Dubai: A royal turban, traditional garlands, photos and music that bring back memories and a lot of love! It was the perfect setting for Indian expat Parshotam Mukhi, known for his large currency collection, to celebrate his 90th birthday.
The great-grandfather, whose 90th birthday falls today, March 14, celebrated the milestone life event with his four-generation family in Dubai over the weekend.
Almost 100 people attended a yacht party to celebrate one of the seniormost members of the community who has been continuing his hobbies and healthy habits in an inspirational way.
Fondly referred to as Dada by his large family, Mukhi has two sons and four daughters, 13 grandchildren and 18 great-grandchildren.
He lives with his two sons and their wives, three grandchildren and three great grandchildren under one roof.
“We were thrilled to host our Dada’s 90th birthday, as we wanted to celebrate the joy of four generations living under one roof. We feel blessed by the grace of God,” said his granddaughter Anjali Mukhi.
His grandson Pinkesh Mukhi said the family invited all the relatives and friends living in the UAE to celebrate the birthday with them and keep him in their prayers.
Niraj Mukhi, another grandson, added: “His presence at home is a blessing for all of us. His 90th birthday celebration is a milestone for the entire family.”
Secret to long life
Mukhi credits his good health to God’s blessings and healthy eating habits. A teetotaler and vegetarian, he loves fresh fruits and dry fruits and avoids oily and fried food. “But I occasionally have sweets,” the nonagenarian said, chuckling.
To make his 90th birthday sweeter, there were 10 cakes at the party.
Mukhi said he felt blessed, loved and pampered and thanked the UAE for everything that he has achieved while living in this country.
He moved to Dubai in 1978 and witnessed all the developments in the country. He visits his home country a couple of times in a year and often goes to religious places.
A special collection
Since the age of 12, collecting rare coins has been his favourite hobby.
For the collector, who founded perfume and textile shops in Dubai, there has been no stopping his search for special issues of currency notes and coins.
“I’m a buyer, not a seller. My collection is not for sale,” Mukhi had said when Gulf News first interviewed him in 2019.
Currency notes with special numbers like 786 (a number of special significance to some Muslims), coins from European nations dating back to the early 1800s, as well as Indian currency issued by the colonial British Raj from as early as the 1860s are some of the highlights of his collection which has over 2,000 coins.
“I have 40 different one-dirham commemorative coins issued by the UAE. I am happy that my sons Manohar and Raju Mukhi gifted me the new Dh1,000 note for my collection.”
Mukhi said since the last few years he has expanded his currency collection for the USA, UK, Australia, Canada and France.
Stamps from around the world
“I am currently working on my stamp collection. I have a stamp catalogue of the year 1951, and a list of over 78,000 stamps of the whole world.”
His oldest stamp collection is from British India from the year 1912 and that of the UAE is from the year 1958.
One of his precious stamps is a special edition stamp set of Indian epics Mahabharata and Ramayana. His latest stamp collection includes a commemorative stamp issued for the celebration of 50 years of the UAE’s formation and the 75th anniversary of the independence of India, jointly issued by both countries.
