After lighting his home for 93 years, a small bulb has made Girish Chandra Gupta, a man from Lucknow, make it to the Limca Book of Records for owning the oldest working bulb in the country.
This 100-watt Astra bulb, made in the UK, was bought by Gupta’s grandfather Durga Prasad Gupta in 1918. The oldest working light bulb in the world, noted by the Guinness Book of World Records, is maintained by the Livermore-Pleasanton fire department of California. It is 109 years old and is turned off rarely. However, Gupta’s bulb, which he inherited from his father Krishna Chandra Gupta, has been used only for domestic purposes.
Gupta, owner of a small non-descript stationery shop in the Model House area of Lucknow, is proud of the the bulb that has brought him glory. He reveals that the bulb cap is made of brass and not copper as in modern bulbs, and it has four filaments. “Perhaps that’s the reason it is still working,” he says.
Gupta, who received a certificate from Limca Book of Records on June 9, is grateful to his friend Kalyan Ghosh who recommended his name for the record. “Without Kalyan da, I wouldn’t have come into the limelight,” says Gupta. The man owns several items that may also be of some antique value, like a baby feeding bottle made in Japan. Gupta claims his grandfather was fed by this bottle when he was a baby.
{{/usCountry}}Gupta, who received a certificate from Limca Book of Records on June 9, is grateful to his friend Kalyan Ghosh who recommended his name for the record. “Without Kalyan da, I wouldn’t have come into the limelight,” says Gupta. The man owns several items that may also be of some antique value, like a baby feeding bottle made in Japan. Gupta claims his grandfather was fed by this bottle when he was a baby.
{{/usCountry}}He also has a lock from the year 1954, the levers of which open smoothly with the original key. An antique candle holder made of Belgian glass is another item gathering dust in a corner of his shop. The man also has an electricity bill issued to his family in 1932!
According to Gupta, he never throws away anything. “Even if it is an old piece of paper, I keep it safely. Who knows I may find some use for it someday,” he says.