Nagpur singer stakes claim to new world record for solo singing

NAGPUR - A professional singer from Nagpur has staked claim to a new world record in solo singing - for 80 hours and 4 minutes - with the Guinness World Records, an official said Tuesday.

“The singer Rajesh Burbure, 35, completed his marathon singing session in a public hall last evening,” said Manish Patil, general secretary of Youth Welfare Association, Nagpur.

“He started his solo singing effort Saturday (July 24) and finally ended it by breaking the existing world record by over four hours,” Patil told IANS.

Presently, Burbure has been hospitalized for treatment, according to his wife and singer, Varsha.

“He has suffered swelling in the throat, general body weakness and other minor problems. We were told by doctors to admit him for a few days,” Varsha said.

Recounting the marathon singing feat, Varsha said that the organisers followed all the norms of Guinness - more strictly than their specifications - to ensure that her husband could create a new world record without hassles.

Burbure has broken the exiting record of 76.07:01 hours, set by South Korean singer Kim Kum Okin in February 2009.

Varsha rued that the huge public response to the attempt prevented him from going up to 90 or even 100 hours, even though his voice and health were intact.

“The crowd was uncontrollable and the hall was jam-packed, so he had difficulty in breathing and had to abandon it after 80 hours, 4 minutes,” she said.

Present on the occasion were the who’s who of Nagpur, including a state minister Nitin Raut and Mayor Archana Dehankar.

Burbure’s 13-year old twins - Vaibha and Dhanashree - were also present to support their father.

Incidentally, last year Nagpur singers had set a new world record of 64.05:18 hours for group singing which was accepted by Guinness.

Patil said the Nagpur group broke the then record of 62 hours, set by a Gujarat group in October 2008.