Guinness gives best Dussehra gift to Nepali teen

KATHMANDU - Organisers had a tough time controlling the crowds and photographers at a hotel in Nepal’s picturesque Pokhara city Thursday as local lad and now, a global celebrity, Khagendra Thapa Magar celebrated his 18th birthday and attained adulthood by winning the title for the shortest man in the world.

The boy from a little-known village in western Nepal, Dhullubaskot, who measures 64cm, weighs 5.5 kg and fits into his father Rup Bahadur’s shopping bag without any difficulty, Thursday officially replaced Colombia’s Eduardo Nino Hernandez, 24, as the tiniest man in the world, as per the Guinness Book of World Records.

“We expect to be handed over the certificate by today,” said Min Bahadur Rana Magar, chairman of the Khagendra Thapa Magar Foundation that despite resources ran a dogged media campaign for nearly two years to make Khagendra’s name a household one and stake a firm claim to the coveted title.

Khagendra, dressed in a new Nepali suit, was excited at the thought of cutting the birthday cake and laying official claim to the title, Min Bahadur told IANS.

“Our next destination will be the UK where Khagendra will be travelling under Nepal Tourism Board to promote his country as a unique tourist destination in 2011,” Min Bahadur said. “Khagendra is also interested in getting married, especially after seeing his friends tying the knot. We are seeking a girl who will match his height but all the ones we saw so far turned him down because of his height.”

When he was born, Khagendra’s father says he looked like a chick and could be cupped in one hand.

“He was tiny but we didn’t think it was unusual at that time,” Rup Bahadur said. “It was when he didn’t move at all that we began to grow alarmed.”

Khagendra began to walk only when he was eight years old. By the time he was 11, he had virtually stopped growing further.

Since last year, he grew about two inches more.

Though the Foundation had approached the Guinness authorities last year, they said due to a discrepancy between the Roman calendar and the Nepali calendar, by which Khagendra was 18 last year, he would have to wait for another 12 months before he turned 18 as per the Roman calendar.

Earlier this year, Khagendra had travelled to Rome for a photo session with the then officially shortest man in the world, He Ping Ping of Mongolia.

When He died of a heart attack in March, Khagendra received a shock.

“They had become good friends despite the language barrier,” Min Bahadur said. “They would play table tennis for hours together.”

Now with Khagendra’s record official, Nepal is promoting itself as the land of Mt Everest, the highest peak in the world, and the birthplace of Khagendra, the shortest man in the world.

Recently, as the government began a campaign to promote 2011 as tourism year in Nepal when one million visitors are expected, Khagendra became the campaign’s brand ambassador along with the new Miss Nepal.

In a first of its kind, a team of adjudicators from the Guinness arrived in Pokhara to complete the formalities before handing over the certificate. Khagendra had to undergo measurement and weight tests thrice at the Phewa City Hospital Wednesday to fool-proof his claim.

“We are hoping the title and the publicity worldwide will persuade the government to help Khagendra,” said Rup Magar, a farmer by profession.

“We are troubled by the thought of what will happen to him in our absence. If the government settles a grant on him or gives him some special financial incentive, he can have a secure future.”

The new tiny icon of Nepal however remained unperturbed by any worries.

He is looking forward to his new status as a celebrity that in the past has brought him in contact with Nepal’s film stars and top politicians, including Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal and former revolutionary Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda.

He is also a good mimic and loves enacting roles from popular Nepali television soaps.

Last month, his travel to New York on the invitation of Ripley’s Believe It or Not curiosity museum netted him his first sight of blondes and he loved them.

“He’s a good boy,” his father said with moist eyes. “He does everything himself and is no trouble to anyone. When we realised he would not grow any more, we were disappointed. But now, we want him to be happy.”

(Sudeshna Sarkar can be contacted at sudeshna.s@ians.in)