These 'oriyans', we say

The new craze for world records has completely taken over the state

Isn't it strange that while other countries have individuals who are getting into record books for brilliant inventions and discoveries, Indians seem to have only sick routes to fame: long moustaches, longer nails... and worse! Ever since Keshab Swain from Orissa got into the Limca Book of Records last year by breaking 135 green coconuts in seven minutes and 26 seconds with his elbow, it has started a craze among people to set records by doing bizarre things like pulling heavy vehicles with the teeth, crunching on razor blades, breaking wine bottles and running backwards etc. Mohammed Zakir challenged Keshab's achievement after only a few months. Zakir, 36, a resident of Pipili town in Puri district, Orissa, broke 200 green coconuts in three minutes and 16.6 seconds with his elbow on January 21, 2008 in Bhubaneswar. He said, "My objective is to set a world record and get my name in the Guinness Book." Besides breaking coconuts, people of Orissa also eat sharp blades. Prabhakar Das of Balasore has been doing it regularly for 30 years now. "I am a poor mason living miles away from the state capital and have not had the opportunity to set a record," he said. Likewise, 22-year old Sheikh Masalaudin, who is a resident of Soro in Balasore district and an aspirant for the Limca record, pulls Maruti vans and mini trucks with his teeth. He recently hit headlines when he pulled a Tata Sumo with his hair. Sharat Pradhan, a 17-year old from Nayagarh, has also been making efforts to find a place in the Limca Book and Guinness Book of Records. He has demonstrated acts like eating raw eggs along with the shell, pulling four wheelers and peeling dry coconuts with his teeth. Balkrishna Rout, Sharat's coach, says, "This boy has inherent qualities which will make Orissa proud." Purnachandra Tripathy, a 38-year old resident of Subarnapur village in the coastal district of Cuttack, works as a guard in the local forest department and dreams of making a world record while running backwards for more than 50 km at a stretch. He claims that he can run backwards for 100 metres in just 12 seconds. In this context, Romio Ranjan Parida, 21, from Naxal hit district Malkangiri, broke 100 tube lights and 185 wine bottles in 10 minutes and five seconds with his bare hand to register his name in Limca records. Sigh... These Indians, we say...

-Dhrutikam Mohanty