Kavita Sahibdas (Shivdasani) Punwani

Kavita Sahibdas Punwani, 81, lived a full life; residing in India, Canada and the United States, all places which filled her with happy memories that she will take onto her next destination.

Kavita was born into a prominent family in the City of Karachi during the British Raj in India. During the tumultuous period of Indian Independence, her family relocated to Bombay, which then became home for Kavita as a toddler and for much of her life.  As a child, Kavita particularly enjoyed singing and ballroom dancing, both of which she continued to enjoy until her very last days with us. Kavita was very close to her mother and her younger siblings (Sunder and Ila), particularly after they lost their father as young adults. Her extended family and cousins were also a big part of her life. After graduating from university, Kavita took up a job at the Bank of India, and assisted her mother in supporting the family. It is at this time that she met her husband of 47 years, Sahibdas (Moti) Punwani. Thereafter, Kavita’s time was spent raising their two children, Vikram and Sonia.  Kavita had a passion for the game of Rummy and for Housie, and was often a tournament champion at the Cricket Club of India. She also enjoyed annual family trips to a variety of destinations across North America, Europe, Asia and Australia. Kavita liked to host a good party, and an invitation to her house for a meal was never passed up by any of her friends, or her children’s friends for that matter. Later in life, as the children relocated to the Western Hemisphere, Kavita and her husband also decided to summer-home in the outskirts of Toronto, Canada where they maintained a home for nearly 20 years. Here too, Kavita was quick to make close friendships, sing in a local choir, and continue sharing her delicious cuisine with friends and family. In her last few years, Kavita moved to Boston where she lived with her son, Vikram, and daughter-in-law, Laura, in Chestnut Hill. Though her health started to catch up to her, she still loved a good party, loved to sing, and loved to watch Hallmark movies with any unsuspecting victim. You could always count on Kavita to be the most fashionably dressed guest for any occasion, and to have a smile that lit up the room.

Kavita’s favorite song was “Que Sera, Sera” sung by Doris Day, which she sang as a child on All-India-Radio with her brother Sunder. Perhaps the theme song for her life as well, she enjoyed it just hours before passing away peacefully in her sleep on November 6, 2025.

 Kavita is survived by her brother Sunder, son Vikram, daughter Sonia, grandson Mikhail, nephews Naveen and Vinnay, and nieces Shinar and Alisha, and their loving families.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in memory of Kavita Punwani to either the One Company Fund (http://www.onecompanyfund.com) and indicating “Kavita” in the Description box, or, the Alzheimer’s Association https://www.alz.org/