Mangalore: Anil Bangera eyes Limca, Guinness records with otolith collection
Deekshith DV
Pics: Dayananda Kukkaje
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangalore
Mangalore, Aug 2: There many people who want to be unique but only a few are truly unique in their words and actions. One such example is Anil Bangera (47), a driver and mechanic by profession.
Bangera’s name is in the ‘Limca Book of India Records’ for de-husking three coconuts in 4 minutes and 30 seconds in 1999. His thirst for creating records has never quenched.
For the Limca record, in 18 seconds he removed the husk of the first coconut, For the second, he took 1 minute and 30 seconds and the third was done in 2 minutes and 30 seconds. Till date, he has de-husked more than 1,400 coconuts with his teeth. Bangera says that he has not experienced any side effects as a result of his feat.
This time, when Bangera had the desire for a new record, he began collecting otoliths, or in lay terms, 'stones' found in fish ear.
He has collected 4,800 fish otoliths from various fish which he has eaten. Over the past five years, Bangera has been relishing the taste of fish in various curries and other dishes while collecting otoliths from them.
He gathered otholiths from fish like ‘Muru Menu’, ‘Kodai’, ‘Kalooru’, and ‘Nang’. The collected 4,800 otholiths all come from fish eaten by him alone.
Bangera is an aspirant for the Guinness Book of World Records. Presently, he is eager to collect 200 more otholiths to make it 5000, and as soon as he achieves this target he will apply for the Limca Book of Records.
He also said that otoliths can be collected as precious stones for use in jewellery.
Asked about his penchant for breaking records, Bangera says the inspiration came from an incident.
“We had one sickle at home. When it lost its wooden holder, my wife went to borrow a sickle from our neighbor. But I thought about it for a while and decided to remove the coconut husk with my teeth. From then on I continued doing this,” he says.
In addition to this, Bangera is a social worker who serves for the betterment of society but unfortunately no one has recognized his talent.
What are otoliths?
Otoliths are crystalline particles of calcium carbonate and a protein adhering to the gelatinous membrane of the maculae of the utricle and saccule in the the inner ear of vertebrates (fish, amphibians, reptiles, mammals and birds). They are sensitive to gravity and linear acceleration.