WORLD'S LONGEST SAREE

Kumaran Silks of Chennai, Tamil Nadu has created a 642.3 m (2,106 ft 10 in) long saree, which was acclaimed as the world's longest sari by the Guiness book of records in the year 2007. It was created exclusively for adorning the presiding deity of Parshwa Padmavathi Jain Temple of Krishnagiri. The Guiness record was awarded to His Holiness Sri Sri Sri Vasanth Gurudev Shakthipeetadhipath, founder of Sri Parshva Padmavathi Seva Trust in Chennai, India on 1 May 2007. The team from Kumaran Silks has claimed to have woven the world's longest saree in a non-stop 18-day effort, working 24 hours a day. Three experts were employed and the machine was made to run 24 hours a day, with each of them working in eight hour shifts.
Previous records of "world's longest sari" were held by 'Pothys', a firm in Chennai, for weaving a 1,276 ft saree and Kochi-based 'Seematti' for their 1,585 ft saree.

WORLD'S LARGEST MANGROVE FOREST

The Sundarbans is the largest mangrove forest in the world. A UNESCO World Heritage Site (awarded in ’97) , Sundarban is a vast area covering 4262 square kms in India alone, with a larger portion in Bangladesh. 2585 sq. kms of the Indian Sundarban forms the largest Tiger Reserve and National Park in India. The total area of the Indian part of the Sundarban forest, lying within the latitude between 21°13’-22°40’ North and longitude 88°05’-89°06’ East, is about 4,262 sq km, of which 2,125 sq km is occupied by mangrove forest across 56 islands and the balance is under water. It lies at the mouth of the Ganges and is spread across areas of Bangladesh and West Bengal, India. The Sundarbans is intersected by a complex network of tidal waterways, mudflats and small islands of salt-tolerant mangrove forests, and presents an excellent example of ongoing ecological processes. The area is known for its wide range of fauna. The most famous among these are the maneating Royal Bengal Tigers, but numerous species of birds, spotted deer, crocodiles and snakes also inhabit it. It is estimated that there are now 400 Bengal tigers and about 30,000 spotted deer in the area.