Tiruchi school cartoons its way to world record

Visitors viewing the the world's longest cartoon strip created by the students, teachers and members of Vasavi Vidhyalaya Matriculation School in Tiruchi. Photo: Special Arrangement

The City-based Vasavi Vidhyalaya Matriculation School has set a Guinness World Record for creating the world’s Longest Cartoon Strip measuring 601 metres (1,971 feet and eight inches).

The "world’s longest continuous cartoon strip" created by 131 students, and 35 teachers and management staff on January 25, 2010 surpassed the previous record of 437.8 metres set by Elite Charitable Trust, a Coimbatore-based non-governmental organisation focussing on development of student community, in July 2009.

The School has been given a certificate for their achievement by the Guinness World Records Ltd, London. Displaying the Guinness certificate, the School Secretary, A. Madhava Manoharan, told the media here on Wednesday that the cartoon strip created with pencil drawings portraying ethical messages was completed in seven hours and three minutes on the school premises. The students were trained for five days before embarking on the endeavour.

Chart paper weighing 365 kilograms was used for drawing the cartoon strip highlighting messages such as ‘play while you play’; preservation of nature; cleanliness and global warming.

Each student used three to four pencils for drawing and shading, Mr. Madhava Manoharan said adding that there were in all 1,202 picture messages in the cartoon strip.

The Chief Witness for the event and the founder president of the Elite Charitable Trust K. Pradeep Kumar said after a detailed report was sent to the Guinness informing them about the school’s deed, the declaration from the Guinness World Records came on February 9. A certificate was given to the school in commemoration of their achievement, he added.

Mr. Madhava Manoharan said the school would shortly embark on the second project to create the world’s largest foot print painting on the theme HIV/AIDS prevention on cloth. Three generations: students, parents and their grand parents, will execute the project on March 14, he said. Started in 1994, the current strength of students from pre-kg to Std. X in the school is about 620.