He believes the secret to eternal youth is half a kilo of butter washed down with three litres of milk every day.
And Ramjit Raghav must be doing something right. At the age of 94, he claims, he has just celebrated the birth of his first child. Mr Raghav, from Haryana in northern India, hailed the arrival of son Karamjit as ‘God’s gift’. It would make him the world’s oldest father. He and his wife Shakuntala Devi, believed to be in her late 40s, hope to go one further by trying for a second child next year.
Mr Raghav, who was a wrestler in his youth, is confident that he will be around to see his little boy grow up, saying: ‘I will die only if a black snake bites me and that is very unlikely. ‘Visit me after ten years and you will find me in the same appearance. ‘My daily diet comprises three litres of milk, half a kilo of almonds and half a kilo of ghee [clarified butter].’
But some doctors have questioned the validity of Mr Raghav’s claim. Dr Paramjeet Singh, chief medical officer at Kharkhoda Civil Hospital, where the baby was born in November, said: ‘Having babies at such an age is a remote possibility. It can’t be ruled out.’
If it is true, Mr Raghav will beat current record holder Nanu Ram Jogi, an Indian farmer who fathered his 21st child at the age of 90 in 2007. Mr Raghav actually claims to be more than 100 years old, but pension records give his age as 94.
