It was a sari pallu designed to attract global attention, and it did. Nearly 250 children carried the 3.2-km (2 mile)-long pallu of a bride’s wedding sari in Sri Lanka’s Central Province, aiming to create a world record. The attention it promptly got was that of the Sri Lankan authorities, who are investigating the couple for using children for the event.
The National Child Protection Authority got into the act, and its chairperson Marini de Livera told The Hindu on Saturday, “Children being deployed for such events is a serious concern. They don’t understand what is going on, they don’t gain anything from it and more importantly, they don’t have a choice.”
At the spectacular event on Friday, hundreds of school children followed the couple, carrying the fall of the sari that the bride had worn in the traditional Kandyan style. Local media reported that the Central Province Chief Minister Sarath Ekanayake was a special guest at the wedding. The State-run Daily News on Thursday quoted Mr. Ekanayake as saying that a bride was preparing to attempt a Guinness record for the longest sari fall.
Following public outrage, Sri Lanka’s Education Ministry too said it would have a probe. “What has happened is totally unacceptable,” Secretary to the Ministry, S.S. Hettiarachchi said.
The episode highlighted concerns about having school children at public functions. Secretary of the Ceylon Teachers’ Union Joseph Stalin said many political parties use school children for their events. “Often, children stand in the hot sun to welcome a celebrity. School authorities are also complicit in this, but they are under pressure from local politicians who influence appointments and transfers,” he said.
In March 2017, Gujarat made it to the Guinness Records for the longest sari, at about 3.055 km long, that officials arranged for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Bharuch. Sarees can be very small too. The Sircilla saree from Karimnagar in Telangana, can fit into a match box.
