Indian business mogul G.B. Choithram dies in Dubai

  DUBAI – Indian business mogul G.B. Choithram died in Dubai on Sunday (May 10). He was 90. Choithram died at his Dubai residence. He is survived by his two sons and four daughters.

Life and times

The businessman had called the UAE his home for the last 66 years, having first landed in the country through Sharjah in 1954. He had been a prominent figure in the business community. He served on the board of the Dubai Electricity Board and as former president of Dubai Indian Association. He established his flagship company Geebee Group in Dubai in 1950. It supplied cement, heavy machinery and other goods for a number of construction projects in the emirate.

How it all began

Choithram did not have formal training in a business management school, but learned business at the breakfast table with his great grandfather, grandfather and father at an early age. His father and uncles of the Gagandas Bhawandas family firm were exporters of textiles to Dubai, Bahrain and Kuwait. They operated out of Karachi. Their dhow, Ram Pasa, transported textiles, general goods and food items from Karachi to the Gulf and back.

Journey to Dubai

Choithram opened his Dubai office in 1950 when the emirate was "just emerging" on the global platform. Before he embarked on his journey to Dubai, he went to Karachi to streamline his rice imports. He flew from Karachi to Bahrain where the company had joint businesses with local firms importing textiles and then moved on to Kuwait before finally landing in Sharjah on June 9, 1954 on a six-seater aircraft just months after his marriage. "Language, however, was never a problem since the merchant community was and will always be a well-knit family," he recalled in his autobiography, adding: "Life wasn't just business, we also took time out to enjoy an active social life." Even during those "hard days", Choithram lived life in the words of Frank Sinatra: "My way." He would spend six months in Dubai and six months in Bombay with his wife. He was adventurous and would not travel by ship to Bombay but by the scenic route: he would first travel to Sharjah in a Land Rover and from there fly to Bahrain and then on to Bombay. Choithram’s secret of success in life was simple: "Sincerity and hard work pay in the long run". ICA/Expat Media
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