Chatting with listeners tuned into Internet radio station ‘Voice of God', radio DJ Vincent Jebaraj sounds chirpy. “Ladies and gentlemen, it's great to be in this position,” he gushes, suspended upside-down from the hook of a crane. His head hovering over a laptop and a DJ console placed on a sturdy plank of wood resting on around 20-ft long iron poles pitched into the ground, Vincent begins his quest for a unique Guinness record: ‘The longest radio DJ set played while suspended upside-down'.
A new feat
Vincent is going after Italian Stefano Venneri's record for the same feat, which stands at 15 minutes 26 seconds. He introduces the guest on the show, Inspector General of Police (Tamil Nadu Police Academy) Pradeep V. Philip, and explains that the police officer will talk about two traumatic events in his life. Vincent's voice does not betray any discomfort as he announces the first song of the evening, ‘Anbin Vallamai' from his own music album.
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After Pradeep recalls the details of the suicide-bomb attack on Rajiv Gandhi (he was on escort duty at the site of the blast), Vincent asks him if he had gone through any other nightmarish situation. Pradeep narrates how miraculously he escaped drowning in the sea off the Tuticorin coast in 1989. A fellow police officer had saved Pradeep's life through CPR.
Thanking Pradeep for these personal accounts, Vincent plays Vijay Ebenezar's ‘Baaram'. There is no quiver in his voice as he provides information about the song and its composer. Vincent's friends are anxiously looking at the screen that displays a ticking clock from www.online-stopwatch.com. While playing the next song — ‘Sing Like David Sang, Dance Like David Danced' by Joel Thomasraj — Vincent quips that he can't dance in this position. A roar of cheer goes up from the audience, as the stopwatch ticks past 15 minutes and 26 seconds.
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When Pradeep returns, Vincent asks him if he has any advice for youngsters. “The world is very much like how you are now — upside down,” says Pradeep and adds that it takes youngsters who have their feet firmly planted on earth to get things back to their right order.
Two more songs and a few comments later, Vincent decides to end his evening's broadcast. As a doctor rushes to check Vincent — whose face is noticeably bloated — for any distress, Vivek Raja, who represents India Book of Records and Asia Book of Records, announces that Vincent has created a new record for the longest radio DJ set played suspended upside down — 29 minutes 01 second. Vincent is soon on his feet to celebrate the achievement.
Later, Vincent says the doctor had warned him that body fluids would escape through the eyes and the nose if he stretched the feat too far. “During the 24th minute, I sensed my eyes were getting watery. It was a warning I wisely heeded. Having gone beyond the present record, there was no need to stretch myself.”