For professionals and students who require guidance to choose a career-oriented course anywhere in the world, K.M. David, a native of Payyanur, is a name to reckon with.
His hobby of collecting brochures of colleges, universities, and institutions from India and around the world has not just helped him guide students, but also won him laurels. With four records already in his name, Mr. David’s collection of over 9,600 brochures has been finally recognised by the Guinness Book of World Records.
Mr. David claimed that he had finally received an official mail from the authorities of the Guinness Book of World Records recognising his achievement and that he would soon receive the certificate.
The 62-year-old, who retired as a preventive officer in the Excise department, had to wait around two years to get his application accepted by the Guinness authorities as they did not have any such entry before.
However, no hurdle stopped him from following his passion, which started during a trip to a nursing college in Mangaluru. He was there to take admission for his friend’s daughter.
Mr. David said that he got the brochure from the college, which had details about its courses. Later, he got a new brochure from another institution, which offered nursing courses.
“Soon, collecting brochures became an addiction and I started collecting them from wherever I could,” Mr. David said. His friends living in other parts of India and abroad also helped him collect brochures. In no time, the collection grew and now he has brochures from 74 countries.
“These are a source of knowledge as they help understand courses offered across the world,” he said.
Mr. David said that he could lecture about 5,000 courses offered worldwide and because of this, students and colleges often invited him to share his knowledge with them.
His hobby had been recognised by the Limca Book of World Records, URF World Records, URF Asian Records, and Golden Book of World Records.
Mr. David, who started his career with Territorial Army, later served in Kerala Police for seven years and retired from the Excise department.
