Agra, also a city of world records

Darpan Singh, Agra

When fourteen-year-old Akash Gupta on Tuesday last set a new world record by playing the guitar for 45 hours at the 162-year-old St. Peter's College in Agra to get into the Guinness Book of World Records, he also took forward the city’s legacy in sating records in different walks of life. People of the Taj city earlier too brought laurels by getting enlisted themselves in the Limca and the Guinness book of records.

In 1998, Dr Parth Sarthi Sharma made the record of treating the highest number of patients in a year. The Central Government also acknowledged the feat. Graduated from Vasundhura Raje Homoeopathic Medical College, Gwalior, the young doctor worked as medical officer in-charge at a local clinic and took immense interest in homoeopathy, developing special interest in treating patients.

In 2000, Dinesh Shandilya set the record of making and playing five-feet-long flute. He is now aiming to play ten-feet-long flute. Shandilya has his name enlisted in the Limca Book of Records and the Guinness Book of World Records for making and playing the world's longest and smallest flutes. In 1996, he made a flute five feet long and 3.5 inches in diameter. It was made of Poly Venyl Chloride because Dinesh could not find a bamboo of 3.5 diameters. The smallest flute he made and played is 4.5 inches long.

More recently, Ashish Sharma of Mathura created a new world record by viewing movies non-stop for almost five days, breaking an earlier record of 117 hours, four minutes set by a German woman. Sharma watched movies for 120 hours at the KD Dental College auditorium in Mathura. For almost five days, he kept watching films. He began on June 11 and watched 48 movies. Despite breaking the German record, he continued to watch movies for another four hours.

Akash, who broke American Brian Engelhart's 2005 record of 44 hours at and continued playing with the aim of breaking his own record of 52 hours and 48 minutes that earned him a place in the Limca Book of Records last year, now wants to study in London and become an aeronautical engineer. He however said, “But the process of learning has to be ‘musical’ or else I will lose interest. “ Though there is a lot of pain in his swollen fingers because of the non-stop playing of the guitar, he has not let the rigour dampen his spirit. He said, “I will never quit playing guitar; it’s my life.” To a question as to what inspired him to take on the challenge, he quipped in a lighter vein, “I thought, I would get a laptop if I made it.”

Guinness World Records judge Ralph Hana, who was in the city of Taj to witness the process and hand over the certificate, admitted to the trend and said an increasing number of people were queuing up to set records, which earlier attracted mostly Europeans and Americans. “Such activities get the people of the town together as they encourage and cheer their hero to scale new heights. As you can see in Agra, people are very involved,” he said. “The spirit of adventure is crucial for human progress. Ever higher, better than before - these thoughts fuelled man's urge to compete and set new records,” Hanna said.