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| Sunday, 22 August 2004 |
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| News Business Features Editorial
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Sports - vehicle for promoting good relations by P. Muthiah Swimmer of international fame and Arjuna Award winner for swimming, Bula Chowdhury says her feat of crossing the Palk Strait would bring both India and Sri Lanka closer further. Speaking to SUNDAY OBSERVER she said "The Palk Strait is a challenge to long-distance swimmers who chose to face it bravely."
Bula Chowdhury who has swum six seas wanted to set her world record by crossing The Palk Strait. She is the first woman who set about this feat of crossing the Palk Strait. Bula is the first woman to cross the English Channel twice, in 1989 and 1999. She crossed the Strait of Gibraltar and swam Tyrrhenian Sea from Zannone to San Felie Cireo, Italy. She swam across the 26 kilometre long 32nd International Toroneus Gulf crossing at Greece and secured the first place in the women's category. In 2002, she swam across the Catalina Channel in California in 10 hours and 23 minutes and was the first Asian woman to achieve this feat. She swam across the Cook Strait, New Zealand in 9 hours and 04 minutes and became the fastest Asian swimmer. Thirty-three year-old Bula was awarded India's prestigious Arjuna Award for her international fame. Her aim was to achieve the world record for swimming the Seven Seas. Speaking of her experience, Bula said she started swimming when she was two-years-old. At the age of nine, she won six Gold medals at all India National Swimming Championship and when she was twelve she won the Senior National Championship. In 1982, she started her International career when she participated in the Asian Games held in New Delhi. She also thanked the Sri Lankan government for providing all necessary arrangements. Bula added that Sri Lankan and Indian swimmers were co-operating with each other for a long time. The historic Palk Strait has become a challenge for swimmers who seek to break world-record and enter into the Guinness Records. The Strait which got its name after Dutch Governor Palk is called Adam's Bridge or Ramar Bridge. Recent survey of NASA showed there was a natural bridge linking both Sri Lanka and India but now beneath the sea. This Strait has seen both Sri Lankans and Indians venture glorious feat during the past fifty years. Murugupillai Navaratnasamy gave birth to the idea of a Palk Strait swim, and performed his heroic feat at the age of 44, in 1954. He died in the same waters which crowned him a swimmer. Controversy The people of Anuradhapura garlanded him opposite Sri Maha Bodhi and carried him shoulder-high in a perahera headed by Kandyan dancers. Navaratnasamy drew Indian swimmer Mihir Sen into a controversy. Sen said that he swam The Palk Strait first and that there was no record of Navaratnsamy's swim. However, Navaratnasamy pointed out that what Sen swam was only Palk Bay and not the Strait. Palk Strait, a distance of 36 miles, which stretches from Point Pedro to Point Calimere in South India. Mihir Sen swam from Urumunai, a village in Talaimannar to Dhanuskodi, only a distance of 23 miles. First swim The stretch of sea dividing Sri Lanka and India, was first officially swam by Vivekanandan Selva Kumar Anandan in 1963. He was the nephew of Navaratnasamy and both hailed from Valvettithurai. Anandan, who was born disabled in one foot, successful in 1975, in swimming the Strait both ways, up and down beating his predecessor, who swam only one way making his way into the Guiness Book of World Records. In January 2000, the Sri Lankan government honoured him posthumously by issuing a stamp to mark 50 years of Sri Lankan sports. Co-operation India and Sri Lanka were co-operating in achieving heroic deeds in swimming Palk Strait. In 1959 the Indian Swimmers Association proposed a dual Palk Strait swim between India and Sri Lanka, fixed for March 27, 1969. This was accepted by the Ceylon Amateur Swimming Association. Kinross entered S. M. A. Wahab, M. H. M. S. Mackie and H. S. Fernando. Fishtails entered two and the Old Thomians Swimming Club also entered two. The team was to be led by Anandan, but he did not turn up. The Indians fielded ten swimmers who had previous experience. Indian Swimmer B. R. Nath had finished first. Sri Lanka's first casualties were H.S. Fernando and C. Dias, who after completing 15 miles, decided to quit. J. Nanayakkara of the Fishtails Aquatic Association brought the sole honour to Sri Lanka. In 1967, a group of Indian swimmers swam Palk Strait with Bhaidyanath winning the event in 13 hours and 30 minutes, which turned out to be the first race over the Strait. Mihir Sen took 25 hours and 36 minutes. In 1994, Kutraleeswaran from Kerala swam the Strait. Arun Balaji created a world record by crossing the Palk Strait in 10 hours and 40 minutes on 28th March 1995. In May this year Wilson Cherian and Muralitharan from Kerala failed in their attempt to reach Dhanuskodi. With the entering of Bula Chowdhury to swim Palk Strait, relations between Sri Lanka and India have reached a new height. |
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| Editorial | Security Produced by Lake House |
Bula Chowdhury who was in Colombo last week for making arrangements to
conquer Palk Strait, said sports should be a vehicle for promoting good-
neighbourly relations between India and Sri Lanka.
