'Precious Souls' show the way, inspire leaders

Bengaluru, May 21: The struggle of a mother is untold, but that of a mother of a special child is manifold. The book launch of 'Precious Souls' was august in this lihgt, especially when we do not get enough chances to say "Thank You" to these very special mothers.

The second book by best-selling author and aerospace journalist Dr Anantha Krishnan M. was launched at the Hotel Royal Orchid in Bengaluru on May 14, 2016 (Saturday) by Dr Naseema Maraikayar (Founder-chairperson of Abdul Kalam International Foundation and niece of Dr A P J Abdul Kalam), Air Marshal S R K Nair (AOC-in-C, Training Command, IAF, Dr Muhammed Majeed (Managing Director, Sami Labs), Anita Nair (Author), Dr Malathi Holla (Para Athlete) and Anantha Krishnan M.

The ambience was solemn, acknowledging the immense efforts of mothers to build a nation in every possible way. And the fruits were there to be seen in the form of talents that are heroic in nature. "It was just an attempt to capture their lives, their feelings and their lifestyle. There are many such lives that need acceptance and appreciation," said Ananth.

The event began with the unveiling of a painting of Dr Abdul Kalam, by an Army soldier Renjith C Thalavoor. The painting had the autograph of the ex-President of India, also the Missile Man. But the author's inclination toward his 'Guru' was evident when the foreward of the book was read out. Dr Kalam, here mentioned, "I hope this great attempt by my journalist friend will create awareness among people about special children, their needs, and their gifts."

The Missile Man is gone, but his words remain in the form of people and ideas. Echoing Kalam's words, Dr Naseema Maraikayar urged people to understand and appreciate the special children and work towards making the world a better place for them.

"Precious Souls will inspire generations to come. It will spread awareness on special children and their families," said Dr Naseema. Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar too said, "I believe that every child is special and unique. Your efforts to capture and pen down few of the inspiring stories is highly appreciable. I am sure the book will inspire many more. My compliments to the entire team behind the mission."

Urging to spread awarness about the needs and struggles of special children, the author sought the help of his fellow journalists and the media in spreading the word. These children are talented and that was evident from the skills that the five children- Adithya Venkatesh (keyboard), Vaibhav Kutnikar (tabala), Anubhav (vocal), Samuel Ashish Marcus (guitar) and Syed Hyder Ali (vocal)- displayed.

Three leather-bound copies of the book were also auctioned- one for Rs 12,000, second for Rs 11,000 and a third for Rs 10,000. The money was handed over to families of special children with economically-poor background.

The evening also witnessed the presentation of G Santha Teacher Memorial Journalism Award 2016 to Ms Rekha Satheesh, Deputy News Editor, The New Indian Express, Kochi and Youth Icon Award 2016 to Ms Devi Unnimaya, a 12th standard student of Placid Vidya Vihar Senior Secondary School, Kerala. The awards were instituted by Inspired Indian Foundation in association with Abdul Kalam International Foundation.

(Precious Souls is published by Partridge India from Penguin Random House Company. Priced at Rs 350, the book is available on all online networks. The part proceeds from the sale of the book are pledged towards undertaking various missions of Inspired Indian Foundation.)

OneIndia News