UAE: Meet the Guinness record-holding Indian father-daughter duo at Sharjah book fair

The ongoing Sharjah International Book Fair (SIBF) houses two record-breaking installations — tucked away in Hall 7, the world’s largest screwdriver is displayed and right next to it is the world’s longest cartoon strip depicting the inspirational story of UAE-based businessman MA Yusuff Ali.

Both of these Guinness world record-holding creations have been made by Indian expat father-daughter duo M Dileef and Roshna M. “It feels great to be exhibiting here,” said 20-year-old Roshna, who broke her own record for the longest cartoon strip established in 2021 with her latest creation. Measuring 430m, the new strip titled ‘The Billion Dollar Journey’ is stretched across two wheels and can be read by rotating the handle.

On Sunday, the illustrious Indian businessman from Kerala, MA Yusuff Ali, visited the stall and commended Roshan’s efforts.

Roshna’s father, M Dileef, a seasoned record-setter, said this is his third Guinness World Record. “Due to space constraints, I could only put the head of the screwdriver on display,” he said. Completed in March, the tool measures a whooping 6.6m in length. The artist was recently granted a Golden Visa in the UAE.

The longest cartoon strip

The cartoon strip charts the journey of businessman MA Yusuff Ali, from his childhood in a village in Kerala to his meteoric rise as one of the most influential businessmen in the world.

“I have always looked up to him,” she said. “I want to be an entrepreneur; he is my role model, so I wanted to make something to honour him.”

It was in 2021 that Roshna set her first world record with a cartoon strip measuring 404 metres in collaboration with Global Village. This year, she has broken that record. According to the youngster, who recently graduated with a bachelor’s in fine arts, making this strip took her 8 months, five months of which was just for research.

“I had a team of six classmates,” she said. “We had decided that we wanted to do something to make our mark, and this is the idea we came up with. They helped me in the entire research process and aided me when drawing the cartoon strip as well.”

The graduate now dreams of pursuing a master’s degree in Europe and hopes to raise funds for her education with her artwork.