by Sweta Baniya
KATHMANDU, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Weighing 12 kilograms (26 pounds) and with a height of 22 inches (56 centimeters), 72-year-old Chandra Bahadur Dangi from a remote village of Nepal arrived in the capital Kathmandu on Wednesday with high expectation of being "World's Shortest Man".
This is the first time for Dangi to come to Kathmandu from his hometown Dang in mid-western Nepal and travel by plane.
The Guinness World Records team is set to arrive in the Kathmandu to measure him.
If Dangi's claim is confirmed, he would be the second Nepalese to be crowned as the world's shortest living man in recent years, and would also be the shortest human adult ever documented since India's 57cm Gul Mohammed who was examined in 1990 as the shortest human adult and died in 1997 at the age of 40.
Earlier, Nepal's 26.41-inch Khagendra Thapa Magar became the record holder after he turned 18 on Oct. 14, 2010.
However, a Filipino blacksmith's son, 60cm Junrey Balawing took over the crown on June 12, 2011 as he marked his 18th birthday.
Upon his arrival at the airport, surrounded by a bunch of reporters and locals, the old man was continuously blinking his eyes and answering the queries with a small voice with shyness.
Wearing traditional Nepali attire, Dangi had no shoes on his feet.
"I am the world's smallest man," he told Xinhua.
Dangi told Xinhua that he likes to play "madal" which is a traditional musical instrument and also likes to sing old songs.
"With my title, I want my village, country to be popular around the world," Dangi said.
His nephew Dolak Dangi who was accompanying him told Xinhua that as they lived in a remote village, his uncle's identity has been hidden until these years.
According to Dangi, Chandra Bahadur has never been taken to a doctor since his birth and he is perfectly healthy but needs help going to bathroom and changing clothes.
He is the fifth son among six of Bel Bahadur Dangi, born in the remote village of Salyan 320 kilometers away from the capital.
Dangi's brothers and two sisters are of normal size but the reason of his shortness is yet to be known.
Earlier, he used to weave "Namlo", a kind of traditional rope, but as he became old, he stopped doing it, said his nephew.
