Behind the scene

A month of launches – in Bomaby and Delhi and Calcutta joined in last week. Action packed and thrill filled.

From celeb soiree to community voices, they made for the best launch experience.

Bombay here we come with EVERY ONE.

We were all set – venue set, mothers from the communities arrived, we needed our celeb supporter to turn up now to complete the checklist.

It was pouring with rain on 5^th October in Bombay which seemed to dampen the spirits a bit – only a bit though.

The young and famous actress and former Miss World Priyanka Chopra was the bait to the media who feeds on Bollywood and buzz around them.

She had agreed…ummm…well could not make it. Those of us who have managed events know it’s all about risk management and last minute glitches. But not all lost. We had a video message from her to play at the launch.

We had to make this a success nontheless. So I zoomed the car to pick up Shabana Azmi, noted actress and social activist supporting EVERY ONE campaign.

Thank God for the new Mumbai sea link connecting two far ends. It was a real blessing in the daunting rain and worsening traffic. For a moment I distracted myself to grey sea view and regained my composure.

(About Mumbai sea link: Took10 years to make instaed of estimated 4 years and cost triple the estimated amount –f ew thousand crores- and you have pay 70 Rs to cross the sea link. It still is the pride of Mumbai.)

I reached in time. Shabana had returned from Hyderabad just a while ago.

“Pragya, why don’t you join us for lunch? I will be just 10 minutes to change and ready to leave,” said Shabana.

Food was obviously the last thing on my mind. I politely declined and asked for a glass of water.

We were escorted to the car with umbrella. It seemed like a cloud burst, rain just wouldn’t stop

Back to business. I started briefing Shabana about the campaign and the issue. She seemed very well clued in to the issue so that did half the work. I recapped few pointers as our car drew close to the venue.

Mothers from the communities were eagerly waiting for interaction with a ‘film star’ after a session with Dr Manisha, Save the Children’s own health expert.

After leaving her with the group and staff, I rush upstairs to check if our media friends had arrived. Very few by then. Some called to check if we were still going ahead with our launch. Some were stuck in traffic and rain. As they say ‘The show must go on’.

So finally our media friends started trickling in to make a comfortable count.

We were ready to launch. Shabana came on stage and made quite an impact. EVERY ONE echoed along, “Enough is Enough.”

Indeed. It’s a shame for India to let its children die while boasting of 9% GDP growth. While 2 million children dying may be mere statistic for some, it is a personal tragedy for families who lose their child.

India! it’s a wakeup call to save your children.