16 March,2011 07:12 AM IST | | Priyanjali Ghose
If you're wondering what this means, you need to spend a day with Bangalore techie Shishir Hathwar, who made his way into the Guinness Book for 'retro reading'
If you ever meet electronics engineer Shishir Hathwar, don't get surprised if he asks you: "tahw si rouy eman?" No, this not a string of arcane abuse, he is just asking "what is your name" in his retro style.
Prized possession: Shishir Hathwar poses with his Guinness World
Record certificate.
Meet retro reader Shishir Hathwar, who made his way to the Guinness Book of World Records by uttering the spellings of 50 words backwardsu00a0 in 1 minute and 22.53 seconds flat. The words included including hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia (fear of long words).
Spelling any English word backwards is fun for the 25-year-old electronics engineer."I can reverse spell any word from an English dictionary. It is a self-taught art. All you need is passion, inclination and rapid reflexes. When you tell me a word, I visualise it first and then break it into small syllables," said Hathwar.
It all started at the age of 16 when he stunned a friend by reading out a signpost backwards. Since then Hathwar has been reading books that help him find new words. Thomas Hardy is his favourite author because of his prose and selection of words. Hathwar attributes his reading habit to his father, a robotics scientist with the Defence Research and Development Organisation, mother, who has an an MSc in physics, and the intellectual atmosphere at home.
His efforts finally bore fruit on November 13 when he, on record, spelt 20 six-letter, 15 seven-letter and 15 eight-letter words backwards. "It is a heady sensation to know that you are world's number one. It is a welcome change," Hathwar said, adding that his next aim is to set a record in the most number of words spelt backwards in one minute.
Hathwar admitted that spelling pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanokoniosis (lung disease) with 45 letters is difficult but said smaller words weren't such a big deal. A regular jogger, Hathwar has other interests too in the form of outdoor activities such as trekking.
The retro speaker also had some suggestions for the youth. "Read books instead of playing video games and using SMS lingo. The only way to learn how to spell backwards is visualisation," he said.
