Swimming legend Mihir Sen became the first Indian on record to swim across the Palk Strait, between India and Sri Lanka, on April 5-6, 1966. After a challenging day-and-night swim that covered a distance of 40 miles (64km approximately), he touched land at 7.24am on April 6. He had taken 25 hours and 36 minutes.
In 1958, Sen, a young barrister, had become the first Asian to cross the English Channel. He had done so in 14 hours and 45 minutes.
The year 1966 was special. Sen swam the oceans of five continents in one calendar year. Other than Palk Strait, he swam the Straits of Gibraltar in 8 hours and 1 minute, the Dardenelles in 13 hours and 55 minutes, The Bosphorous in 4 hours and the length of the Panama Canal in 34 hours and 15 minutes. This feat earned him a place in the Guinness Book of World Records. He received the Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan awards.