Date:13/11/2005 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2005/11/13/stories/2005111316310300.htm

New Delhi

President's letters to `his' children

Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI: Carrying on Jawaharlal Nehru's legacy in quite a different way, these are letters from a President to "his" children. A unique gift for "their" day, hundreds of questions sent to President A.P.J Abdul Kalam everyday by children will soon find answers in a new book titled "Children Ask Kalam".

Published by Pearson Education, it is a collection of communication between the President and children. The book brings out Dr. Kalam's views on various issues from his favourite subject, science, to spirituality and the nation. While the book is a dialogue between the President and kids in India, it is also a testimony to his immense popularity with the young.

Extremely approachable, from being flooded with e-mails from children on his website to actually taking out time to answer them, the questions and the answers really bring out a role that he slips into quite easily and certainly enjoys -- that of a teacher.

Though scheduled to be out on Children's Day on November 14, the book will be slightly delayed, but will hit bookshelves soon, say the publishers.

A vision of India and the world through his eyes, the book has been divided into six themes -- education, science, children's issues, nation, spirituality and general matters.

From the big questions about whether scientists believe in God that had puzzled R. Thomas Murphy studying in Trichy to the more scientific problems like the relationship that plants have with animals, that Vedang Singhania from Kolkata wanted an answer to, the President finds a way to answer them and even suggests further reading to find out more.

Only a small selection of the huge numbers of queries that he gets sent, the book is an attempt to get children to be inspired by one of their favourite people.

The book is also a sort of guide for parents to answers to questions that their children might ask.Exploring not only the relationship that Dr. Kalam shares with young people across ages, the book also brings out the concerns of young India -- from satellite towns to big cities. From terrorism to gender inequality and even the lack of medical facilities in rural India, this book highlights the questions that they want answers to, but never found the right person to satisfy their curiosity.