Pin-up Idol

After the Sanjay Dutt-starrer Munna Bhai MBBS made Gandhiji a hip youth icon,a Delhi-based foundation Youth4Gandhi is hoping to carry forward the spirit. They have come up with a concept of linking Gandhi’s philosophies and principles of peace and brotherhood with sports,through a citywide contest for children,in which they will present their impression of the Mahatma in the form of songs,short films,animations,cartoons,sketches.

The competition,Gandhi and Sport Gen 2010,which is open to children from the age group of 6-17 years from government and private schools was launched on Thursday by Jahnavi Prasad,founder Youth4Gandhi Foundation,along with Congress MP Priya Dutt. “I recently read the book My Experiments with Truth and discovered that Gandhi was like most of us. He too had flaws,but managed to grow despite them. But today’s youth hardly connects with him. I wanted to attempt to rediscover Gandhi for the contemporary society where attention spans are very low,” says Prasad,who set-up the foundation a year-and-a-half ago to promote Gandhi’s ideals among the youth. To enter the contest one has to log onto youth4gandhi.org. So far a total of 40 schools have signed up for the contest “We are hoping that at least 1000 children participate in the contest,” she continues.

The contest,which is her first public initiative,will culminate with the search of a Youth Gen 2010 Icon,someone who can connect Gandhi and his teachings with sport. “We are keeping our minds open at this point. Since this is a pilot project we will be curious to see what ideas children throw up,” she adds. The entries will be judged by a panel of four judges from different fields. “I am looking forward to see how children intend to bring Gandhi and his views into their lives,” says Dutt,one of the judges. The winners will be announced on September 26,followed by an award ceremony on October 1.