– Benjamin Franklin
The desire of the claim to fame is ingrained in every human as an instinct. We all want to achieve greatness, be remembered for our feats, and be talked about for years to come after we’ve passed. Some achieve that greatness, and go on to create world records.
And as in anything in the world, Indians are not ones to stay behind. Featuring the weirdest, to the greatest, to the most bizarre, here are some of them who made us proud around the world by their acts of greatness!
1. Shridhar Chillal – World’s Longest Fingernails
Pune resident Shridhar Chillal has been growing his nails since the year 1952, and hasn’t cut them once in the 64 years since. His nails measure up to a total length of 909.6 cm. His longest nail is his thumb, measuring at two metres.
2. Khursheed Hussain – Shortest time to type 103 characters with the nose
“Guinness World Records has challenged me to to type this sentence using my nose in the fastest time.” He typed this sentence in 47 seconds. He also holds the world record for typing the entire alphabet in 3.43 seconds.
3. Radhakant Bajpai – Longest Ear Hair.
Measuring at an astounding 25 cm, Radhakant has never cut or trimmed his ear hair since the age of 18. He thinks it brings him good luck.
4. Kalamandalam Hemalatha – Longest dance performed
Called ‘The Dancing Queen of Kerala,’ Hemalatha performed the Mohiniyattam dance form for a staggering 123 hours and 17 minutes, just over five days. That is some grit!
5. Manorama – Most number of films starred in
Legendary Tamil actress Manorama has starred in more than 1,500 films and over 5,000 stage plays. She achieved the world record for acting in more than 1,000 films way back in 1985.
6. Brahmanandam – Most number of screen credits in a single language
Brahmanandam was honoured with the Padma Shri for his contributions to art, and rightly so, because he holds the world record for highest number of screen credits for a living actor in a single language, a whopping 867!
7. Ram Singh Chauhan – Longest moustache
Undoubtedly from Rajasthan, Ram Singh Chauhan, 61, has been growing his moustache for 35 years, and it has grown to 14 feet today. 14 FEET! He has to spend two hours every day to groom it.
8. Vanisha Mittal – Most expensive wedding
A powerful display of wealth and power, steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal’s daughter Vanisha’s wedding to Amit Bhatia churned out an unbelievable bill of Rs. 240 Crore, with locations including the Palace of Versailles among other French locations.
9. Shreeya Rakesh Deshpande – Farthest Distance Covered While Limbo-Skating Under Cars
Indian skater Shreeya was 5 years old when she limbo skated under 27 Tata Sumo cars in 23 seconds. That’s 158 feet! For those who don’t know what limbo skating is, you achieve it by stretching out your legs to the sides, stretching your hands an touching them with the feet, so you’re flat near the ground.
10. Largest Crew On A Canoe – 143 crew members
On the 1st of May, 2008, the Aries Punnamada Urukku Chundan ‘Snake Boat’ held 143 crew members including 118 rowers, 2 rhythm men, 5 helmsmen, and 18 singers. The canoe measured 143 feet, and it was rowed in public.
11. Most People Shaking Hands At The Same Time – 48,870
The Shree Khodhaldham Trust in January of 2012, on the occasion of completion of a temple for the Leuva Patel community, organised a continuous handshake where everyone was shaking everyone’s hands at the same time. 48,870! That…is a lot!
12. Arvind Mishra – Longest Marathon Lecture
On the topic of Scientific Computation, at the Graphic Era University in Dehradun, Arvind Mishra delivered a lecture for 139 hours 42 minutes and 56 seconds, which amounts to almost six days! My question is, who attended it? 😛
13. Sachin Tendulkar – The name is enough
Master Blaster and God of Cricket in India Sachin Tendulkar holds not one, not two, but seven Guinness World Records in the game. Most runs scored in an ICC World Cup career, most runs scored by a player in an ICC world tournament, first player to score a double century in an ODI, most centuries in and ODI career, most runs scored in an ODI career, most test matches played, and most runs scored in a test career. Those are some fantastic numbers!
14. Bhakti Sharma
Indian open swimmer Bhakti Sharma achieved world record status when she swam 2.25 km in 52 minutes in the Antarctic Ocean in a temperature of 1°. She is also the youngest as well as the first Asian girl to do so, and has swam in all five oceans of the world.