That8217;s right, Big B!

PUNE, Sept 21: What does Amitabh Bachchan have in common with Alistair Campbell, Andy Flowers and Grant Flowers? The Big B's name now sta...

PUNE, Sept 21: What does Amitabh Bachchan have in common with Alistair Campbell, Andy Flowers and Grant Flowers? The Big B8217;s name now stands among these celebrities as honorary member of the seven-year-old Association of Left Handers, right here in Pune!

All because this association believes that Bachchan, who they have observed uses his left hand for all spontaneous, reflex actions on screen, has lent left-handers 8220;dignity8221; and 8220;respect,8221; says founder president Bipinchandra Chaugule, a producer at Balchitravani. Chaugule, along with former hockey player Namrata Shah, and former badminton champion Yeshwant Halbe, met the star at Le Meridien on his recent visit as chief guest of the Pune Festival, when he accepted the honorary membership and carried home with him details and literature about the association and left-handedness. Bachchan had evinced interest in the association two years back, when his secretary wrote to them on his behalf. 8220;He said he was keen to participate in our activities in one way or the other,8221; says Chaugule.

Strangely, all other celebrity members honorary are sportsmen 8212; six from the Zimbabwe cricket team which had visited Pune a couple of years back for the Reliance cup. Like Andy Flowers, Grant Flowers and Alistair Campbell, who filled up their membership forms. And Indian cricket has contributed Vinod Kambli, Ajit Wadekar, Venkatapathy Raju and Woorkery Raman to these ranks.

What started as a humble effort of the first 10 members in 8217;92, to get together to share their common problems and childhood traumas arising from family and societal pressures to use their right hand, now boasts of nearly 600 members from Maharastra, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi and Tamil Nadu, all for a minor Rs 50 every year as membership fees.

The association members, among them doctors and psychologists, attend PTA meetings at schools, deliver lectures, and presentations, to increase awareness that left-handedness is normal, natural; and that forcing children to use their right hand can have leave permanent psychological scars on their personality.

8220;We have members who relate experiences where their parents used to bind their left hands, burn them, or apply bitter medicine on them, to force them to learn to use their right hand to eat and write,8221; says Chaugule. For such members, from the age group of 10 to 75, counselling is offered by psychologists of the association.

Left-Word is a periodical published by this association about four times a year. It meets on the thirteenth of every month at the Ex-Fergussonians Hall, at 6.30 pm.