Premsai Patel says he was born in 1896, and if confirmed he would be the world’s oldest man at 118.

Patel, a native of a remote central Indian village, attributes his long, healthy life to fresh green vegetables, pulses and a strict vegetarian diet.

A retired government teacher, Patel lives in Korba district of central Chhattisgarh state where he starts each day by reciting verses from the sacred Hindu scripture ‘Ramcharitmanas’ which he says ‘purifies one’s body and the soul’.

“I eat simple food like fresh green vegetables and don’t touch meat or fish. Since childhood I have eaten simple food be it anything like vegetables, pulses, Mahua, (tropical tree found largely in the central and north Indian plains the flowers of which are used for making the alcoholic drink mahua, country liquor). I never had anything to do with meat or fish,” said Patel.

Patel, a great grandfather, lives with a big family of sons, daughters- in- law and their children, who proudly accompany him to numerous religious ceremonies he presides over, reciting Hindu verses and religiously worshipping Indian gods and goddesses.

Ghana Bai, a relative, said that Patel believes in living a happy and contented life and therefore, eats and drinks simple food without suffering the perils of old age.

“He eats, drinks and stays happy and all his family members-sons, daughters-in-law all live here,” she said.

The district of Korba which is blessed with lush green forest cover and a sizeable number of tribal population, has always been home to Patel.

A relative of Patel, Santram Khedia, said he had known him since his childhood in 1967 when his family came to settle down in the village.

“We came from Nandkhera in 1967 to settle down here and we know him since then. He is my maternal uncle in relation,”said Khedia.

To back his claim, the retired school teacher showed the Aadhaar card, a key government document issued by the unique identification authority of India which mentions his date of birth as 11 May, 1896.

Khedia added that Patel was a very healthy man who does all his work by himself and spends most of his time praying and chanting verses from scriptures.

“Yes, Premsai Patel is very religious and has come to our house 17-18 times to recite the scriptures when we had a religious ceremony. He would hold a stick and dance as he used to be in a trance while chanting the verses,” Khedia said

Doctors say the correct age of a person can be verified through a bone test.

According to the Gerontology Research Group, which tracks people 110 and older and validates ages for Guinness, the oldest human alive is a 115-year- old Japanese woman, Misao Okawa.

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