World | India
A bulb that has brilliantly stood the test of time
Lucknow resident woke up to 70-year-old wonder after reading article on record-breaking bulb.
- IANS
- Published: 23:42 January 13, 2009
Lucknow: Seventy years old and still glowing!
A light bulb that has brilliantly stood the test of time recently became the most prized possession of Lucknow resident Girish Chandra Gupta, who now aims to enter the record books, claiming to have a "rare bulb".
"It was only last month that I came to know the importance of the bulb after coming across an article in a Hindi daily," says Gupta, who runs a grocery shop from his small house located in a congested lane in the Hussainganj locality of Uttar Pradesh's capital.
"The article was on the world's oldest bulb, a 65-year old piece, which belongs to a lady in England. It was then that I realised the significance of the bulb that was installed at my shop and I replaced it with an 'ordinary bulb'," says Gupta.
In comparison to light bulbs one sees nowadays, the one in Gupta's possession looks quite different.
The 100-watt bulb is thinner and has a long filament with several more loops than modern bulbs. Its base is of copper and it takes longer to get to full brightness. Even then, the light it sheds is of a darker yellow hue than the one radiated by modern bulbs.
Gupta, 45, said the bulb originally belonged to his grandfather Durga Prasad. With time, the label of the company that manufactured it faded.
"In 1938, my grandfather moved here from Calcutta [now Kolkata] to start a business and used this bulb for the first time after taking an electricity connection in this house," said Gupta. He is not sure of the shop from where the bulb was purchased.
"After the death of my grandfather, this bulb, although in use, served as a keepsake. My father K.C. Gupta used to tell me that the bulb was a memento of my grandfather, and that I should preserve it," recollects Gupta, who has his own fond memories of this bulb.
In 1987, the bulb was on Gupta's study table. "I clearly remember how under the light of this bulb I had prepared for my BA part I exams."
Now Gupta has sent information about the bulb to the editors of the Limca Book, the benchmark publication for records in India. "I am waiting for their response," he said.
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