This Article is From May 27, 2015

At 8.1, He Claims to be India's Tallest Man. But Life Isn't Easy

At 8.1, He Claims to be India's Tallest Man. But Life Isn't Easy

Dharmendra Singh, who claims to be tallest man of India, poses with a visitor at Nauchandi Fair in Meerut. (AFP)

Dharmendra Singh claims the title of India's tallest man. At 2.4m tall (8 ft 1 in), he is only 11 cm shy of the world record. But here's why Singh is having a hard time.

The 32-year-old from Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, is reportedly struggling to find both a job and a wife because of his colossal height. Despite being armed with a master's degree in Hindi, Dharmendra Singh's height has proved a disadvantage in the job market.

In an interview to The Telegraph he said, "Whenever I went for interviews for jobs, people asked how I will work if I am so tall."

The lack of employment opportunities forced Singh to the local amusement park, where he works as a freak show performer. People pay to gave a picture clicked with him. For each picture, he gets Rs 10.

And sometimes, he says, people "run away without paying".

Besides trouble finding a job he likes, Singh also fears he will never find a wife. "In terms of marriage, the main problem is my height. It will be very difficult to find someone who is tall enough for me. I think it is impossible," he was quoted as saying by The Telegraph.

He also has trouble walking because of his immense height, and fractured his hip bone a few months ago.

Dharmendra Singh's family is not exceptionally tall except for his maternal grandfather who was 7 ft 3 in. As a child, he was often bullied by his peers and called names like 'giraffe' and 'camel'. And some would say that his height has made him 'hopeless'.

The good part of being eight-foot tall? He feels like a celebrity when people want to be photographed with him. "I am immensely popular and it is all because of my height," he says.

.