Easton’s Gupta family marked a major milestone for their patriarch, JB Gupta, on the occasion of his 100th birthday. They celebrated with a festive event July 12 at the Jacky Durrell Pavilion at Fairfield Beach. The invitation, written by his granddaughter Nalini Gupta and sent to friends and family across the globe, set the tone and theme.
“You are invited to a party for the notable and quotable JB Gupta as he completes his 100th year,” the evite read. “Please don your favorite hat. It’s no secret JB loves to don a stylish hat. Maybe it’s the charisma a hat conveys, the confidence he feels, or maybe it’s a reflection of his attitude and character. All we know is we rarely find him without one.”
Pamela Gupta, JB’a daughter, emceed the event. She welcomed the man of the hour, “looking dapper as always in his signature hat. At 100 years young, his style has certainly not aged a day!” Addressing the guests, she added, “The weather and the sunset are as beautiful as you are.”
Pamela continued, “Tonight we gather not just to celebrate 100 years but to honor a life lived with zest and zeal. Dad/JB isn’t just any centenarian; he’s a man of style, a brilliant mind with a double engineering degree, a world traveler, and most of all, one who appreciates life. From witnessing the wonders of technology’s evolution to shaping it, he has lived through an era of remarkable transformations.”
She followed with a remembrance of her mother. “My mom may not be with us physically, but her warmth and spirit envelop us today. We feel her presence in every smile and every shared memory, knowing she celebrates in spirit as much as we do in presence.”
Pamela requested a warm and special smile from everyone, and everyone responded with a big smile.
“Let us also take a moment to specially recognize the family members with whom Dad/JB shares his daily life,” she went on. “His son Girish Gupta and Girish’s family, Prabha, Nalini and Nita. Their love and care have made his journey to this incredible milestone a beautiful and comfortable one. Let’s give them a heartfelt round of applause for their dedication and love.”
She praised “the stunning centerpieces that grace our tables tonight. These aren’t just decorations but a loving tribute created by Prabha, our birthday man’s daughter-in-law. Each wine bottle, hand-painted and decorated, is a testament to dad’s refined taste and his passion for wine.
Prabha has been a volunteer at the Easton Senior Center for the last 30 years, and the family requested birthday gifts for either the Easton Senior Center or the Hindu Cultural Center. “Girish is the true gentle soul behind all of this,” Pamela said. “He doesn’t want any credit ever, and I really feel he should get some.”
Memory Sharing by JB’s Grandchildren
JB’s grandchildren shared stories of their grandfather’s life, spanning his achievements and adventures at home and around the world from his birth to the present. “We are so excited to share his life stories and hope they continue to teach and touch all who hear them,” Pamela said.
1920’s: Grandfather’s Cocoon — Presented by granddaughter Arti Mangla.
JB’s story begins on June 27, 1924, in Chakrata Cantonment, Uttarakhand, India. His grandfather and father, Jhandu Mal and Beni Pershad, ran a business that sold army supplies.
After 80 years, in early 2000, JB visited Chakrata with his son Girish to take a walk down memory lane. He wanted to find that shop his family had run, but he didn’t know the address. As he was walking past the shop, he paused and backtracked, stood before it, and knew that he was in the right place. “This was it,” he said.
How did he know? He remembered that travelers to Chakrata would stay at the temple next door, the only place for overnight travelers. The temple priest would tell the travelers to go next door to JB’s family house and request bedding and utensils to cook food. His family would provide these items without any charge. That’s how JB remembered his house after 80 years.
Uttarakhand experienced harsh winters and JB would observe the snow falling from his grandfather’s lap, nestled and surrounded by his shawl. It was during these winters that JB’s sweet tooth developed, as his grandfather would give him sweets during the winter as they watched the store employees clear a narrow passage in the four-foot-high snowfall to be able to enter the shop.
1930’s: Childhood Lesson of Trust and Integrity — Presented by grandson Varun Mangla.
In 1930, JB was 6 years old when he went to stay with his maternal uncle in Subathu, Himachal Pradesh, for four years. The residence was in a jungle area about a mile from his place of business. JB and his uncle would walk with a lantern from the shop in the evening, having a loud conversation, to keep away the wild animals.
In the mornings before school, JB and his uncle would walk to the shop. While his uncle continued his daily walk, JB would stay back to open the shop so that the workers could set up for the day. One morning, JB found a half-rupee coin outside the money box. Today, that would be the equivalent of about $10.
JB was surprised to find the coin and put the money back in the money box. He wrote in the ledger, “I found a half-rupee outside the money box.” When his uncle came back from the walk, JB told him what he found. JB’s uncle said he had left it out to test his honesty. Since that day, honesty has always been part of JB’s psyche.
1940’s: Teenage Years, Hiking with Friends — Presented by granddaughter Nalini Gupta.
In the 1940s, when JB was a teenager, he and his four friends decided to hike from Solan to Chail and return the same day. That’s a 44-mile round trip on mountainous terrain.
They started in the morning, walked 22 miles and reached Chail. One of the friends was from nearby Shimla, and on a whim, they decided to go to that friend’s house in Shimla. Another 30 miles later, up and down four mountains, they finally reached his friend’s home at nightfall. The friend’s mom was astonished to see them as the hiking route from Solan to Shimla was challenging and 52 miles long.
Since the boys could barely move after their hike because their legs were swollen, she arranged mattresses on the floor for them to lie down and then gave them tea. The friend’s mom cooked a meal and gave each of the boys a change of clothes from their friend’s closet. After a hot meal, the boys gained some energy and began reliving their hike and were astounded that they themselves had hiked 50+ miles in one day.
1940’s: Friendship without Expectation — Presented by grandson Piyush Gupta.
JB was in Jammu earning his bachelor’s degree in English from Prince of Wales College. He did exceptionally well in one of the years and wanted to take his friends out for dinner. He checked his wallet and saw that he didn’t have enough money. His friend sensed the issue and quietly slipped a five-rupee note in his pocket. He and his five friends had a good dinner that night.
The next day, JB wanted to return the money to his friend, but the friend refused to take it and said it was his privilege to know him as a friend. This friendship remained lifelong. JB would visit Jammu to see his friend on each trip he took to India.
Later in life, one of JB’s friends from engineering college had to get emergency surgery but had no money. His friend asked his niece to call JB and let him know that his friend was getting the surgery done. On getting this information, JB traveled from the United States to India to visit his friend and paid his hospital bill. Later, his friend wanted to repay JB, but JB refused to accept the payment and said it was his privilege to know him. This friend was also a lifelong friend.
1947: Revolutionary Days, Underground for Independence — Presented by granddaughter Nita Gupta.
In late 1947, when India was still under British rule, JB was studying engineering at Banaras Hindu University. JB had joined RSS, a national volunteer movement group, as he wanted to help with the independence movement. JB went to Calcutta with one of his Bengali friends to buy a printing press machine.
Printing news was essential yet risky during this time as it was considered illegal contraband. They hid the equipment in their rolled canvas sleeping bags. As the train was approaching the station, JB and his friend could see a police raid happening in the distance. Since they couldn’t get caught with the printing press, they jumped from the train and hid in the middle of the fields till it was clear.
When they reached the house, they set up the printing press in a small room and covered the windows with old newspapers before they began printing. The underground newspaper printed everything happening in the town and provided updates on the freedom fighting. It was distributed to jails and villages to assist with the coordination of the independence movement.
During his underground time, JB’s parents became worried. No one knew where he was, and JB had not replied to any of their letters. One day, JB came to know that his parents had come to Baneras to look for him. JB missed his parents and wanted to see them but knew if he met them, his parents would take him back home to keep him safe. So he disguised himself and stood on the opposite side of the street to get a glimpse of them. He told his friend to take care of them, and make sure they went back home safely.
1960’s: Business on a Shoestring — Presented by grandson Deepak Mangla.
In 1960, JB started a new factory, manufacturing products using pressure die castings with the latest imported equipment, the first in the country. He went to Buhler, Switzerland, for training and to buy machinery for the factory. During the training, he discovered that one of the parts manufactured at that plant was for an Indian customer. Instantly, he ordered the pressure die castings to make the parts to be shipped to India along with the rest of the machinery he ordered. He also bought a sample of the product.
Upon returning to India, he went to that customer, placed the part on the table of the managing director, and said that he could supply the exact same part from his factory. The managing director was shocked and impressed by JB’s proactive actions and sealed the deal verbally on the spot. They became lifelong personal friends.
JB pushed himself to build the factory building at a breakneck speed to fulfill his promise. However, he had no additional funds and was operating on a shoestring. Therefore, he couldn’t hire enough employees. Just to get a phone line installed in the factory would take two years, time he didn’t have. JB persevered. Every day, he would bike more than 40 miles to the factory to plan and prepare the infrastructure to start production on receipt of imported equipment. With his zeal and hard work, he accomplished it.
1960’s: Most Tasty, Cherished and Remembered Midnight Meal — Presented by grandson Siddhartha Gupta.
During the summers in Chandigarh, the family slept on the roof under the sky. Every evening, the hired help would lay down the jute khats (cots), put the bedding consisting of durrie (thin flat carpet), white sheet, pillow, and khaes (cotton knitted quilt), and sprinkle the sheets with water to give a cooling effect before getting into bed.
In the summer of 1966, the entire family had all returned from a party and were tired, especially JB. Around 11:30 p.m., JB felt water drops on his feet. He opened his eyes and looked at the sky, but there was no rain. Then he realized that one of the kids was at the foot of the bed crying silently as the kid had not eaten at the party and was hungry.
He went downstairs and prepared alu poori (warmly spiced potato curry with crispy Indian fried bread) quickly from scratch. As he started frying the porris, the rest of the family smelled the delicious aroma and one by one, trickled downstairs to join. At 1 a.m., the entire family was in the kitchen enjoying the delicious aloo poori. From then on, the family made it a point to check with everyone before going to bed.
1990’s: Jugaad, Make Do With What You Have Strategy and Innovation — Presented by grandson Rahul Kiefer.
One day, when JB was in his late 70s, he asked the handyman helping around the house to give an estimate to fix the window shutters as the slats were falling. The handyman described the process of removing the shutters, transporting them to his workshop, using the fixtures on his work table to hold the shutters in place while then using glue to put the slats back into the shutter.
The handyman gave a pricey estimate. JB said he would let him know if he wanted to get it done. Later, he went to his closet, got two old neckties, sat on the steps, tightened the shutter with two ties on both sides, applied glue, and put the slats back. JB ended up fixing all the damaged shutters in 30 minutes. When the handyman returned the next day, he was amazed that all the shutters had been repaired.
JB always thinks outside the box of how to make things happen and embraces Jugaad (or to be resourceful with what is available). The same shutters still hang on the house today.
1980’s to 2000’s: Global Travel and Volunteer Work — Presented by granddaughter Priti Kiefer.
When JB’s life partner, Vijaya, passed away in 1987, JB began actively participating in the following organizations:
- The Ballooning Club of India, an organization that organizes balloon safaris across India.
- JB joined as a member of Antar Rashtriya Sahyog Parishad (ARSP), an organization that assists Indian immigrants in connecting with their roots in India.
Each year during the four months of ballooning season, if you needed to find JB, you’d find him in a hot air balloon. However, throughout the year, whether in the U.S., India or in a hot air balloon, JB was occupied with strategic planning, managing, participating, and leading delegations to different countries. He was one of the first in the family to embrace the virtual work environment, working from both India and the U.S.
JB planned for Ballooning Mela trips across India for many international ballooning teams from Germany, Sweden, and many other countries.
He led delegations for ARSP to promote international cooperation and traveled to remote parts of the globe, including Papua New Guinea, Guyana, Suriname, Trinidad, and South Africa. He covered the expenses for his travel and lodging. During these visits, the delegation met with people of Indian origin, helping them trace and connect with their roots and families and exploring collaboration opportunities in education, health, and trade.
The ARSP was instrumental in organizing the Pravasi Divas celebrations in India, providing a platform for Indian immigrants to collaborate and recognize their achievements in various fields. JB’s extensive travels have taken him to over 60 countries. From each country, he has collected stamps and coins and organized them diligently. JB only stopped long-distance travel at the age of 94.
Collection of Memorabilia from 60 Countries
“Another highlight of our evening is the celebration of a shared passion between dad and his granddaughter Nalini,” Pamela said. “Together, they have curated a remarkable collection of memorabilia from the 60 Countries Dad has visited during his incredible journeys around the globe. This has enriched our Dad’s life with enduring memories of his travels and the precious bond he shares with his granddaughter. Thanks, Nalini, for your dedication and for being such a significant part in immortalizing Dad’s adventurous spirit.”
Presentations by JB’s Children
“Now let’s hear from JB’s favorite daughter, Nutan (Nutan & Mukesh Mangla),” Pamela said.
Nutan said, “Dear daddy, your 100th birthday is a testament to your life, rich in experiences and wisdom. Your innate goodness shines through our lives. I remember one piece of your advice that I try to follow and always will. Do your duty and throw your expectations in the well. Meaning, do your duty, do your best but don’t have any expectations from anyone. Thank you, Daddy.”
Next to speak was his son Niraj,(Niraj & Ritu Gupta), “the star of the food story above,” Pamela said.
“Daddy, I remember during my Boy Scout days I was once in a distant city, far from home as a child and you arranged for a business trip so that you could come visit me,” Niraj said, tearing up. “Even for an out-of-country trip you were going to do the same but it got canceled. Thank you for always being there for me.”
Next to speak was son Girish (Girish & Prabha Gupta). “It is our pleasure to learn from Dad every day,” Girish said. “People ask him about the secret for Dad’s longevity. I can tell you that one of them is mindfulness.”
Pamela added, “While we’re on the topic of family heroes, let’s not overlook the master storyteller himself, Girish. He’s been gathering stories about Dad for years, digging through the annals of family lore, and putting together a saga so detailed, you’d think he was pitching for a Netflix series. Thanks to Girish, we now have a family history that’s better documented than some royal lineages.”
After JB’s children presented, the great grandkids shouted out with glee: “Grandad, you are 10 times, 25 times, 100 times older than us!” The oldest great grandkid, Liam Gupta, led the finale to the memory sharing.
Cake Cutting Ceremony
Pamela described the birthday cake “as a masterpiece not just in appearance but in the love baked into every layer. Let’s take a moment to acknowledge the extraordinary efforts of Nita Gupta.
“She has poured endless hours into creating this spectacular cake, adorned with the numbers 1-0-0, symbolizing not just years but a century of cherished memories and moments. This cake is not only a testament to her baking skills but also to the deep love she holds for her grandfather. Let’s give her a big round of applause for making this day even sweeter!”
They joined together in singing Happy Birthday. As the evening drew to a close, the family reflected on a century that has passed and on the love, lessons, and laughter that will echo far into the future.
