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An expression of right
Vidyasagar students making a case for child rights.
KATHIR, A sprightly ten-year-old yearns to go to school, but is instead forced to help his grandfather, a domestic servant. In contrast, Ravi, the master's son, enjoys the feel of his uniform and reading his books. Finally, Ravi's family realises its blunder in denying Kathir his right to education and the scene freezes with this happy ending.
This is the gist of the 30-minute children's film `Caged Birds' made by K. Hariharan, which was screened at an exhibition on Child Rights, organised by the Association of British Scholars (ABS), at the Birla Planetarium.
This storyline is, in turn, reflected in every painting done by the exhibition's child participants. Geetha, from a Corporation school, Kodambakkam, has sketched the agony undergone by a child labourer, while Ram of the AMM Chettiar School has portrayed the joy of being able to access the right to education. The exhibition features the works of children from six cities, from Mangalore to Trivandrum, who expressed their feelings on child rights through various art forms such as paintings, poems and essays. Andal Damodaran, President of Indian Council of Child Welfare, who participated in the inaugural, said a child's perception of rights is different from that of adults and `it is the responsibility of the parents to check that they grow from innocence to knowledge without losing their little pleasures'.
"The main aim of the exhibition is to drive home the message that adults should realise that every child is entitled to its right to childhood," said N.S. Yamuna, Chief Resource Person of the ABS.
Two differently abled children from Vidya Sagar discussed the problems that children like them face on a regular basis and stressed their right to education.
The exhibition also has stalls of children book publishers including `Tara' and `Tulika' and NGOs. The exhibition is on till February 2.
By Lakshmi K.
Photo: T.A. Hafeez
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Life
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
Madurai
Thiruvananthapuram
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