685 Metres of Silk make new Guinness Record

A green and yellow sari that adorns the presiding deity at a Jain temple in India’s southern state of Tamil Nadu has been recognized as the world’s longest, a newspaper report said on Monday.

The 685m sari – handed over to the the Parshwa Padmavathi Jain temple in the northern district of Krishnagiri recently – was woven in non-stop 14-day effort, the Asian Age reported.

The Guinness Book of Records has registered the sari given by Kumaran Silks as the world’s longest made in the shortest span of time, R Kumar, a partner in the company, told the paper.

Although the company in Tamil Nadu’s capital, Chennai, was asked to weave and deliver the sari in 21 days, the firm merely took a fortnight.

“It was a difficult task, but we did it,” said Kumar, adding that three experts were employed and the machine was run around the clock.

“It was a real test of our ability and workmanship,” he said.

Weaving long saris has become a prestige production among leading textile firms in southern India. Last year, a firm called Seematti produced a 483m sari. In 2005, Pothys, another Chennai firm, wove a 389m sari.

By Sirius on 25-05-2007