Indian man claims to be the oldest man in the world, aged 118-years-old

This is Premsai Patel. He claims to be the world’s oldest man. Still able to walk with only a stick for support, Prime says he was born in 1896. That would make him 118 years old.

He backs his claim by producing an ID card which mentions his date of birth as the 11^th of May 1896.

Premsai lives in the remote Korba district at the centre of Chhattisgarh State in India. Each day, he starts by reciting verses from a sacred Hindu scripture which he says purifies one’s body and the soul.

But what most people will want to know is his secret to a long and healthy life.

“I eat simple food like fresh green vegetables and don’t touch meat or fish. Since childhood, I’ve eaten simple food. Be it anything like vegetables, pulses, mawa. I never had anything to do with meat or fish.”

Premsai is a great-grandfather. He lives with a large family of sons, daughters-in-law and their children who accompany him to numerous religious ceremonies he presides over, reciting Hindu verses.

Doctors say the correct age of a person can be verified through a bone test. Current maybe oldest human alive is a 115-year-old Japanese woman.

Difficult words: claim (say something that may be true), back (support), produce (show), sacred (holy), purify (clean), pulses (seeds such as beans and peas), mawa (cheese made in India), preside (to lead).