New Delhi,-How do you take home the truth
that nearly 2 million infants in India die each year before
they even turn one? Probably through a hard-hitting satirical
drama that portrays the alarming issue of rising child deaths
prevalent in the country.
Two seasoned theatre personalites- Arvind Gaur and Lushin
Dubey jointly conceived the play "I Will Not Cry", that
premiered here last evening to highlight the high rate of
infant mortality in the country.
"Only through huge awareness can we get shaken up. We
will not be moved until it hurt us. So creating awareness is
extremely important whether as a writer, or a painter or
through theatre," said Lushin Dubey who in her solo
performance enacted the role of five characters - a
bureaucrat, a journalist, a socialite, a policy maker and an
activist.
Arvind Gaur has directed the play.
Organised by 'Save the Children'- a global organisation
working for the rights of children, the play blended theatrics
and multimedia in the format of a television news channel talk
show that weaves real-life incidents into it.
India loses nearly 20 lakh children before they turn one
each year due to easily preventable causes like diarrhoea and
pneumonia, according to the global body.
As per the latest government statistics, infant mortality
rate per thousand live births in Delhi itself has increased to
22.47 in 2010 compared to 18.96 in 2009 and over four lakh
newborns die within the first 24 hours of birth every year,
which is the highest anywhere in the world.
After its premiere in Delhi, the play focusing on the
serious concern of child deaths in the country is now set to
travel to other cities.
"We would be taking the play to five more cities -
Jaipur, Kolkata, Mumbai, Patna and Lucknow - and also plan to
stage it in front of parliamentarians and policy makers for
them to think over it," said Dubey.
The performance was followed by a short informal dialogue
between representatives from various fields like development
economist Jean Dreze, Planning Commission Member Sayeda
Hameed, actress and activist Shabana Azmi, Fortis Healthcare
Chairman Emeritus Harpal Singh and journalist Mohua Chaudhary.
"We need to bring these facts in front of policy makers.
The most ridiculous character in the play was the policy
maker. It is time to take some very tough decisions," Sayeeda
Hameed said.
Sharing her experience of meeting women who were waiting
outside health centres at Okhla in Delhi, Shabana Azmi said,
"There is a national shortage of 26 lakh frontline health care
workers; we need to fill in this gap to reverse the increase
in neonatal, child and maternal mortalities and under-
nutrition amongst children. We need to allocate WHO
recommended 5 per cent of GDP in the health sector.
Economist Jean Dreze said although the characters (in the
play) were "ridiculous" what was showcased wasn't.
"It's becoming more and more a gaping hole in the country
and needs to be highlighted," he said.
Lushin Dubey and Arvind Gaur have earlier collaborated to
produce "Untitled" and "Bitter Chocolate" which focused on
issues like plight of women and sexual abuse of children.
Madhuri Dixit inaugurates Panorama at IFFI
Panaji,-After Shah Rukh Khan inaugurated the
42nd Indian International Film Festival, actress Madhuri Dixit
carried forward the Bollywood presence here by opening the
Indian Panorama section and the short films center this
morning.
Dressed in a lime green knee-length dress and heels,
Madhuri wore her trademark smile throughout as the media and
delegates jostled to grab and eyeful of the 'dhak dhak' girl.
"I am very honoured to be here. I thank the Indian and
Goa govt for inviting me. Goa is a wonderful place and it is a
great idea to hold IFFI here. People come here to exchange
ideas and put the same life into different perspectives. It's
filmmakers like you who broaden our horizon as actors, make us
learn and help us grow. It helps me give something new when I
perform the next time," she said.
The 43-year-old actress, who recently relocated to India
with her family after a 10-year-long stay in the US, added,
"Goa is such a sunny place. I have always cherished my visit
here. This is my third visit to the place with my family and I
can say 'Dekha hai teesri baar, Goa ke aankhon mein pyar' -
although it sounds very filmy!"
The actress opened the Indian Panorama section here,
which kicked off with the screening of non-feature Hindi film
'Adwait Sangeet' by Makarand Brahme and Santhosh Sivan's
Malayalam feature film 'Urumi'. Madhuri also felicitated the
jury members who had selected the films in the Panorama
section from among entries from all over the country. Actor
Jackie Shroff was also present, alongwith IFFI director
Shankar Mohan.
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