Guinness Record for Indian techie
By Hitesh Shetty

The booming IT-ITES industry in India has empowered many Tech Specialists to make time for their passions.  A Hyderabad based software engineer Chikka Bhanu Prakash has made it to the Guinness Book of World Records for the heaviest weight lifted by a fingernail.  He was successful in lifting 8.668 Kilograms for 28 seconds to set a world record.  Techgoss catches up with Bhanu.

Techgoss (TG): Tell us about your educational qualification? What kind of IT have you studied? Which IT companies and software did your work with?
Bhanu Prakash: I completed Master of Computer Applications (MCA) from Swami Ramananda Tirta Institute of Science & Tech at Nalgonda ( Andhra Pradesh).

I am currently working as a Software engineer for Innobox Systems Pvt Ltd. (Hyderabad) since Sep 2010. Prior to this, I had worked as a Trainee Software Engineer for Serve All Enterprise Solutions from July 2009`- May 2010. I have worked with Asp.net, C#.net, PHP, JavaScript, Jquery, Mysql and Sql server technologies

TG : How did you get the idea of lifting heavy weights with your finger?
Bhanu Prakash: It all started in my early age due to my peculiar habit of biting nails. My father used to scold me a lot for doing that. This habit led me to grow longer nails and one day I stumbled upon the idea of getting a hole drilled  in my thumbnail. I soon started lifting small weights using my thumbnail with the help of a thread.

However, the real turning point for my endeavour happened through a local TV show in 2004. As people from my hometown and community got to know about my aspirations, they encouraged me. This  spurred me on and motivated me to aim something big. Maybe a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records!

But, the going was not so easy for me. My right thumb nail got totally broken, while trying to attempt this feat once. I had to almost quit it. But, my passion never stopped. I decided to fight back and after few weeks of rest, I was back doing what I love.

TG : What motivated you to take this challenge of lifting 8.668 kg with your left thumb, which no one has attempted before? Explain your journey towards winning a place in the Guinness World Records?
Bhanu Prakash: It all started to happen when I earned a place in the Limca book of Records for my work in nail art on Lord Ganesh during the popular Indian festival 'Ganesh Chaturthi' and my feat made it big in local newspaper, which read " World's first nail artist makes Ganesha 1 ½ Cm high and 1 Cm wide". Thereafter, I performed similar feats on Taj Mahal(2007),Telangana Buzzword (2009), Indian Currency Symbol(2010) etc.

After earning a spot in the Limca Book of Records, I  started practicing  lifting heavy weights using my thumbnail. I had seriously set my sight into winning a place in the Guinness World Records. I also did a little research about the record category and found that this was in fact a unique record category in the Guinness records and if I go on to successfully complete the task, I would be the first person to earn a place in that category.

An open record category was introduced in the Guinness World Records titled “Heaviest weight lifted by finger nail”. The task involved lifting the weight using nail at least to 10 cms from the ground and to keep holding it for five seconds. I successful completed this feat on November 20, 2011 at Padmashali Bhavan, Hyderabad. I  lifted 8.688 kgs weight 26 cms from the ground and held it for 28 seconds.  I was eventually awarded a certificate by the Guinness World Records after verifying my record details.

TG: Would you advice other youngsters in India to take up such an act, provided the risk it carries?
Bhanu Prakash: To achieve a feat like this, you need to have a vision. Therefore, Youngsters aiming to achieve an unusual feat and probably book a place in the Guinness Book of World Records need to be dedicated, determined and fight the obstacles along the way. Finally, the mission statement is what makes all the difference at the end of the day. I started with a single goal at a time and ended up achieving the ultimate.

TG: How did you celebrate your Guinness World Record Triumph?  Did you then plan to try for any other record?
Bhanu Prakash: My happiness knew no bounds upon achieving this ultimate feat. I celebrated this achievement along with my family members and friends. I had dual satisfaction- Firstly for establishing a feat in a  new record category in Guinness World Records. Secondly, I felt proud for being the first person in the world to lift heaviest weight using finger nail. Also, I am the first person to create a record on nail art. As I already hold a Guinness World Record, my next target would be to better my own record and create a new record once again. I am presently working on it. Also, I aspire to create a few more records in the Guinness World Records open categories in the future. Hoping for the best.

TG: What was your exercise /  training schedule in the lead up to your Guinness world book attempt? Were there any diet restrictions?
Bhanu Prakash: I used to exercise daily for 30 minutes. I had no diet restrictions though. I kept practicing weight lifting using fingernail at home, 1 hour a day during evenings after my work hours.

TG: What are your future plans?
Bhanu Prakash: I want to be a part of social activities to help the poor and needy. I am already a part of few social organizations like savealifefoundation.in and few other organisations that work for weaver’s welfare. Also, I donate blood regularly. All in all, I aspire to be a successful person in all walks of my life and also reach greater heights in my career as a software developer.