By IANS,
New Delhi: Seven-year-old Akshit Gupta lay feeling drained in the children’s ward after undergoing radiotherapy at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), when a man in joker’s costume entered the room and performed some amusing acts, bringing a smile on his and other children’s faces, who are fighting cancer.
NGO Uday Foundation organised a magic show at Dr. B.R.A Institute-Rotary Cancer Hospital, AIIMS, on the occasion of Children’s Day – the birth anniversary of the country’s first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru.
“I loved it and it was really nice. I got a lot of gifts and chocolates,” said Gupta, who is suffering from blood cancer.
The show was organised for a group of 200 children who had come to AIIMS for cancer checkup and treatment.
According to doctors, some of the children are in a very critical stage and have been undergoing radiotherapy for quite some time.
“It was really great to see these children smile and they clapped after every performance. The whole idea was to make these children enjoy their day after undergoing painful cancer treatment,” said Rahul Verma, co-founder, Uday Foundation.
Several functions, exhibitions, musical shows, film and cultural festivals were held across the capital to celebrate the Children’s Day.
Some children watched the latest animation movie ‘The Adventures of Tintin’ and went out with their parents.
“I watched Tintin today and loved it. My mother took me and three of my friends for the movie,” said Harshita Chabra, who goes to play school.
A group of children met President Pratibha Patil, appealing to her to join in their fight to save the country’s forests and wildlife.
Giving away the national award for children, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said India’s 40 crore children are the country’s most valuable assets.
Around 100 kids from slums and shelter homes from seven states in the country showcased photos and self-made short films on themes like friends, family and school.
The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and the Aga Khan Trust for Culture Monday released a guidebook of Humayun’s tomb for children in a bid to attract them to the 16th century monument and encourage them to know more about the country’s rich heritage.
The Delhi government Monday launched free medical treatment and health check-ups scheme for nearly 14 lakh school children. The ‘Chacha Nehru Sehat Yojana’ has been allocated a corpus fund of Rs.100 crore by the city government.
It was a thrilling experience for 18 special children who took their maiden flight from Delhi to Lucknow on an Air India flight while Jet Airways organised a similar trip for 80 underprivileged and special children in Mumbai.