Staff at Abu Dhabi Airport were left open-mouthed when a man handed over his which said he was 123 years old.
Swami Sivananda’s passport says that he was born on August 8, 1896, in Behala, India.
If the date on his passport is correct, Mr Sivananda would be the oldest person to have ever lived.
It’s hard to tell whether he’s really 123 because the only record of his age comes from a temple register.
Mr Sivananda looks decades younger, something that he puts down to yoga, discipline, and celibacy.
He says, “I lead a simple and disciplined life. I eat only boiled food without oil or spices, rice and boiled daal (lentil stew) with a couple of green chillies.”
He’s been trying to have his age and status confirmed by the Guinness Book of World Records for three years but he’s having trouble proving his age.
The oldest person still alive and recognised by the Guinness Book of World Records is Kane Tanaka of Japan, aged 116 years and 278 days.
