Guinness record for 50 concerts in 24 hours

A 32-year-old Veena artiste from Bangalore has made it to the Guinness Book of World Records by performing the highest number of concerts in 24 hours.

Veena Maestro N Karthik’s feat of performing a total of 50 concerts in 24 hours at different auditoriums across Malleshwaram in Bangalore was recently recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records, which has sent him a certificate and a letter of appreciation.

Karthik has now replaced Adam Tas of South Africa as the world record holder for the highest number of concerts in 24 hours. Tas had performed 41 gigs

A marketing executive by profession, Karthik had adhered to the rules set by Guinness Book of World Records to achieve his rare feat. Each concert was not only held at a recognized venue with a minimum audience capacity of 300 people, but also lasted for 15 minutes as stipulated by the Guinness Book of World Records.

All the concerts were of a professional standard and the performer was either paid or the entry for the concert was by tickets kept for sale.

Interestingly, Karthik could set the new world record as he had chosen Malleshwaram, one of the most well-known music areas in Bangalore with a total of 55 auditoriums in a single locality. Karthik chose 50 out of them. Most of the music halls he chose were within a radius of three kms. For, Karthik knew it would be impossible to commute long distances in traffic-choked Bangalore. He had to proceed from one hall to another every 15 minutes.

After receiving the certificate and letter of appreciation from Guinness Book of World Records, an elated Karthik told reporters that he had achieved the feat with the help of a 20-member team, besides three vehicles and three veenas.

“When I am performing at the first venue, tuned veenas would be kept ready for me at the next two venues. The record was a result of six months of planning”, he said. Though all went as planned, the record breaking feat encountered hurdles at a couple of venues when the security guards denied them entry. However, we managed to complete 50 concerts in 24 hours.

Karthik’s record will figure in the 2008 edition of Guinness Book of World Records as the 2007 edition has already been published. Karthik, who is a marketing professional, hails from a family of musicians with both his parents being performing artistes.