Udupi: Class 9 boy enters India Book of Records for fastest “Hanuman Chalisa” recital

Udupi: Shashank, a class 9 student of Indrali English Medium High School in Udupi, has created a special record.  He made it to the India Book of Records-2022 by reciting the entire ‘Hanuman Chalisa’ in just 47 seconds and 87 milliseconds.

In the process, he improved on the earlier record set in April 2021, by Anita from Haryana in the India Book of Records by a margin of 13 seconds.

The Hanuman Chalisa is a Hindu devotional hymn (Stotra) in praise of Lord Hanuman. It was composed originally by Tulsidas in the Awadhi language in his epic poem Ramcharitmanas. The hymn is also available in different languages spoken in India, including Sanskrit.

The boy says he was introduced to the Hanuman Chalisa by a stranger when he visited Krishna Matha with his parents Kunjibettu Ashok Salian and Bharathi. The stranger handed him a booklet of the devotional hymn and said “Read this daily.” From then on, Shashank got up at 4 am every day and chanted all 40 verses of Hanuman Chalisa during the morning prayers.

Shashank’s mother, Bharathi told Udayavni, he has the goal to set a world record in Hanuman Chalisa recital. Shashank has started working towards this goal, in addition to the regular school work, she said.

Shashank credited his success to his parents for encouraging and inspiring him in his efforts.