T H E H U M A N S T O R Y SMALLEST Compass Sai Talabuthala Lightest chair (b June 3, Kamal Dev Sharma (b Jan 1969) of 12, 1951) of New Delhi Peddapuram, made the lightest 450 gm Andhra folding chair 26 inch high, Pradesh made 7.6 inch wide and 8 inch a miniature long which can carry a golden load of 100 kg. With compass which improvements made since indicates November 2014 the directions only product was finalized in by magnetic November 2015. Made of power of north and aluminum pipes, nuts and south directions. Made of bolts and ebonite sheet the gold and steel shaving blade and a small needle he chair is easy to fold and assembled 36 divisions of NSEW in tiny letters on unload in 3 min. It is made Dec 21, 2015. The 464 mg compass with 9.50 mm for those who have to dia took 2 hr 27 min 35 sec to make. stand in long queues in buses, trains and other places.
WR: Smallest cricket stadium Shaminder Singh (b Jan 13, 1976) of Coventry, UK, built a handmade miniature four-storey, 3-ft tall cricket stadium covering 6 x 6 ft complete with15 mm stumps and 5 mm bails in seven months from Feb to August 2015. The stadium has apple i pad working as a big screen with floodlights with lights in the stumps, a pitch with real clay, working slide doors and more than 1000 LED lights. Numerous stands named after legendary cricketers - Sachin Tendulkar, Sir Donald Bradman, Rahul Dravid, Brian Lara, even Queen Elizabeth - are covered with Indian flag colours. There is enough space for 3,660 to sit. It has players’ dugout, Coca-Cola drink trolley, pitch cover, present ceremony board and advertisements galore. BBC and Sky Sports stands have plastic glass. A digital scoreboard shows time and scores. The stadium has CCTV cameras and charity stands for organisations like Save the Children, Cancer Research UK, British Red Cross, Water Aid etc. Shaminder spent £3000 pound on the stadium. His stadium was covered by many print and electronic media, British and Indian like BBC News, Mirror, Daily Mail, Dainik Jagran, Jagbani, Punjab Kesari, Pune Mirror, Ajit News etc.
humanstory 2017 -III.pmd 49 3/31/2017, 3:12 PM T H E H U M A N S T O R Y Smallest gold number lock Ganesh Subramaniyam (b May 6, 1975) a goldsmith of Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, made the working model of a miniature working number lock at his home. The numbers can change from 000 to 999. The lock could be opened when the digits 567 are set. He started in February 2011 and took seven months to make it by August. A solo effort, the lock was 3 mm high, 1 mm in circumference and made of 40 g of 22 ct gold.
COLLECTIONS
WR: Autographs Yogiraj Dr Sarvesh Soni (b Nov 3, 1972) of Nashik, Maharashtra has the largest collection of autographed photographs of VVIPs of the world, a hobby since 1991. The collection of 32,318 autographs includes 8,348 Indians and 23,970 foreign celebrities from 217 countries on June 30, 2016. He has autographed photos of presidents, prime ministers, governor-generals, kings, queens, heads of states and freedom fighters.
Autographs (Dravid) Satish Chaphekar (b Feb 5, 1957) of Dombivli, Mumbai is an avid autograph collector with 9,000 celebrity autographs since 1969. He has a special collection of 48 autographs of cricketer Rahul Dravid for his 48 centuries. Not only does he keep the autographs in his album but he got Dravid to sign 6-10 times on each bat! He is one of the few autograph collectors who have shared their autographs on a global site. For his interview and autograph collection, visit http:// csridentity.com/thane/satishchaphekar.asp.
Bindis A Kalaivani (b Feb 6, 1993) of Ramanathapuram, Tamil Nadu has a collection of bindis of various sizes and colours sourced from shops and markets. Each bindi has a separate design without repetition. She took 18 months – June 2014 to December 2015 – to collect 2,000 bindis.
LIMCA BOOK OF RECORDS 2017 50
humanstory 2017 -III.pmd 50 3/31/2017, 3:12 PM T H E H U M A N S T O R Y
Autographed First Day Covers of astronauts Deepak Sharma (b Nov 8, 1985) of Moradabad, UP has the largest collection of 50 unduplicated autographed First Day Covers of 50 astronauts, a collection since November 2014. His collection includes many famous astronauts like Rakesh Sharma, Ravish Malhotra, Valentina Tereshkova, Alexey Leonov, Helen Sharman, Gerald P Carr, Naoko Yamazaki and many more.
Autographed photos of astronauts Deepak Sharma (b Nov 8, 1985) of Moradabad, UP has the largest collection of 325 unduplicated autographed photos of 175 astronauts, a collection since November 2000. His collection includes many famous astronauts like Rakesh Sharma, Sunita Williams, Valentina Tereshkova, Alexey Leonov, Edgar Mitchell, Charles Duke, Richard F Gordon, Edward Gibson and many more.
Chalk carved items Cookery prizes won Shridhara S (b July 15, 1969) of Bangarpet, Sushma KK (b Dec 21, Karnataka has a miniature chalk carvings 1952) of Jaipur, collection since Feb 2012, kept at his Rajasthan, who is an home. He has 510 household items, expert cook, has been 1,001 sparrows, elephants 1,050 and winning prizes at 50 mudrikas, total 2,711. All items are cookery competitions done with blade, ball pin and acrylic since April 1995. By June colours. Each item takes 8-10 min to 30, 2016, she had won 99 prizes. She has written carve. He holds exhibitions in schools, three books on cookery – Lajawab Vyanjan, colleges and other venues. Marwari Rasoi and Ek Chammach Tel ki Rasoi.
Crosswords Raju Umamaheswar of Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu has a collection of solved and unsolved crosswords, a hobby pursued since 1991. By May 31, 2016, he had 1,58,525 solved crosswords (including online). He solves them every day and marks them with the date, time and location, creating a detailed diary of his work. Umamaheswar has been participating in the Hindu Crossword Corner blog daily as also other crossword blogs like The Crossword Unclued, Business Times, Hindustan Times etc.
Diecast models of cars/bikes Mohammad Yaseen (b May 27, 1992) of Bhopal, MP is a passionate collector of diecast models, copy or replica of originals like Audi, BMW, Mercedes, Land Rover, Lamborghini and bikes like Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki, Triumph, Harley Davidson and many more, a hobby since 2009. These are licensed products which are only made when companies give them permission to use their logos, engine design, interiors that are original. Car models come in 1:32, 1:24, 1:18 sizes and bikes in 1:18, 1:12, 1:6. At present he has 60 cars and 50 bikes in a showroom in his home. He also clicks photos of all models with his digital camera. His car/bikes model collection is from many countries – Singapore, South Africa, UAE, Ireland etc.
LIMCA BOOK OF RECORDS 2017 51
humanstory 2017 -III.pmd 51 3/31/2017, 3:12 PM T H E H U M A N S T O R Y Gandhi memorabilia Dr Bhanu Pratap Singh (b Jan 7, 1961) of Raipur, Chhattisgarh has the most unduplicated photographs of Mahatma Gandhi – 1,667 – collected over the last 10 years. He has 235 photographs of A3 size and 1,358 of 6×4 inch besides 74 cartoons, art works and paintings on Gandhi. He started collecting these photographs after visiting Raj Ghat and Gandhi Smarak Museum in New Delhi in 2010. He also wrote a coffee table book Rare Photographs on Gandhi on Oct 2, 2014. Key cards Deepak Sant (b Oct 5, 1953) from Nagpur, Maharastra has a collection 70 key cards from various countries starting in 2009. Key cards are from across the world – the USA, Canada, China, Malaysia, Singapore, Japan, UAE, Germany etc. Part of his own travels Recipes key cards are collected Bhaskarbhai C Patel (b July 6, 1938) of Vadodara, Gujarat has a through friends, family collection of handwritten vegetarian recipes and news clipping of relatives who also travel. They request hotel recipes that started in 1999. He has 16,639 handwritten recipes and personnel if they can keep the cards as souvenirs 23,023 paper cuttings; total is 39,662. and they usually oblige!
WR: Key rings Rakesh Vaid (b Sept 7, 1953) of Delhi is a passionate key ring collector, a hobby he started in 1979. By June 30, 2016, he had increased his collection to 28,000. He displays his collection in a separate room in cupboards, almirahs and on display boards. His mind-boggling collection has not only unusual shapes and sizes but also handmade key rings like India Gate, swimming pool, gramophone, kitchen-rack others which he has made himself. He also makes handmade key rings using his own precision work tools.
Ganesha idols and other artifacts Pabsetti Shekhar (b Feb 22, 1961) of Secunderabad, Telangana has been collecting Ganesha items, big and small since July 3, 1973. By June 30, 2016 his collection had grown to 16,865 Ganesh idols, 18,422 photographs (available in 95 albums), 1,098 posters, 170 books on Lord Ganesh, 184 key chains and 168 audio/video cassettes. The articles vary in form, size, shape and material – gold, silver, bronze, brass, aluminum, precious stones, terracotta etc. He has unusual items like pen stand, wall hanging, lamp, switch mirror, watch bell, all Ganesh items. His collection is from more than 30 countries. In 2013, Temple of Fine Arts, Malaysia awarded him the Best Collection Award.
LIMCA BOOK OF RECORDS 2017 52
humanstory 2017 -III.pmd 52 3/31/2017, 3:12 PM T H E H U M A N S T O R Y Gifts Vishav Gupta (b Sept 10, 1962) and Vishal Gupta (b Sept 10, 1964) of Chandigarh have been collecting free gifts since 1992, starting with a tonic bottle and a lunch box. By June 30, 2016, their collection had grown to a staggering 90,050 articles! They have three rooms stacked with gifts. The value of the ‘free gifts’ could be around Rs 7 lakh or more!
WR: Handmade Ganeshas Fragrances For the last 16 years, Rama Satish Shah has been Kartik Rajpal (b Jan 1, 1994) of New Delhi has making Lord Ganesha idols in different shapes & 536 unduplicated deodorant cans and fragrances sizes, without using a mold, just chanting slokas from 17 countries, a hobby since 2008. and mantras. All the idols are handmade, unbreakable, washable and very beautiful. She Hanuman Chalisas also makes these idols with her eyes closed Praveen Gupta (b April 29, 1969) of New Delhi (blindfolded). She completed making 3,51,000 has been collecting idols in 16 years on 30th June, 2016, taking 4,599 Hanuman Chalisas, a hobby days to make them. he began 24 years ago when he was in college. By Hanuman artifacts June 30, 2016 he had 398 Krishan Kumar Chaurasia (b June Chalisas in various 5, 1960) of Lucknow, UP has a languages, mostly in Hindi, collection of Hanuman artifacts, a without duplicates. His collection has two metal hobby he started in 1998. He Chalisas–one each in silver and brass – and one in has 6,000 Hanuman images in Braille. four albums. He also has items like 160 framed pictures, 90 handmade idols and paintings, 20 coins and 500 Hanuman CDs.
Erasers Khushboo Marda Malani (b March 10, 1980) of Delhi who has been collecting erasers since 1996 had 14,642 including 1,840 duplicates by June 30, 2016. The collection is from 15 countries across the world.
Matchbox and label exhibitions Sunil Kumar Bhatt (b Sept 27, 1968) of Bhopal, MP has a collection of 20,000+ matchboxes and labels, a hobby since 1982. He has been holding exhibitions regularly called ‘Own my Collection’, an annual event organised at Regional Science Centre (RSC) since 2011 during the celebrations on International Museum Day for two days on the specific themes of the year. Other than the RSC exhibition, his first exhibition was in 2007 in Carmel Convent Senior Sec School, Bhopal. With the latest exhibition on August 15, 2016, he has held 57 exhibitions. He has also exhibited in other cities – Nagpur 2009, Jaipur 2010 Udaipur, Bhatinda 2011, Kolkata 2015.
LIMCA BOOK OF RECORDS 2017 53
humanstory 2017 -III.pmd 53 3/31/2017, 3:13 PM T H E H U M A N S T O R Y
M-Seal jewellery Anuradha Soni (b Dec 24, 1979) of Bikaner, Rajasthan made 500 M-Seal jewellery items in 66 days from Oct 13 to Dec 17, 2015 (66 days). A Manuscripts digitising solo effort, she made an assortment Dr Dinesh M Vaidya (b March 24, 1974) of of ornaments from earrings, studs, Nashik, Maharashtra has been digitising old necklaces, bangles, rings and more. handwritten manuscripts (pothis) some of which are in Sanskrit, Modi Lipi, Marathi and Devnagri or Prakrit with their own unique grammar, mathematics, science and religious rites. Through his archives, he is trying to spread awareness and knowledge of ancient techniques based on Vedas, Ayurveda, Physics, Chemistry, Alchemy and Architecture. By June 30, 2016, he had digitised 7,45,000 pages of manuscripts. Name slips His oldest manuscript Mitakshara is 645 years Priyanka Gupta (b Dec 21, 1985) of Delhi has old. collected 26,782 unduplicated name slips from nine countries by May 2016. The collection includes name slips on Indian stamps, cricketers, film stars, tennis players, Indian Air Force fighter planes, cars, bikes, flowers, cartoons, historical characters etc.
Panchangs Peddinti Ramachandra Srihari (b Jan 15, 1976) from East Godavari, Andhra Pradesh has a collection of Telugu panchangs, a hobby since 1985. The 106 printed panchangs are from 1910 Nokia handsets to 2016. It is difficult to find Jayesh Umesh Kale (b April 13, 1985) of Thane, these rare panchangs from the Maharashtra has a collection of 500+ Nokia early 19th century. They are normal handsets, a hobby he started in 2013. All his tabulations used as shortcut formulation handsets are in working condition. His ultimate propounded by ancient vedic sages and scholars. goal is to exhibit his collection.
LIMCA BOOK OF RECORDS 2017 54
humanstory 2017 -III.pmd 54 3/31/2017, 3:13 PM T H E H U M A N S T O R Y Paper napkins Anuradha, husband Parveen and daughter Kanika Gupta have been collecting paper napkins a hobby since 2015. They have paper napkins of airlines, hotels, restaurants, dhabas, pubs, bars, banks, universities, railways, ferries, amusement parks, advertising Pencils various brands. They also collect non- Tushar Lakhanpal, 18, from New commercial paper napkins categorised Delhi is passionate about collecting on the basis of pictures on them like pencils from across the world, a owls, personalities, dance forms, hobby since he was three. As of June cartoon characters, musical instruments, 30, 2016, he had 16,765 black lead Tashsigns, flags, animals & birds, unusual pencils from over 60 countries. The shapes etc from various countries of the range of the collection has world. Swarovski, wooden pencils, scented They have collected 11,262 pencils, and few crown pencils, a commercial and 8,394 non-commercial gold plated pencil, a pencil for the napkins so far. No two napkins are specially-abled, the longest pencil identical in this collection. Some of the being 8 ft 3inch long and the shortest paper napkins are 50 years old. 1.5 inch.
Purses Aiza Waheed Fazal (b March 5, 2013) has been collecting coin purses from the world totaling 304 by June 30, 2016. The purses are from Kenya, India, Pakistan, Dubai, London, Tanzania, Hong Kong, Singapore, China, Uganda and Canada.
Quotations Gulnar Sultanali Fazal (b May 9, 1960), an NRI based in Mombasa, Rosaries Kenya, has been gathering Jenny Joseph (b May 9, 1961) of Padanakkad, quotations and proverbs for Kasargod, Kerala who has been collecting more than 42 years. By June 30, Christian rosaries from various countries for the 2016 her quotations had grown past many years had around 1,145 by June 30, to 74,970 compiled in 117 2016. Containing 53 beads, each rosary is different notebooks which vary in size and using various materials like pearls, stones, glass page numbers. She puts down beads etc. Longest rosaries are around one meter quotes by date, month and year. She has a and shortest ones are about 20 cm. The rosaries small library where she keeps her entire are from India, US, Australia, Pakistan, Poland, collection in one section under lock and key! Israel, Jordan.
LIMCA BOOK OF RECORDS 2017 55
humanstory 2017 -III.pmd 55 3/31/2017, 3:13 PM T H E H U M A N S T O R Y Sudoku KS Rao (76) of Hyderabad was attracted to Sudoku in 2009. He started with easy puzzles and quickly rose to the higher levels. He now solves only very hard/evil puzzles taken from websites. Puzzles solved had grown to 5,123 by June 30, 2016. He takes Spoons 30 min per Shubhangi Apte (b April 25, 1955) of Raipur, puzzle. His book Chhattisgarh has 1,852 small and big spoons, a Sudoku Made Easy collection started in April 1995. She held a two- gives easy tips for even day exhibition of spoons at the Grand Hall of difficult puzzles without need of using a pencil or Maharashtra Mandal, Choubey Colony, Raipur on eraser. The book was well appreciated by Maki Oct 31 and Nov 1, 2015. Over 800+ visitors saw Kaji, father of modern Sudoku. the exhibition of spoons collected from not only various states of the country but also from countries like New York, Dubai, Japan, Singapore, South Africa, USA etc. The collection had silver, gold, ceramic, steel, copper and wooden spoons in a variety of sizes, shapes and colours. The biggest spoon was 18 inch and smallest 1 inch.
Thematic matchboxes and labels Turbans, caps et al Hitesh Pant (b Dec 5, 1982) of Haldwani, Ananta N Joshi (b Feb 20, 1968) of Kalyan, Uttarakhand has a matchboxes and Maharashtra has caps/ turbans/ armoury in his labels collection, a hobby he started collection, a hobby started in August 1975. By in 1994, systematically putting them June 30, 2016, his collection had increased to theme wise in albums. At first he 2,276. His collection includes pagdis, cowboy had very few but gradually his hats, medieval helmets and more. He has collection grew to more than 300. started another category of collection – He keeps his collection in boxes, military caps, hats and helmets from across skillets, albums and bread boxes in a the world. He has exhibited 50 such articles glass almirah. in Pune at Balgandharwa Kaladalan from May 26 to 28, 2016. He has a museum exclusively for his caps/ turbans collection at his home.
Waste to wonder mini models Devendra Prakash Tiwari (b Nov 18, 1961) of Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh has a collection of 150+ miniature models of war equipment, a hobby since childhood but in 1982, he started collecting them as well. All made with waste scrap, metal and rubber parts, the items measure 2 to 12 inch. He has made an International Space Station, INS Virat, the aircraft carrier of the Indian Navy, a Dragline mining machine and a table lamp which are maximum 20 inch. Others are less than 12 inch.
LIMCA BOOK OF RECORDS 2017 56
humanstory 2017 -III.pmd 56 3/31/2017, 3:13 PM T H E H U M A N S T O R Y
Water wrappers Wood-finish fountain pens Kartik Rajpal (b Jan 1, 1994) and Mohammed Dr Sunil Gupta (b Nov 26, 1964) of Jaipur, Nabil Mohammed Sali (b Dec 9, 1992) of Delhi Rajasthan has 563 wood-finish fountain pens, have a collection of water container wrappers adding 26 to his 2015 tally. A hobby since 1982, which was started 2015. The 287 wrappers are these pens are made of different materials like from 5 countries and no wrapper is repeated. metal, plastic and ebonite. Dr Gupta uses these pens by rotation in order to keep them in working condition.
Register covers Kanika Gupta (b Dec 7, 1993) and Kartik Rajpal (b Jan 1, 1994) of New Delhi have collected most copy and register covers – 2,104 – since they were in Class X. They have segregated them on the basis of themes displayed on the cover – environment protection, social messages, animals and birds, professions, dances, costumes etc. No cover is repeated.
CURRENCY NOTES & COINS Biggest and smallest currency notes A Babu Rao, 65, of Vijayawada has the biggest and smallest currency notes, gifts from friends. The largest currency note is a Russian 100 Rouble, issued in 1910. It is 26.5cm horizontal and 13 cm vertical. The smallest Chinese note was 5 cm (vertical) and 9.5 cm (horizontal).
Currency notes ending 786 (value-wise) Prefix notes Narinder Pal Singh (b April 3, 1954) of Chandigarh has been Rajkishore Mahanta (b March 29, 1994) of Keonjhar, collecting Indian currency notes ending in 786 since 2001. Odisha, a notaphilist, has the biggest collection of 398 Apart from Indian currency, he collects currencies ending with varieties prefix notes of Re 1 & Rs 2 786 from 14 countries — Pakistan, USA, Singapore, from Sept 2008 to March 2016. Australia, Thailand, Hong Kong etc. He has 26,764 such He has 398 varieties prefix of Re 1 currency notes, valued at Rs 14,61,588 as of June 30, 2015. (total 18 Finance secretaries with Number of foreign currency notes is 5,251. 59 issue) and 289 varieties of He has three mobiles ending 786 – 9988373786, 9888459786, prefix of Rs 2 (total 14 RBI Governor 9815247786. His car registration is CH-01-AA-1786. with 36 issues).
LIMCA BOOK OF RECORDS 2017 57
humanstory 2017 -III.pmd 57 3/31/2017, 3:13 PM T H E H U M A N S T O R Y Coins from 1882 to 2015 Shreya Jakhar (b March 29, 2005) and her father, Jagvir Singh (b Oct 28, 1974) of Sonepat have a joint collection of year- wise coins starting from 1882 to 2015 except for the four years – 1902, 1937, Currency notes and coins from most countries 1948 & 1949 – Amit Muraka (b Jan 23, 1986) Beawar, Rajasthan has the largest when coins were collection of currency notes and coins from most countries, a hobby not minted. he started about 17 years ago. Currency notes are from 193 nations affiliated to the UN, 212 obsolete nations and 79 island and Coins from foreign mints overseas territories totaling 484. Coins are from 193 nations Rakesh Kumar Nagpal (b Jan 10, 1966) of affiliated to the UN, 198 obsolete nations and 68 Island and Bareilly, UP has 18 Indian coins from nine foreign overseas territories totaling 459. mints – Birmingham, London, Canada, Kremnica, Most odd-shaped coins Mexico, Moscow, Pretoria, Hungary - only two Dr Bhanu Pratap Singh (b Jan 7, 1961) of Raipur, are missing from the total. He started his coin Chhattisgarh has the most un-duplicated odd- collection when he was 10! shaped coins – 203 – from 18 countries, a collection since 2004. He started with a set of guitar-shaped coins set of Somalia. He went on to collect many odd-shaped coins.
Bi-metallic coins Anjita Chadda (b June 18, 1986) of Jaipur, Rajasthan has 3,000 Rs 10 bi-metallic coins with 18 varieties, a collection started on June 18, 2013. Hole-in-coins Rs 10 coins Thomas Mathew (b May 11, 1968) of Chenauur, Sandeep Tibrewal (b August 21, Alappuzha, Kerala has 380 hole-in-coins (based 1979) of Bengaluru, Karnataka has by catalogue) from 95 countries, a collection been collecting varieties of Rs10 started in March 1981. Each coin has a different coins, a hobby since he was in Class 5. pouch. Thomas has a lifetime membership in The At present he has 28 types of coins. Kerala Numismatic Society, Kochi.
Re 1 notes of all FS signatures Arvind Kumar Pai (b March 22,1986) from Cherthala, Kerala has 6,500 currency notes, the largest collection of Re 1 notes bearing the signature of every Finance Secretary, at least three of Re 1 from every year issued from 1949-2016.
Rs 5 commemorative coins Manish Dhameja, (b July 10, 1986) of Lucknow, UP has 62 commemorative Rs 5 coins, a hobby since five years.
LIMCA BOOK OF RECORDS 2017 58
humanstory 2017 -III.pmd 58 3/31/2017, 3:13 PM T H E H U M A N S T O R Y
25 paise coins Fifty paise coins Kalla Ashok Kumar (b August 10, 1989) of Kewal Singh Rana (b Jan 7, 1962) of Mohali, Punjab Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh has been has 80,000 fifty paise coins, a 26-year collection collecting 25 p coins as a hobby he started on started in 1990. The weight of the coins is about August 10, 2012. The judges at Amar Concept 400 kg. School deployed students to count the coins which came to 77,777 on June 30, 2016.
Longest exhibition of currency & coins Dr Bhanu Pratap Singh (b Jan 7, 1961) and his son Aaditya Pratap Singh (b Jan 12, 1988) organised the longest exhibition of coins, paper money and stamps at City Mall 36, Raipur for 451 days from Jan 8, 2015 to April 3, 2016. Themes of the exhibitions were changed every 15-20 days and several other activities were organised during the exhibition.
Most coloured coins Dr Bhanu Pratap Singh (b Jan 7, 1961) of Raipur, Chhattisgarh has the most un-duplicated coloured coins – 240 – from 22 countries, collected since 2007, a collection with the Animal series from Somalia and other African countries.
THIS & THAT
Mega Onam feast BPCL Kochi Refinery organised a mega Onam feast for 16,500 people at their premises for their employees and other stakeholders on August 21, 2015. The feast was a part of celebrations for achieving Safety Milestone of 10 Million Lost Time Accident free Safe man-hours at the ongoing Integrated Refinery Expansion Project (IREP) site. The ‘Royal Kerala Feast’ had 14 varieties of dishes known as ‘Onam Sadhya’ which was laid out at IREP site, Ambalamugal, Kochi. The feast was served at three venues inside the Refinery boundary. Menu: White rice, Sambar, Rasam, Paneer Matar Masala, Pineapple Curry, Aviyal, Thoran, Aloo Gobi, Pickle, Puliyinji, Curd, Pappadam, Pazham, Payasam (two varieties), Sarkara Varatti, Varutha Upperi (banana chips) and mineral water.
humanstory 2017 -III.pmd 59 3/31/2017, 3:13 PM T H E H U M A N S T O R Y
Legal awareness padyatra Advocate Rekha Rani (b July 1, 1972) of Lucknow, UP undertook a legal awareness padyatra or foot journey, Lok Vidhik Jagrookt Abhiyan. She covered 600 km in one month starting on April 28 and ending on May 27, 2015.
Tallest Thrikkakara Appan During Onam, people make a conical structure symbolizing the deity Thrikkakara Appan in their houses as a part of the rituals. For Onam 2016, the organisers erected a 51-ft tall, Thrikkakara Appan with 15-ft dia which was built in six days from Sept 8 to 13, 2016 by Ayyanthole Desam Pulkkali Sanghataka Samiti with the help of 16 people. Normally Thrikkakara Appan is made of clay or mud and generally has four faces with a flat top. The Athapookkalam, the special floral arrangement done during Onam, was also made.
Lighting 111111 ghee lamps Kaithali Mahadeva Temple at Mele Pattambi, Kerala which is in under central archeological department has been lighting 1,11,111 lamps (Lakshmi Neydeepam) for the past 10 years. On Maha Sivarathri of March 7, 2016, for the first time in its history, the temple was lit by ghee (clarified butter). Thousands came to light the lamps – poor, rich, old, young, physically challenged people – everyone lit ghee lamps!
LIMCA BOOK OF RECORDS 2017 60
humanstory 2017 -III.pmd 60 3/31/2017, 3:13 PM T H E H U M A N S T O R Y Ice cream stick decorations Vallabha Swamiji and his team in Swaminarayan Mandir Kalakunj in Surat, used 11,11,111 candy sticks, each stick 11.5 cm long with a 1.2 cm wide to make a Hindola during Chaturmas, the four months starting July and ending November. They made decorations with the candy sticks in 16 domes. Around 110 people worked day and night for 10 hr for 28 days which was 15,400 hr.
WR: Padyatra Mahendra Pratap, MD of Yuva Jagriti International Jan Jagran Anterved Sewa Sansthan along with Awadh Bihari Lal, Govind Nand, Vijay Shankar and Jitendra Pratap of Lucknow, UP launched a World Padyatra (walk) for peace starting from Kanyakumari with 20 members on July 30, 1980. Since then the padyatra has continued in India and neighbouring countries like Nepal, Tibet, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Myanmar, Thailand, Bangladesh, Bhutan and China covering 3,08,000 km till June 8, 2016. They walk 40 km in a day. In the course of the peace walk, they have planted 3 crore 20 lakh saplings!
Biggest family gathering Ponmanichintakam Kudumba Sangamam in Kozhikode, Kerala organised grand celebrations at its get-together of the entire Koya families at Tagore Centenary Hall on Jan 2-3, 2016. Family members in Kozhikode, in other parts of Kerala and across the country and even from abroad came to join the festivity, reviving old, cherished memories. The two-day bash had entertainment galore with performances by family members. Ponmanichintakam is spread over the city having 613 family units residing in separate houses with three speciality doctors, 10 MBBS doctors, one scientist, 82 engineers, 32 MBAs, 8 MCAs, 5 CAs, 11 B Eds and 260 graduates. During the two days, 1,805 members (475 living abroad) gathered for the merrymaking. Ponmanichintakam situated in Kozhikode city came into existence in 1832 after the marriage of MM Mammed Koya with Biyyathutti. The ancestral house is still there in Gunny Street, Kozhikode, keeping its heritage. PM Mohamed Koya is Chairman of the Ponmanichintakam Kudumba Sangamam.
Jewel-studded Taj Mahal Heera Zhaveraat made a replica of the Taj Mahal and had it released by Southern Gujarat Chamber and Industry at Sparkle International Jewellery Show on Jan 3, 2014. Studded with 24 ct gold, the 9 ft tall diamond replica with a 50 ft circumference was covered with decorative LED lights. During the 4-day show, two million foot falls were recorded. The work done with 15 artisans was completed in 45 days.
LIMCA BOOK OF RECORDS 2017 61
humanstory 2017 -III.pmd 61 3/31/2017, 3:13 PM T H E H U M A N S T O R Y
Novel table calendar With many table calendars in the market, an A4 size table calendar titled ‘My Calendar is my Message’ created by Naresh Chandra Mathur (b Jan 12, 1951) of Patna, Bihar stands out. With three separate calendars but one composite theme, the three calendars with month and dates (not days of the week) it doesn’t confine itself to a particular year but will be relevant for eternity. Each calendar has Lab stacks biscuits on nose a theme on social causes, like Save Water, Snoopy, a three year old Labrador retriever from Smoking & Education (twin), and Thought for Bangalore is no less than any circus artiste. He can the Day with relevant article and picture balance 40 biscuits on the tip of his snout and placed on front page. never tires of showing his prowess to his master Satish Basavaraju’s many friends and admirers.
A magical memory! C Prashanth (b Sept 25, 1997) of Karamana, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala possesses an incredible calendar memory by which he can tell the exact day of any given date between AD 1 and 10,000 on the Gregorian calendar in less than 15 seconds! His memory of dates and events works like a computer. This ability is astounding because Prashanth is specially- abled, born with many disabilities - congenital heart disease, suffering from cerebral palsy, 100% visual disability and hearing and speech impairment! Impact Day 2015 Non-stop coconut breaking As a part of its global corporate social Karakkura Ramachandran Nair of Kalathil Shree responsibility (CSR) activity Deloitte’s Impact Day Vettakkourumakan temple, Aluva, Kerala 2015 was conducted in 13 cities across Telangana performed double on Nov 27, 2015. There were over 500 locations, Panthreerayiram, breaking with nearly 30,000 volunteers and lives impacted 24,027 coconuts in one sitting were 8,75,000. There was a spotlight on from 11.00 pm on Jan 26 to ‘courageous principals’, a leadership development 5.00 am on Jan 27, 2016. He programme for government schools across took 5 hr 20 min in all. Nair Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. There were 160 is the official Komaram in projects and four causes – Education, around 150 temples. Empowerment, Ecology and Culture.
LIMCA BOOK OF RECORDS 2017 62
humanstory 2017 -III.pmd 62 3/31/2017, 3:14 PM T H E H U M A N S T O R Y Pinning a mini flag everyday Shahnaz Ahmed (b Sept 5, 1974) of Churu, Rajasthan has been pinning a miniature tri-colour flag on his breast pocket every day since Jan 22, 2013 in order to inculcate patriotism and nationalism. He wears it day and night and in every occasion, at prayers, in funerals, festivals like Eid, reading the Koran or any other religion, his flag is always prominently visible. He sticks miniature flag in his diary, suitcase, file, hard Vijay Stambh made of coins disk, computer, room keys, laptop, mobile and Nikunj Kumar Tomar (b July 1, 1979) of many more. When the National Anthem is played Bulandshahr, UP and friends Nitesh Kumar, Asif on a radio or TV even at home, Shahnaz stands up Khan and Vishal Singh made a 10 ft tall and 10 in attention. inch dia Vijay Stambh using 44,875 coins at Maharana Pratap Seva Sansthan, Hapur on Oct 11, 2015. Made of 38,750 Re 1 coins and 6,125 Rs 2 coins the Stambh was made in 15 hr without any break from 10:00 am on Oct 8 to 1:00 pm on Oct 9, 2015. The Stambh was wrapped up flag colours with mini flags stuck to the pole.
Shivaji’s forts by walk and horseback Counting each step in a journey Popat Jaywant Khopad (b June 30, 1969) of Nazare, Pune who has a Maruti Kirte (b Sept 13, 1949) of Pune, 40% disability of spine (ankylosing spondylitis) has ventured to travel Maharashtra undertook a walking journey or to eight forts in Shivaji’s terrain in eight days from May 9-17, 2016. padyatri counting each step from Dehugaon A diurnal odyssey of 8-10 hr every day, the route is one that was Mandir on July 3 ending it at Pandhapur on July followed by Shivaji Maharaj, involving 369 km on horseback and 24, 2015. After 100 steps he drew hundred 44 km by walk. One stretch has a 100 m vertical ‘ladder’ that Popat one-inch lines in his log book and counted the himself tackled. Popat started from Khavli village near the back total lines on each day. The total of steps counted water of Dhom Dam and ended his journey near Purandar Fort during the 21-day walking trip was 3,83,044. (Saswad).
LIMCA BOOK OF RECORDS 2017 63
humanstory 2017 -III.pmd 63 3/31/2017, 3:14 PM T H E H U M A N S T O R Y
Restoring oldest turret clock Ashwani Kumar (b August 4, 1979) of Chandigarh restored the oldest turret clock of Christ Church in Kasauli. The clock, imported from Manchester, England was installed in 1884. As the clock was dysfunctional for the last 30-40 years or so, he sought Highest marriage proposal help from the Army’s EME division. Ashwani started on the repair Ramneek Singh Toor (b July 15, 1990) and work in May 2015 and completed it by June 2015. Swatabdiv Mallik (b June16, 1986) both from Ashwani took it upon himself to examine the complex levels and Kolkata have been travelling across India on gears of the machinery at the top of the church. Although several motorcycle for more than five years. On May 30, clock agencies offered to make an electronic one but it was not 2015, on a motorcycle road trip from Kolkata to acceptable to him as he was keen to restore the original one. Gurudongmar Lake in North Sikkim, Ramneek The over 130-year-old turret clock made by WH Bailey and proposed to Swatabdi at 17,200 ft above sea level! Company has started ticking again! His wish came true at Gurudongmar Lake!
Gobar Snan (Cow urine bath) RC Bafna founded Goseva Anusandhan Kendra, a goshala, in Jalgaon specially to take care of abandoned, unproductive cows. The inmates live in ‘goshala,’ an animal shelter for cows, amongst 2,500 cows, utilising various products like cow milk, ghee, curd, gobar, urine etc which are also popular at many other places in India and abroad. Every Sunday morning, for the past the four years that is, since 2012, around 12 -20 male volunteers assemble at the goshala wearing only undergarments. Around 10 buckets (14 litres) of cow dung with urine is kept in a corner. The thoroughly mixed paste is applied all over their body from head to toe. A mild massage is done by the participant himself or with the help of another participant. The gobar paste remains on body for 45 minutes to an hour until it dries up. The environment is jovial. Then they all go to a tube well for a proper bath. Invariably they report freshness in skin and body.
LIMCA BOOK OF RECORDS 2017 64
humanstory 2017 -III.pmd 64 3/31/2017, 3:14 PM T H E H U M A N S T O R Y Shivaji Fort restoration & durg puja Shivaji Trail, the oldest Fort Restoration Group of Pune, Maharashtra initiated by Milind Kshirsagar in 1996, started a cultural tradition of durg puja (fort worship) on the last Sunday of February each year since 1997 to raise awareness about forts. Started with a single selected fort, every year this tradition has been continuing for 19 years. The number of forts and people has increased as well as the durg puja and as a result in 2016, durg puja was performed in 121 forts of five Indian states – Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh – simultaneously on Sunday, Feb 28, 2016. Out of 121 forts, 22 were graced by the descendants of Maratha warriors. The Fort Restoration Group has coined the slogan - ‘Save Bargad plantation Forts Save Heritage’. Indian Red Cross Society, District Branch Rewa, MP planted 1,111 bargad (banyan) plants under its environment protection initiative, ‘Ek Bargad ka Ped’ on August 11, 2016. The 2–3 year-old plants were more than 75 cm tall when there were transplanted. The project had 1,111 donors who will pay Rs 1,111 to adopt tree and 1,111 persons who will take care of the plants for two years.
Oldest working surgeon Dr G S Jhala (b Sept 9, 1925), General Surgeon who presently lives in Ajmer, Rajasthan is the oldest-working surgeon. He was the first doctor from the three close-by districts of Rajasthan - Banaswara / Dungarpur/ Pratapgarh. He retired in 1980 from JLN Medical College and Hospitals, Ajmer as Professor & Head of Surgery department and Superintendent of Hospitals. After his retirement he joined St Francis Nursing Home as a consultant and is operating till date. At 92 years, he drives his own car. Split tongue He has performed more than 20,000 Bharat Khatri (b Feb 4, 1989) of Jaipur, operations in 54 years that comes to 30 Rajasthan has a spilt tongue (like a snake’s operations per month. He has been awarded forked tongue), a modification he got many times. done in Nepal on August 3, 2016. People As General Surgeon he has operated all can show off their tricks when two sides parts of body, even heart, as specialty surgery came later. are healed.The two halves can be raised He operates almost three to four days a week depending up and down opposite each other, spread on when he gets patients. You can access it on his apart from the other half, and they can website. even grasp objects and hold onto them!
LIMCA BOOK OF RECORDS 2017 65
humanstory 2017 -III.pmd 65 3/31/2017, 3:14 PM T H E H U M A N S T O R Y AUGUST 15 CELEBRATIONS
TKM School Independence Day celebrations 2014 TKM Centenary Public School and TKM Higher Secondary School, Kollam organised a mega venture ‘Samarpan’ where 5,400 students, teachers and ancillary staff made a human chain of the National flag to the accompaniment of drum beats and released hundreds of tri-colour hydrogen balloons, orange, white and green in their school campus at 9.30 on August 14, 2014. There were 60 rows of students bordered with staff members in white. They used scarves, wrist bands and balloons by dividing them into 20 rows of each colour. The Ashoka Charkha had 24 spokes in hard blue all in proportion to length and width.
Independence celebrations by differently- abled children As a part of its Independence Day celebrations, Gitanjali Devshala School, Secunderabad, Telangana organised the largest congregation of differently-abled school children waving the National Flag. The event had 3,516 students aged 3-18 years from 14 schools waving the National Flag for over 2 min from 11.34 to 11.36 am to the tune of ‘Sara Jahan Se Accha’ on August 10, 2016. The school’s ‘Waving for Inclusion’ event set the tone for celebrating 70 glorious years of Independence. Older students recited verses from Rabindranath Tagore’s Gitanjali, ‘Where the mind is without fear’.
LIMCA BOOK OF RECORDS 2017 66
humanstory 2017 -III.pmd 66 3/31/2017, 3:14 PM T H E H U M A N S T O R Y
Har Ghar Tiranga, Har Gaon Tiranga Chandra Raghunath Patil, Lok Sabha Member of Parliament of Surat, initiated a movement called ‘Har Ghar Tiranga – Har Gaon Tiranga’ by distributing Indian flags to all citizens, a culmination of a long and successful campaign. He started giving away flags on August 3 and by Independence Day, August 15, 2016, had distributed 23,486 flags by courier and 2,045 personally, total 25,531. More than 100 volunteers were involved.
India map outline with 70,000 bottles On 70th Independence Day, students of Sri Vasavi Matric Hr. Sec. School, Dindigul, Tamil Nadu made a 30,235.68 sq ft outline of India with 70,000 tri-coloured glass bottles on August 15, 2016. Within the map, 558 students, 60 staff and the principal scattered seeds to demonstrate that India will become a fertile land with a message to spread awareness of ‘Wealth from Waste’. The function started at 7.00 am and ended by 12.00 pm.
Longest tri-colour In Purnea, Bihar, more than 12,000 school children, college students, volunteers and common people formed a human chain holding a 7,100 m long and 1 m wide tri-colour which started at Gulabbagh Zero Mile and ended at Dagarua on National Highway 31 on August 20, 2016. The tri-colour was dedicated to soldiers who have laid down their life for the country. Organised by Sunil Kumar Suman and Hotel Shreenayak, it took 30 days to make the tri-color.
LIMCA BOOK OF RECORDS 2017 67
humanstory 2017 -III.pmd 67 3/31/2017, 3:14 PM T H E H U M A N S T O R Y GANESH CHATURTI 2016
Eco-Ganesh workshop Viviana Mall in Thane West with NGOs help conducted an Eco- Ganesh workshop for Ganesh Chaturti for its visitors and kids on August 27-28, 2016. In the 16 hr (8 hr each day) two-day workshop, there were 411 participants, young and old, each making one idol. Materials were sadoo mitti, non-toxic colours and water. Of 411 idols 160, were taken home by the visitors to install at homes and the remaining 251 were displayed at the Mall. Immersion (visarjan) was done on seventh day.
Largest pandal structure Sanstha Brahmachetna is an organisation in Indore, MP which has been involved in social causes. Among them is Ayodhya ka Raja, a regular event every Ganesh Utsav for the past nine years. The organisation has been making large temple constructions like Somnath and Ambaji temples Ganapathies by differently-abled on auspicious days. In 2016, for the 10-day Twenty-five deaf and dumb children created 108 festival, they made the largest temporary pandal, pot-clay Ganapathies at Apte Prashala, Pune in 125 ft high, 100 ft wide and 200 ft long. Work on 3hr from 9.30 am to 12.25 pm for Ganesh the pandal started on July 20 and was completed Chaturthi on August 26, 2016. The children on Sept 2, 2016. Approximately two trucks of made idols under the guidance of Sumeet Sanjay thermocol, 21,000 bamboos, 10,000 m cloth Patil who works for the education and were used for the interior decoration. It was improvement of the lives of the differently-abled. constructed by 50 workers from Bengal who had expertise in making idols during Durga puja.
WR: Heaviest besan ladoo Tata Chemical Limited prepared an 8,645 kg besan (gram flour) ladoo for Ganesh Chaturthi and offered it at the Andheri Cha Raja pandal at DN Nagar, Andheri, Mumbai from Sept 22-29, 2015. All ingredients used were traditional – besan, sugar, ghee (clarified butter) and cardamom. After weighing, the ladoo was distributed for general consumption as prasad (offering). Forty cooks made the ladoo in 170 hr.
LIMCA BOOK OF RECORDS 2017 68
humanstory 2017 -III.pmd 68 3/31/2017, 3:14 PM