Mangaluru: To mark the 125th birth anniversary of Pandith Jawaharlal Nehru, the inauguration of the 10th International Children’s Film Festival was held at the Town Hall here, on November 22.
The film festival was inaugurated by the district minister in-charge B Ramanath Rai by lighting the traditional lamp along with other dignitaries on the dais.
Film Director from Bengaluru Nanjundappa Gowda briefed on children’s film festival and presented a PowerPoint presentation on International film festival. Film star, producer, television hostess, and politician Khushboo released the Children’s film festival Video CD and handed it over to Oscar Fernandes.
Addressing the gathering, Ramanath Rai narrated a story of a non-believer who asked a man to show God. The man in response showed a child and said, “Here is God”. “This is because children are clean in mind, pure in heart. They do not have enmity, jealousy, anger or revenge; they are very innocent. Nehru is the only leader who loved children so much that instead of celebrating his birthday, it was dedicated as Children’s day,” said Rai.
Rai also said that since 9 years, the International Children’s Film Festival was being held in Bengaluru and this is the first time, due to Nanjunda Gowda’s initiative, that it is being held outside Bengaluru. “Under the able leadership of deputy commissioner A B Ibrahim, Mangalore City Corporation and Children’s India Bengaluru, the film festival has been inaugurated successfully.”
Speaking on the occasion Khushboo said, “When I was in school, I used to look forward to Children’s Day. It is a main event for kids. But somewhere down the line, we have been missing out on telling our children what exactly Children’s day is meant for and why it is celebrated. Children of today are the future of the country. Our children will take forward our best qualities – culture, discipline, tolerance and secularism – forward; but we need to ask if we guiding them in the right path?
“Today, unfortunately, we are seeing so much of intolerance. We do not have the patience, understanding or heart to understand the pain of others. Children have very, very clear hearts; their hearts are like gold. We need to bring them up in such a way that it remains pure in this polluted country and world. We, as the very proud citizens of this country, have to say that we stand united; come what may, nothing can break us apart. The communal fights, riots, problems, political parties: they may all come and go. But these children are the ones who will be there tomorrow and they are going to take our country forward.”
“We need to teach our children to treat each and everyone equally. Nobody is small, nobody is big. When we are in school, we sit on the same bench, we open tiffin boxes during recess and we eat and share each other’s food. When we run and play together, we are one. When we fall and we are hurt, we look after each other, we are one. When sing our national anthem, we are one. But as we grow, we unfortunately tend to differ in our thoughts and minds. If we can be one in school, why can’t we be one in every other place? That is the unity that we need to understand and convey to the younger generations. We need to tell our children to take pride in saying that they are Indians. Unity is the key to put India on the global map for all the right reasons,” she added.
Film Director from Srilanka Somarathna said, “The world begins for everyone as a child. As adults, when we turn back and look at our childhood, we all think of how beautiful, innocent and wonderful it was. In this era, where technology is taking over, we have a fear that our children will grow up in a world without human feelings. With technological and scientific developments in the world, we don’t need our children to become a gang of robots. We need them to have feelings and sensitivity, and that is why we need to make them understand and appreciate arts. As adults and film makers, we have a duty to guide children towards becoming better human beings.”
“You are the most important part of our world. And we will do our best for you in our lifetime,” he added,
Minister Vinay Kumar Sorake, MLA J R Lobo, MLA Moideen Bava, Oscar Fernandes and Blossom Fernandes, Deputy commissioner A B Ibrahim, Mayor Jacintha Alfred, MLC Ivan D’Souza, Kripa Alva, SP Dr Sharanappa, ZP CEO Sreevidya, Shakuntala Shetty, Divya Prabha Gowda and others were present.
Good program and a good message by Khushboo