From April 25 two-time limca Book of Records holder Paras Mani Choudhary will sing for 144 hours. The vocalist tells D Kaushik he spent Rs1,25,000 on preparing for the feat and went a bit crazy during an earlier attempt
Singing for over six days at a stretch is no joke. But if you have the passion and your aim is to be famous, nothing is impossible. This is what motivates Paras Mani Choudhary to set new limca Book records. The vocalist and sitar player has played non-stop sitar for 92.35 hours in 2009 and was at the violin for 50 hours in 2011. He now wants to set more records, with a 135 hour recital, singing for 144 hours, over six days. He will begin on April 25, at eight in the morning. The venue will be the Purboshree Mahila Samiti Hall K Block, Chittranjan Park.
“like some people work hard for money, it is all about making records in my case. If you ask what do I get out of this deal — working hard for months, then playing an instrument or singing for a few days continuously — I would say no monetary benefit. Just the certificate and fame I receive. I live for it.” He added, “Each time I set out to make a record, I end up spending lots of money. When I made a record for a sitar recital I spent Rs75,000. I had to pay for the venue and other things. It was more than the amount spent on making a record with the violin recital as then I didn’t have to pay for the venue. This time I’m spending Rs1,25,000. I had to lock the venue, arrange for food and other facilities for people who will accompany me. Plus the visitors,” informed the artist, who got the idea very randomly.
He told a students to find out what record had been registered for sitar recital. It was of ninety hours, “which was unexpected.”He had to work harder. “I remember I played for four days and nights continuously. I was unmarried then. It was easier. I had nothing else to take care of. I devoted time for riyaaz. While I was playing sitar, my relatives would put food in my mouth. But by the end of the fourth day, I nearly lost it. I was playing and it was around the wee hours that I asked my brother ‘Why am I playingIJ’ Everyone around was shocked. I thought I had turned mad. My brother began crying, but thankfully I regained my senses. But my fingers hurt for a long time. It was painful,” shared Choudhary, who comes originally from Bhagalpur, Bihar and was first introduced to music by his mother.
“She was a great patron of music and a brilliant singer. She was my first guru and I began learning vocals and harmonium from her when I was 14. In 1999, I came to Faridabad and started training under AS Gill Maharaj, who was taught by lachoo Maharaj. Pandit Birju Maharaj and he learnt together. I learnt sitar from Deboo Choudhary in 2003,” he added.For his record-breaking performance Choudhary has chosen a Sai Baba bhajan and Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram.
“I could not have chosen something where I had to stretch the sur. Both bhajans can be chanted as mantras and I am doing riyaaz over two to three days continuously. But the good thing is that limca Book of Records allow you to take a 10-minute break every hour to attend to nature’s call, drink water or eat,” he ended.