Category: Records

Two Grammies for AR Rahman

Posted on by Anand Nepal

“This is insane, God is great again.”

That is what AR Rahman said after receiving his second Grammy Award at Los Angeles.  The 44-year-old Indian musician pocketed the Best Compilation Soundtrack and the Best Motion Picture Song at the 2010 Grammy Awards for scoring the tunes of Slumdog Millionaire.

Before that, Rahaman had won the Best Original Music Score and Best Original Song at the Academy Awards, Best Original Score at the Golden Globe Awards, Anthony Asquith Award for Best Film Music at BAFTA for his musical contribution for the movie.

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Burj Dubai (Burj Khalifa) and records

Posted on by Anand Nepal

The Burj Dubai (Burj Khalifa) tower officially opened its doors on January 4, 2010, six years after the commencement of construction in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The tower previously known as Burj Dubai was renamed Burj Khalifa in honor of the current President of the UAE and ruler of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Khalifa.

Burj Dubai

Some of the records made by the $4.1 billion, half-mile-high skyscraper are:

  • Tallest skyscraper to top of spire: 828 m (2,717 ft) (previous record: Taipei 101 – 509.2 m (1,671 ft))
  • Tallest structure ever built: 828 m (2,717 ft) (previous record: Warsaw radio mast – 646.38 m (2,121 ft))
  • Tallest extant structure: 828 m (2,717 ft) (previous record: KVLY-TV mast – 628.8 m (2,063 ft))
  • Tallest freestanding structure: 828 m (2,717 ft) (previous record: CN Tower – 553.3 m (1,815 ft))
  • Building with most floors: 160 (previous record: both 1 and 2 World Trade Center – 110)
  • World’s highest elevator installation
  • World’s fastest elevators at speed of 64 km/h (40 mph) or 18 m/s (59 ft/s) (previous record: Taipei 101 – 16.83 m/s)
  • Highest vertical concrete pumping (for a building): 606 m (1,988 ft) (previous record: Taipei 101 – 449.2 m (1,474 ft))
  • Highest vertical concrete pumping (for any construction): 606 m (1,988 ft) (previous record: Riva del Garda Hydroelectric Power Plant – 532 m (1,745 ft))
  • The first world’s tallest structure in history to include residential space
  • Highest outdoor observation deck in the world
  • World’s highest mosque (located on the 158th floor)
  • Elevator with the longest travel distance in the world
  • Tallest service elevator in the world
  • World’s highest installation of an aluminum and glass façade, at a height of 512 m (1,680 ft)

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Yes, he did it! Oldest climber got Guinness certificate

Posted on by Anand Nepal

Min Bahadur Sherchan, climbed Mt. Everest, the 29,028 feet (8,848-meter) peak, at the age of 76 in 2008. But, the 2009 edition of Guinness Book of World Records had Japanese national Yuichiro Miura as the oldest person to reach the top of the world at 75.

Sherchan did apply for his rightful entry in the record book but getting the honor was as tough as climbing the highest peak itself.

Sherchan first thought of setting a record on mountaineering in 1960. He wanted to be the first to climb Dhaulagiri (8,167m) but another team succeeded in climbing it before he could attempt. After 40 years, in 2002, he decided to be the oldest person to climb Mt. Everest breaking the records set by Japanese mountaineers. He started his trainings at the age of 72 and climbed the peak on May 25, 2008 at the age of 76 years and 350 days (almost 77 years).

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Kaiane Aldorino crowned Miss World 2009

Posted on by Anand Nepal

The 59th Miss World pageant, Miss World 2009, held on December 12, 2009 at the Gallagher Convention Centre in Johannesburg, South Africa crowned Kaiane Aldorino of Gibraltar the new Miss World. Aldorino had to compete with 111 other beauties from all around the world.

This year, Miss Nepal Zenisha Moktan participated in the event and as expected, she couldn’t win any titles. But, participation in itself was an achievement when compared to the last minute cancelation of last year’s Miss Nepal event.

 

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Khagendra proposed and kissed Rekha Thapa

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Khagendra Thapa Magar, world’s shortest person (62 cm) is only 4.6 kg in weight. When somebody meets the 18-year-old guy, the person can not resist carrying him.  This time it was actress Rekha Thapa who carried and kissed Khagendra. Khagendra returned the favor with numerous kisses and a marriage proposal.

The light-weight little guy Khagendra Thapa Magar is being an object of admiration among political leaders and film actors these days. Khagendra is collecting funds but, it looks like the political leaders were more concerned with carrying him rather than supporting financially. In my last post PM Nepal was carrying him on his lap.

After that, every major political leaders were seen photographed carrying Khagendra. Here is a collection of photographs of different leaders meeting Khagendra.

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Shortest man, Khagendra, going London

Posted on by Anand Nepal

The kid Prime Minister, Madhav Kumar Nepal, is carrying is not a kid at all.

The little man, Khagendra Thapa Magar, has just turned 18 and is going to London to register himself as the shortest person in the World. He is collecting funds for the travel cost.

It is good thing that Khagendra is going to be the record holder. But, I didn’t know that you have to go to London to register yourself in the Guinness World Records.

The official FAQ doesn’t mention of visiting London.

…Once you have received the guidelines you can attempt the record and collect all the evidence as indicated in the guidelines and in the Records Breakers Pack. You can send the evidence to our office in London, where we will be able to verify it within 6 weeks and send you a certificate to commemorate the achievement, if the verification is satisfactory.

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Cabinet Meeting at the foot hills of Mt. Everest

Posted on by Anand Nepal

In a call to the world community to see the impact of climate change in the Himalayas, Nepal government council of ministers are meeting at the foothills of Mt Everest on December 4, 2009.

The ministers are meeting at Gorakshep, at an elevation of 5,164 m (17,190 ft) above sea level. Gorakshep, meaning Dead Ravens, is a frozen lakebed covered with sand. Twenty 20 cricket match was held at Gorakshep to set a World Record Altitude for field sport.

After the meeting the Prime Minister, Madhav Kumar Nepal, will held a press meet at Syangboche (11,523 ft) to brief about the meeting.

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108 feet statue being built in Bhaktapur

Posted on by Anand Nepal

An 108 ft. statue, featuring Lord Shiva holding a Trishul in one hand, is being built in Sanga, Bhaktapur. The statue is expected to be finished in a couple of months.

The work on the statue started three year back with the financial support of Kamal Jain, owner of Hiltake water tank company. Jain, an Indian national, has been doing business in Nepal for the last 18 years.

The concept design of the statue was prepared by an Indian engineer, Maturam Verma. Five Indian sculpturers and 100s of Nepali workers are working in finishing the statue before Shiva Ratri, a festival of Shiva. NRs. 20 millions has already been spent in the construction of the statue.

Jain believes that the statue will be helpful in development of tourism in the area.

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Miss Pearl Hong Kong 2009 is Deepa Gurung

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Deepa Gurung, 18, from Pokhara, won the first Miss Pearl Hong Kong 2009 title in an event held in Hong Kong on 24 October, 2009. Deepa’s sister Jyoti Gurung, 16, won the second runner up and Roji Pun, 16, got the first runner up.

Among the 13 contestants, 9 contestants won one of the contest titles. The sisters, Deepa and Jyoti, apart from being Miss Pearl  and second runner-up also won Miss Angel and Miss Charming titles respectively. Pabitra Gurung won Miss Personality title, Roma Ghale was Miss Genius, Sumin Gurung was Miss Catwalk, Sunita Gurung was Miss Attitude, Susmita Limbu was Miss Entertainer, Roji Pun the Miss Online Popular votes, and Soni Limbu got Miss Figure titles.

Title winner Deepa Gurung wants to become architect or an interior designer in future and doesn’t like chocolate. We wish all the best for her bright future.

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93 new species found in Nepal

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I was talking about one more addition to the 863 species of birds found in Nepal in my previous post. Recently  WWF released a news about 350 more species of living things found in the Eastern Himalayas in the past decade in which 93 of them were found in Nepal. Among the 93 species 40 were plants, 36 mammals, 6 fishes, 2 frogs, 9 reptiles. Not all, but 10 were given a Nepali name ‘nepalenses’.

In Nepal we don’t do much research (don’t have resources) on these things so I suspect it is only a part of a bigger story. Much of the higher Himalaya is highly inaccessible and they should hold much of the unidentified species. As an example, never finding a giant Yeti can suffice on our ability to find all the unspotted species.

Well, that was the discovery of a group formed by WWF.

The group found that almost three-quarters of the discoveries between 1998 and 2008 were plants, including 21 new orchid species. But it also listed 16 amphibians, 16 reptiles, 14 fish, two birds, two mammals and at least 60 new invertebrates. Most of the discoveries have already been reported in peer-reviewed, scientific journals.

If you are interested in reading the full document it can be downloaded in pdf format from panda.org website.

Pushkar Shah – the world, eleven years, and Mt. Everest

Posted on by Anand Nepal

I have heard about Pushkar Shah in bits and pieces. He was travelling countries on bicycle and now it has summed up to be the World. Yes, he has finished his journey of eleven years to introduce Nepal … in bits and pieces.

November 29, 1998 was the big day Puskar set out on an 11 year journey on a bicycle with NRs 100 (about $1.50) in his pocket. After travelling 150 countries in Asia, North America, South America, Africa, Middle East, and Europe now he has announced that he has completed his journey.

Now he has his ultimate dream :

I would like to climb Mount Everest in 2010 bringing the national flags of all the countries I will have visited by then to the summit.

Let’s wish him luck and we know he would do what he says he will.

Kathmandu airport to be jammed with birds?

Posted on by Anand Nepal

Do you remember the birdman Gautam Sapkota from my previous post who could mimic 151 different types of birds? The videos were convincing and the guy sure has some talent.

The 25-year old now claims that he can call 175 different birds to jam the Kathmandu International Airport. The reason – the government has created hindrance in his quest for the Guinness World Records.

There are so many problems in Nepal that the Nepalese Government can’t hear a plea until somebody chooses a disruptive mean – be it a traffic jam or city closure (popularly called ‘Banda’) to attract its attention. Gautam claims to have repeatedly asked the ministries of foreign affairs, finance and forest. But nobody cared for his plea. Now, according to a National newspaper, he has given a three months ultimatum to the government to write letters to the Guinness World Records officials. With the three month’s preparation he is planning to call unspecified number of crows to jam the air traffic on the only international airport in Nepal.

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Appa Sherpa set new Mt. Everest record of 19 accents

Posted on by Anand Nepal

Well done Appa! Congratulation on your new record on the top of the world for the 19th time.

Appa Sherpa reached the top of Mt. Everest on May 21, 2009 at 8 am for the 19th time to break his own record of 18 ascents, last year. Appa was leading Eco Everest Expedition 2009.

It was not an easy expedition as this climbing season saw one of the worst weather conditions. The expedition was struck by tragedy on May 7 when Lhakpa Nuru, a high altitude climber, died in an avalanche and two of the team members gave up summit hopes and returned to Kathmandu.

After the failed first attempt in 1988 Appa climbed the peak for the first time in 1990. That is, 19 accents in 20 years.

Previous post – Apa Sherpa to conquer Mt. Everest 19th time

80-yr old man’s quest for Mt. Everest record

Posted on by Anand Nepal

UPDATE: In his courageous attempt to climb the Mt. Everest, Shailendra Kumar Upadhyay died on May 9, 2011 just above the Everest base camp. May his soul rest in peace!

The record keeping mountain, Mt. Everest, has been the best place for Nepali people to break old records and make new ones. Energetic, ambitious mountaineers like Apa Sherpa make and break their own records on it. But this time a well-known but unsuspected mountaineer is planning for a new record on the top of the world. Not so young, well known for works others than mountaineering, Shailendra Kumar Upadhyay is planning to scale the peak to break a previous record set by a 75 year old Japanese climber.

If you are from Nepal and had lived through the Panchayat System of 80s you would probably know Mr. Shailendra Kumanr Upadhyay. He had been a diplomat, social worker, and he also worked as Minister for Foreign Affairs.

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World Record – Cricket played at the highest altitude

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To create a world record of cricket played at the highest altitude, a group of cricket enthusiasts from the United Kingdom completed at Gorak Shep, near Mount Everest on April 21, 2009. The team had to walk for nine days before staging the match at an altitude of 16,945 ft. (5,160 meters).

Team Hillary with trophy after the victory in the Everest Test. (Photo: myrepublica.com)

Team Hillary beat Team Tenzing by 36 runs with six balls remaining.

The Nokia Maps Everest Test was inspired two years ago when cricket-mad expedition leader Richard Kirtley, 28, noticed that Gorak Shep, the highest plateau of its size in the world, bore a striking resemblance to the Oval cricket ground in south London, according to CNN. (myrepublica)

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