Often we are so engrossed in our daily lives that we ignore those who are truly in need. Providing such a revelation are authors Rashmi Bansal and Devendra Tak, through their new book, titled We are the Champions, that exposes some hard-hitting realities experienced by children.
Featuring struggles of 15 underprivileged children from India, the book draws our attention to age-old evils still prevalent in our society. Through this book, one learns about how children have navigated their way out of issues such as class, caste and labour, among other factors.
Personal narratives like a boy living in a slum in New Delhi, who uses rap music to champion change; another one grew up on the streets of capital city and now making a mark in Bollywood; and a girl from Jharkhand, who escaped twice after being sent out as a domestic worker and is now setting up a business; are few of the many real life stories that inspire. The book recently had a soft launch digitally due to the lockdown.
Talking about the most intriguing aspect of the research, especially when it was conducted in the capital city, Bansal says, “Many children in Delhi were interviewed, but two stories were finally included. Both these stories showed unique efforts and passions. Salman is drawn to acting and uses theatre and acting to build social awareness. Sumit uses rap music. Salman grew up on the streets of Delhi and Sumit lives in a slum, yet they are able to rise over their backgrounds to become Changemakers and help the community and our nation to progress.”
While Bansal finished the writing and editing process using notes and audio-video recordings, Devendra Tak who heads media and communication for Save the Children NGO, began the project and did all the preliminary research and interviews. According to Tak, for the research every child was met in their usual setting, which included their home, school and community.
Tak also talks about other steps taken by the authors, apart from the book, to make the lives of children better.“The authors and Save the Children are committed to helping Changemakers continue to build meaningful lives. The book has given these 15 children a lot of visibility. Hopefully, there will be many readers who will begin to chip in to help with these children further,” he says.
We Are the Champions by Rashmi Bansal, Devendra Tak
Publisher: Bushfire Publishers
Pages: 206
Price: Rs 69 (kindle edition)