Fifteen Stars Under the Sky!

Review by Ronica Wahi

We are the Champions

By Rashmi Bansal and Devendra Tak

First published: February 14, 2020, Bushfire.

Pages: 206. 

ISBN: 9788193182130

“It takes a child to raise a village.”

This statement on the back cover is enough for the reader to know that encountered will be extraordinary tales. Yes, extraordinary indeed, for isn’t a child someone who needs to be raised?

What the reader knows from the cover is proved as he/she moves through the pages of this interesting and inspiring chronicle of the achievements of fifteen children from across India whom the authors Rashmi Bansal and Devendra Tak rightly hail as the Champions of Change. 

The book is inspiring because it shows how determination and the will to accomplish something can be truly rewarding. Raising a voice against established practices is hard enough and these children have not only raised their voices but also fought to bring real change, change that is not limited to their lives alone but has far-reaching effects for the community. 

It gladdens the heart to learn about the kind of work that Save the Children, an organization dedicated to ensuring child rights, and its partners are doing, and to know that there are kind souls who go out of their way to aid underprivileged kids possessing that spark to achieve. For many of the kids whose stories find a place in this book, it was the awareness about child rights that was gifted to them that proved a turning point in their lives. In view of this, the book becomes an important and necessary text, for it surely will inspire as well as educate. In fact, the book is dedicated to all children “In the hope that they will read this, and other books.”

Ladenge (We Will Fight), Padhenge (We Will Learn), and Badhenge (We Will Grow) are the three categories under which the stories are told. These stories reflect varied struggles as challenges for the poor in different parts of the country are myriad and manifold; so the reader gets to understand the range of challenges. As an educative offering and as a text written in a simple, smooth-flowing, and matter-of-fact style, it is easily understandable, which is an important aspect for children can also easily access it. 

What adds to the attraction of this book with such content is the engaging layout. Each letter making up the words in the book’s title is composed of human figures, and so is the little superhero on the cover. This cover design by Haitenlo Semy effectively indicates the strength that people can bring by way of joining forces and functioning collectively. Through showing pictures – taken by Raghav Chowla or some by the authors themselves - of the respective hero in each story, including pictures where the hero in question is involved in some work he/she does, the book invites the reader into the lives of these heroes, enabling a greater understanding of what they are doing and a greater appreciation for the same. At the end of each narrative is the little superhero figure followed by a few interesting lines that succinctly bespeak the particular child’s perspective. 

                                                Clipped from the front cover of We Are the Champions

The selection of stories, the travels involved, the audio and video material collected show the passion and dedication of the authors towards bringing these stories to the fore. Tak, in fact, points in Authors’ Notes to how it took him years to narrow down a topic that he did want to write on. In Bansal, he got the right companion for collaborating – someone whom he had known for years and who already was an established writer known for having brought other inspiring tales to readers’ attention. 

The “cry for change” must come from within, as Bansal rightly says. The true awakening of these kids occurs not solely through realizations or generated awareness about wrongs, but also because they are unwilling to succumb to their circumstances. They rise above these circumstances and help others rise above social barriers too. Various ways such as explaining their viewpoints to elders, approaching NGOs or authority figures, and expressing themselves through creative means help them in bringing change wider than what impacts strictly their lives. 

Expressing through a medium having a potentially wide reach is indeed key to generating greater awareness, towards which this book is also an effort. So, Sumit from Bhanwar Singh Camp in New Delhi shares in Mann Ki Baat that he decided to put his experience of slum life in front of all through rap. Salman from New Delhi, whose story is related in Act 2, got a break in Bollywood with small roles through his association with some wonderful people, and his passion for drama and music. Acting has been a means for him to create awareness and also to express himself. With regard to his stage debut, the story says, “The anger, the hurt and the pain, it was all channelled into that performance.” (p.180)

Similar anger, hurt, and pain are felt by all who are disadvantaged socially. Similar passion, devotedness, and drive for scaling all obstacles are the common threads in the stories. As the three categories into which the stories are put hint, for some, the passion is for working for the community to eliminate certain ills and shortcomings, including but not limited to trafficking, drug abuse, child marriage, dowry, hunger, more severe lack of opportunities for girls, lack of cleanliness, and lack of good health facilities; for some others, the passion is for gaining good education despite numerous hurdles in their journeys and education as is holistic in nature such as for Saleha Khan from Mumbai who has learnt and taught about menstrual hygiene; for yet others – like Sumit, Salman, or Soni from Mumbai who loves cricket, the passion is for honing their talents and carving their identities, just as the images of trees suggesting growth when strong roots exist in the section marking Badhenge indicate. Then there is the hero Shailendra Singh from Tonk in Rajasthan, whose story is aptly entitled The Right Stuff and who has chosen to work for the welfare of underprivileged children, voluntarily giving up the life of privilege that he could have otherwise enjoyed.

All the heroes are indeed safeguarding the welfare of the country itself, rather than remaining focussed on themselves and their families. Their work is for those like themselves and for those who may benefit through far-reaching ripples of change or through getting motivated to start making their contributions. They have inspired others to raise their voices and some have gotten inspired by yet others. For instance, Powerpuff Girl Saraswati Kumari Dhanuk from EJC Basti in Kolkata, who has worked as a leader towards improving education and health in her region, finds Anoyara Khatun from Sandeshkali, whose story is the first to greet the reader, an inspiration for the courageous journey she has undertaken and has happily emerged a winner already. Anoyara, a Nari Shakti award winner, is sure to be an inspiration for many more than the number she is already inspiring; she is a force “Working to dispel the darkness in the heart and ignorance in the mind.” (p.22)

A number of these heroes have received honours or awards recognizing their efforts but the best awards are the tangible, visible changes they have brought about and their best motivating factors are the dreams of betterment that continue to propel them forward on their respective chosen paths. To be thus propelled, heroes of stories Picking A New Path and Into the Light – Subhdeep Kaur from Jhandawala in Punjab and Rumi Kumari from Burmu in Jharkhand respectively – who are already role models for other girls, are working to widen their skill-set to be able to go farther. 

Forming children’s groups, convincing people through continued endeavours, getting government schemes adopted by the community, approaching officials, and some like Flame of the Forest Jhulima Mallick from Odisha filing an FIR to prevent a child marriage are among methods these bright stars have adopted to spread their light. 

This book’s best takeaway certainly is the instilling of this notion that change is very much possible, provided there is adequate investment of time and effort. The 15-year old champion Kalavathi from Kurubarahalli in Karnataka asserts that problems can be indeed surmounted and an important factor in surmounting them is that “…there is strength in numbers…” (p.78) As Tak points out in Authors’ Notes, considering that India is likely to soon become the world’s youngest country, paying serious attention to the future of underprivileged children is truly very important now. (p.2)

As efforts directed towards generating awareness have played a role in these heroes’ lives, awareness about the issues crippling our country can potentially bring positive outcomes. For people not facing the challenges discussed, these stories show all that they need to be grateful for and may propel them to work towards the emancipation of those less privileged than themselves. Thus, this book, in a sense, will speak to all, and gift the lessons of strength and optimism. The lines at the end of the last story read:

                                        “Some see the world as dreary and full of despair

                                                I say it’s beautiful but needs some repair”

(italics in text; p. 195)

And repaired it truly can be when many come together, and become the change!

Amazon India link for We are the Champions (Paperback):

https://amzn.to/2X93E1X

Amazon India link for We are the Champions (Kindle):

https://amzn.to/2XgLc7I

Do watch Devendra Tak talk about why he chose to write “We are the Champions”, how it was written, the increased challenges for kids due to the pandemic, his contributions to social welfare, and more:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DcX2GGcbKaM

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