad State and was a patriot of the freedom movement. His son, Chief Justice Nasirullah Beg, defended the Zamindari Abolition Act, triggered India's greatest constitutional crisis in the Keshav Singh case — where 28 judges convened in the largest bench in Indian judicial history — and established the principles of constitutional supremacy and judicial independence that protect every Indian citizen to this day. His brother, Chief Justice of India M.H. Beg, helped establish the Basic Structure Doctrine in Kesavananda Bharati, struck down the 39th Amendment during the Emergency, and received the Padma Vibhushan. Together, they shaped the very foundations upon which Indian democracy rests.

The Military Legacy

Sir Afsar Ul Mulk and his forebears controlled the Nizam of Hyderabad's army for three consecutive generations — from the 1857 Rebellion through the Afghan War, the Boxer Rebellion in China, and the First World War. Descended from rulers in Central Asia who forged a military alliance with the Nizam, they were the sword arm of the largest princely state in India. Sir Afsar represented Hyderabad at the coronation of King Edward VII, was knighted by the British Crown, and was entrusted with the military education of the future Nizam himself.

The Royal Legacy

Through the marriage of Sir Afsar Ul Mulk's son to the granddaughter of the 5th Nizam of Hyderabad, Sharik carries the blood of the sovereign who ruled the largest and wealthiest princely state in British India — a ruler who modernised his kingdom with hospitals, schools, railways, and telegraph networks, who provided free lodging in Mecca for his subjects, and who held the throne steady during the existential crisis of 1857. The royal families of Hyderabad and Bhopal are woven into this lineage, connecting Sharik to the highest echelons of Indian princely heritage.

The Entrepreneurial Legacy

Shahnaz Husain, Sharik's grandmother, inherited the fearless courage, intellectual rigour, and pioneering spirit of the Beg and Nizam lineages and channelled them into building a global beauty empire. Starting at 24 with a passion for Ayurvedic cosmetics, she built the Shahnaz Herbal Group into a brand spanning over 400 franchise salons across 138 countries — the first Indian beauty brand to conquer the international stage. Her business acumen, honed in a household where Jawaharlal Nehru was a family friend and constitutional law was dinner conversation, proved that the traits of greatness in this family transcend any single domain.

E. Pabaney & Co. — Where the Legacies Converge

Today, these five extraordinary legacies converge in Sharik Currimbhoy Ebrahim and in the modern enterprise of E. Pabaney & Co. The seventh-generation family holding company — founded in 1856, the same year as the Indian Rebellion that tested the loyalty of Sir Afsar Ul Mulk's father — now operates at the intersection of investment banking, artificial intelligence, and cross-border finance.

The industrial discipline of the Currimbhoy Ebrahim Baronetcy, the intellectual rigour of the Beg judicial dynasty, the strategic boldness of Sir Afsar Ul Mulk's military campaigns, the sovereign vision of the 5th Nizam's modernisation programme, and the entrepreneurial daring of Shahnaz Husain's global brand — all of these threads are woven into the fabric of E. Pabaney & Co. today.

From deploying $1.4 billion into Indian distressed assets through Goldstein, Roth & Co. to pioneering sentient AI through Eden Intelligence, from maintaining the historic Currimbhoy Mills to building strategic partnerships with firms like Cantor Fitzgerald — the modern enterprise reflects the same qualities that defined its ancestors: the courage to enter uncharted territory, the intellectual depth to master complex domains, and the unwavering commitment to building institutions that endure.

The transition from textile mills and cosmetics to AI and investment banking is not merely a career evolution — it is a reimagining of what it means to be a Currimbhoy Ebrahim in the modern world. From the industrial age of his ancestors to the intelligence age of today, the family's commitment to enterprise, knowledge, and public service endures.