Hepburn's black evening gown lights Sunderbans

By Staff
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Google Oneindia News

Kolkata, Feb 26: Hollywood Diva Audrey Hepburn now has a bengali connection.

The black dress adorned by the gorgeous superstar as an eccentricsocialite Holly Golightly in the masterpiece ''Breakfast atTiffany's'', is all set to build the foundation of an education centrein the world's largest mangrove forest region.

Celebrated French novelist and Indophile Dominique Lapierre andhis wife would inaugurate a new education centre on a Sunderban Islandon February 28, with the money from auctioning the elegant dress thatHepburn wore.

About 15,000 children and local authorities will receive theLapierre couple and their supporters from the West for a 'grand homage'to the actress, who had been an ardent Unicef's Goodwill Ambassadoruntil her death in 1993.

''The facade of the new school will be decorated with a hugebanner of Audrey Hepburn wearing her famous dress,'' Full CirclePublisher Priyanka Malhotra said from New Delhi.

The Lapierres are financing a programme for 15 schools, from themoney collected from the iconic dress, said Ms Malhotra, whose FullCircle Publications published ''The City of Joy'' in India.

''What is very special about this education centre is that he hasfinanced its construction, thanks to the sale of the iconic eveninggown that Hepburn wore in her mythical film,'' said Ms Malhotra.

The dress was handed over to Mr Dominique Lapierre last spring byFrench fashion genius Hubert de Givenchy when he found that some ofDominique's schools were devastated by floods.

Mr Givenchy thought that the dress would get about 10,000 dollars from a collector.

Mr Lapierre took the dress to Christies' Auction House in Londonand sold it for 825,000 dollars last December. The money was enough torepair the old schools and build several others.

There could not have been a more befitting tribute to the actresswho dedicated the later part of her life to helping destitute childrenin Africa, South American and Bangladesh.

Mr Lapierre will inaugurate the centre for the benefit of the underprivileged children here, she said.

Since 1982, Mr Lapierre has shared his royalties with thenon-profit City of Joy Foundation, which provides aid to slum childrenin Kolkata and other parts of Bengal.

The royalties from his book ''Five Past Midnight in Bhopal''(published by Full Circle) went to the Sambhavna clinic in Bhopal whichprovides free medical treatment to the victims of the 1984 UnionCarbide Bhopal disaster.

The Lapierres have been working in rural West Bengal for 25 years, funding treatment for leprosy, cholera and tuberculosis.

They have set up four hospital boats to provide medical care to 54 remote islands of the Sundarbans.


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