Can you imagine carving 26, 575 intricate flowers out of nearly 550 kg of radish in a span of ten minutes? The whopping achievement in mass vegetable carving bagged a place in the LIMCA Book of Records-2013 edition for Cavin Kare School of Practical Knowledge Matriculation HSS, Cuddalore on February 3.
Not only did the 350 boys and 200 girls who took part sail through the extraordinary feat without knife cuts, but they also managed to trace an outline of the world map. What’s more, they even spelled out the literacy percentage and pollution level of each continent on it in 6 minutes, 10 seconds!
It was all about team work, says the creative troupe that split into 28 teams headed by a group of teachers, to etch out the 50x30-foot plot using the vegetable carvings and rangoli to complete the daunting mission. Basking in the jubilant celebration, the gung-ho participants shared with us the trials and tribulations they faced during the course of the event.S Kausalya, a Class 10 student, exclaims, “Initially we were extremely nervous and excited. I didn’t think we would be able to achieve our target and expected we might get about 22000 flowers. But we managed to do it. I still can’t believe it.”
Undoubtedly the budding experts’ flair for the culinary art left the spectators in awe. They spill the beans on what helped them triumph.
While the hard-core 15-day training they underwent prior to the event moulded their adherence to the timing, the LOE (Life Oriented Education) curriculum of their school that exposes the students to 20 life skills, including vegetable carving, underlay their expertise, says A Renuka, another student.
Smitha Thomas, Assistant Editor, LIMCA Book of Records, who monitored the achievement, dwelled on the ‘special ingredient’ that worked in their favour. “They were quite determined to achieve their goal. In fact, they did it quite wonderfully with precision,” she says.
Speaking on the occasion CMD Cavin Kare and Managing Trustee C K Ranganathan highlighted the underlying theme – the importance of imparting practical knowledge to youngsters.
“It is not enough to excel in academics, students need overall exposure. Learning a combination of life skills will help them achieve holistic development,” he says.