Who is Cyrus Poonawalla? The man who turned a painting into history

New Delhi: Dr. Cyrus Poonawalla has recently bought an oil painting by an Indian painter named Raja Ravi Varma. He sold this painting for Rs 167.2 crore at the Saffronart spring auction on April 1. The painting titled “Yashoda and Krishna” is the most expensive Indian painting ever sold at an auction to date.

This painting is now also known as “Mona Lisa of Indian Art”; the sale surpassed the record by Rs 49.2 crore, a hike of over 40%.

Dr. Cyrus Poonawalla, the founder and managing director of the Pune-headquartered Serum Institute of India, founded it in 1996 and built it into the World’s largest vaccine maker. He was also recognized as the 46th richest person in the World and the richest Healthcare Billionaire by the Hurun Global Rich List 2023.

Cyrus Poonawalla and his family were ranked ninth on the Forbes list of India’s 100 richest tycoons, with a net worth of $22.1 billion. However, in 2026, the Hurun Rich List ranked them as the 4th richest in India.

Serum’s Covishield, the vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University, was the most widely used in India during the pandemic.

In 2022, Cyrus Poonawalla was conferred the Padma Bhushan, one of India’s highest civilian honors, and in 2005, he also received the Padma Shri from the Government of India for his contributions to the field of medicine.

Now, let’s talk about the painting. The “Yashoda and Krishna” is a 35 x 28.25 inch oil painting by the feted Indian artist, which was made in the 1890s and bears his signature.

Raja Ravi Varma’s Yashoda and Krishna is a universal subject reminiscent as much of Madonna and Christ, or of any mother and child, and arguably the most iconic and desirable work, the Mona Lisa of Indian art has not only achieved new world record it has done so with conviction, more than doubling its lower estimate of Rs 80 crore, exceeding it by Rs 87.2 crore an rise of over 100%.

However, Cyrus Poonawalla said that, “I am privileged to have the opportunity to acquire, preserve, and care for the iconic Raja Ravi Varma painting Yashoda and Krishna. This national treasure deserves to be made available for public viewing periodically, and it will be my endeavor to facilitate this further.”