A bit over the top?

Neeraj Bagga

Tribune News Service

AMRITSAR, January 5

The Limca Book of Records seems to be his favourite book of all time. After all, Surinder Singh Azad has 11 feats listed to his name in it.

Determined to find a place in the Guinness Book of World Records, Azad had developed a penchant for setting records when he learnt that he could expand his chest by 9 inches (22.8 cm). The normal expansion is not more than 6.3 cm.

This achievement was acknowledged in 1990 and unlocked a desire to thread various extraordinary feats that were to follow in the coming years. Looking back at his eventful journey, he says: “I always wanted to do something exceptional.” So, he started exercises like bench press and 1,000 push-ups and sit-ups daily to expand his chest.

The golden ager had even ventured on his scooter from Amritsar to Pinjore and back, covering 534 km in fourth gear, this was in 1993, and bagged him a record for the second time. He claims that he has been driving the two-wheeler in the fourth gear ever since he bought it in 1979. It fetched him the third national record.

For Azad the mantra is making something out of nothing. Even trivial matters, like snapping fingers and clapping, have got him recognition. “Though records like snapping fingers and clapping may sound amusing and comical, but I have put in my best efforts to achieve them,” he quips. The 79-year old, in the year 1997, registered two records — one for clapping 12,178 times and the other for snapping his fingers 11,510 times in an hour each. He snapped his fingers 290 times in a minute, which paved the way for sixth record.

Riding back in the day, his seventh record even baffled the engineers at Bajaj Auto Ltd as he had driven his scooter for 70 km in a litre. It seems he really likes his scooter, for it piled more records. He created the eighth by driving the slowest scooter ever in fourth gear ie 2.35 km per hour, while the ninth followed for driving the scooter (no shift in gear) with 10 pillion passengers.

Come 2000, the final duo of records were etched which raised the number to 11, ie rotating the wrist 292 times in one minute and rotating his arm 136 times in a minute.

Even today, Azad has not been letting the advancing age get better of him. He knows the importance of keeping fit. So, the retired superintendent of Customs and Excise Department walks 15 km daily. Perhaps, the fever of adding more records to the already brimming cup of glories hasn’t come off yet. He claims that he is the only retired person whose 11 records are listed in the Limca Book of Records.

Some other feats which he had shown to the committee of Limca Book of Records include clapping and snapping fingers simultaneously for 6,500 times each.