The longest nails in the world, which Shridhar Chillal has finally decided to cut, were presented at the popular Ripley’s Believe It Or Not museum in New York’s Times Square.
Chillal, an 82-year-old Indian, holds the Guinness World Record for the longest nails on one hand, measuring 200 centimeters.
“I have lived with my nails for sixty-six years,” said Chillal, concluding: “Now I am happy because everyone can finally see them.”
Chillal had to have his nails surgically removed a few days before the museum presentation, noting that he could no longer live with them in his old age. The prolonged weight of the nails had deformed his left hand, making it impossible for him to open it.
Long nails of Shridhar Chillal are displayed at the Ripley’s Believe It Or Not museum in New York’s Times Square
Although Chillal says he misses his nails, the feeling of freedom after cutting them is irreplaceable. He had been growing them since 1952 and entered the Guinness World Records in 2014. He notes that he cleaned them every week, and when he slept, he had a special pillow and would wake up at night to check if his nails were intact.
Chillal is married and has children, and he succeeded in his career as a photographer, using only his right hand, which had shortened nails, for many years.
Chillal started growing his nails after an incident on the school playground when he and a friend ran into a teacher and broke the nail of his little finger that he was growing.
“I don’t know if the teacher is still alive… but if he is, I would gladly run into him to tell him that his curse hit me. I turned it into a challenge – and I was successful,” concluded Chillal.
