The Unbearable Heaviness of Being: On the Passing of Naren Gupta (Part 8)

Our last free-flowing conversation was on November 14 in our garden.

I didn’t know that this would be the last time I would cook for him. I specifically cooked a lightly spiced Indo-French meal so as not to overpower the wine we were going to drink.

Like many Indians, Naren and I didn’t grow up drinking wine. However, we’ve learnt to enjoy good wine. Dominique, of Belgian-French origin, grew up in a wine culture. Naren always enjoyed the wines Dominique would introduce him to.

This afternoon, after many months without entertaining, Dominique was opening a grand Bordeaux.

I cooked a lobster bisque followed by a subtle Bengali-style shrimp with squash.

Of our many discussions, I will highlight one.

It was about money.

Unlike the tendency of our gilded age to show off wealth, Naren believed in being discreet. He would not be the one to buy a $155 million mansion in Malibu or fight over access to a private beach.

In particular, he believed that money is a huge corrupting factor in raising children.

Naren took his duties seriously. Fatherhood, among them, perhaps the most so.

He must have succeeded, as one of his daughters asked him on one occasion, “Can we afford that?”

Naren and Vinita could afford most things.

But in achieving that feeling of scarcity, he may have achieved what many wealthy families find elusive: raising another generation of high performing children.

He answered, “Yes, don’t worry. We can still pay for your college.”

This segment is part 8 in the series : The Unbearable Heaviness of Being: On the Passing of Naren Gupta
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