The hidden story behind the old Indian man who claims to be 188 years old

Looks like immortality has got a new ambassador to India, or at least it was thought so for a few days. An elderly man was found on the outskirts of Bangalore, and he first made a statement that was difficult to understand: “I am 188 years old and death has forgotten me.”

Within hours, the video of the withered man began circulating on social networks, spawning numerous theories and firing the imagination of thousands of people around the world. Surviving for nearly two centuries was as intriguing as it seemed impossible, but history, as is often the case, hides something more mundane.

It’s big, but much less than they said

As soon as the news was announced, several versions began to appear that refuted the surprising and impossible figure. Some claimed that, in fact, his age was not even close to 188 years old, but closer to 110, another very respectable figure that very few people reach.

The confusion didn’t stop there, as another group of users, including Anadolu Bey, known for sharing viral content on X, narrowed it down to an even more reliable number. “He is 85 years old. I don’t know where they get these stories from, but that man is Papi Siyaram, as many of us here know him,” he commented in an almost incredulous tone as the news grew.

He’s practically an influencer

Moreover, this was not a stranger but Siyaram Baba, a highly respected person of the area. And this old man, far from being a character hidden in the shadows of some lost cave, has been sharing his daily life for years on social networks, where he has more than 3,000 followers. His Instagram profile, filled with images of him surrounded by old books or welcoming visitors of all kinds, paints a very different picture of the monk that some people have imagined.

In the videos that have gone viral, you can see how he continues to welcome those who come to him for wisdom or advice, as he has done for decades. And, above all, read and pray a lot. Furthermore, although his physical posture is not the best, he is by no means as physically impaired as initially thought. So, the reality is less spectacular, but no less interesting.