Editorial
Concert for poor children
Let's have more of it
The concert organised for under-privileged children in the city on Monday was a commendable move that enabled the poor children to demonstrate that they had both the aesthetic sense and the talent for blossoming into good singers or dancers. It was one of the very few occasions when the have-nots got the opportunity to enjoy a concert. It must have been a pleasant surprise for the budding boys and girls who are virtually deprived of the bliss of childhood. These street children have to earn their bread at an age when their more fortunate counterparts in the affluent or solvent families enjoy every bit of life under the protective umbrella of loving parents. But for obvious reasons, life is not so kind to them. The organisers of the concert deserve appreciation if only because they made an attempt to introduce these hapless children to something that has been well beyond their reach. They must have felt in an atmosphere of fun and delight that life still had something to offer to them -- there were things other than toiling hard for two square meals a day! They actually made the best out of the occasion. Their songs impressed the audience and it was very clear that some of the little singers might scale dizzying heights in future. The need of course is to create the opportunities for them. Such concerts or social get-togethers are essential for the mental growth of the under-privileged children steeped in the darkness of sub-human conditions in city slums. They have to be brought back to normal life so that they can realise their full potential in any field. Society as a whole has a responsibility towards these children left out of the mainstream. Now, the damage can be minimised if we make sincere efforts to create the conditions in which they can grow up as worthy citizens. It is actually their basic right to have access to all delightful things of life.
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