Berhampur: The great is always grand. The masterpiece is always magnificent. The extraordinary is always excellent. When the three band together, the upshot sets a world record. The huge wheel of millets, the logo of all-women outfit the Inner Wheel Club of Berhampur (IWC), is grand, magnificent and excellent enough to make its dent in the World Records India (WRI).
When the members of the IWC recently converged to design a wheel out of 2100 kg millets as the logo of the all-women ensemble under the stewardship of its district chairman Chiranjeevi Tyai in Green Courtyard Conference Hall in Berhampur, it set the New World Record. Dubbed to be the largest, it was flaunted as the unprecedented Inner Wheel Logo to mark the International Year of Millets (IYM)-2023. The General Assembly of the United Nations during its 75 session in 2021 had declared 2023 as IYM to underline the nutritional importance of millets.
“The Wheel of Millets is the largest logo and the only one of its kind till date that has now made its in-roads into the WRI,” said founder-president of Ahmedabad-based Genius Foundation Pawan Solanki. Solanki had come down to Berhampur to attend the red letter day of the IWB when the WB shaped up.
Genius Foundation in association with the WRI honours Indian record holders with various social organisations, professionals and philanthropists for their outstanding performance in their respective spheres.
The logo WM took nearly four hours to shape up. Initially a rough sketch was drawn on the floor like ‘jhooti’ that women draw on auspicious occasions. Then the IWC members collectively placed the millets along the lines of the sketch for the wheel to emerge out. “The entire bulk of 2100 kg of millets that cost about Rs 2 lakh comprised seven varieties,” said IWC district chairman Chiranjeevi. “The WM measured 15 feet x 15 feet,” she added.
Nearly 100 members of the IWC engaged themselves in shaping out the WM. “We also sought the help of some 20 non-member ladies to accomplish the arduous job,” said district secretary of IWC Madhusmita Tripathy who is in charge of Odisha, Chhattisgarh and eastern parts of Madhya Pradesh. The Inner Wheel is an international voluntary organisation that has its units in about 100 countries, including 27 districts of India.
When asked as to why all 120 members of the IWC were not involved in designing the WB, Madhusmita said,“ Some old ladies are also our members, as there is no age bar set for membership. So we did not engage them in the tough job amid the sweltering heatwave. In their place we invited nearly 20 non-member ladies to throw in their lot with us to draw out the masterpiece.”
Now the feat with all its finesse is over for another job of the IWC to begin, as the all women set-up has decided to distribute the whole mass of millets among the poor in 50 villages. “We will also flag off our awareness campaigns in urban areas to highlight the health benefits of millets that contain abundant fibre, zinc, iron, calcium and a host of other nutrients,” said Cheeranjivi.
