Eminent Indians come together for child rights
Mumbai, Jan 9 (UNI) Child Rights and You (CRY), the premier organisation advocating child rights together with Penguin Books India has released a book of 86 poems, each the choice of an eminent Indian acting as an emissary for child rights.
The book 'A Poem For CRY' was released by superstar Amitabh Bachchan last night at the J W Marriott here in Mumbai. He also read a poem by his father the late Harivanshrai Bachchan 'What do I remember, What do I forget?' The book has the choices of President of India A P J Abdul Kalam, Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen, Indian Cricket team captain Rahul Dravid, Pandit Ravi Shankar, Azim Premji of Wipro, Dalai Lama, Aamir Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, Shabana Azmi, Amitabh Bachchan, political leaders A B Vajpayee, Sonia Gandhi, author Vikram Sheth, singer Jagjit Singh, police officer Kiran Bedi and 94 other prominent Indians expressing solidarity with CRY and its goals.
Avanti Maluste and Sudeep Joshi who put the book together over a two-year period said 'A Poem for CRY' as a creative and lasting medium to take the issue of child rights to wider social groups.
Ghazal maestro Jagjit Singh recited his favourite poem and Sachin Tendulkar's 11-year-old daughter Sara read out a poem called 'Sachin' chosen by her father penned by her late grandfather, all part of the collection of the book.
Commenting
on
the
book
Amitabh
Bachchan
said,
''The
single
message
-
Child
Rights
is
not
just
the
purview
of
the
development
sector.
It
is
a
responsibility
for
each
one
of
us
-
no
matter
who
we
are
and
what
we
do.
It
strongly
advocates
CRY's
conviction
that
change
is
possible
when
people
come
together
for
a
common
objective.
To
leave
behind
century
old
biases
like
those
of
caste
and
gender
and
get
involve
in
the
governance
of
our
nation.''
CEO
Ingrid
Srinath
said,
''Poetry
has
the
power
to
express
thoughts
and
emotions
that
range
from
the
sublime
to
the
revolutionary.
CRY
nurtures
the
dream
that
every
Indian
child
can
and
should
attain,
not
only
their
fundamental
rights
but
to
the
realm
of
imagination
and
creativity
this
book
represents.''
UNI
LS
MJ
SP
VV1801