If I Were Rain : Celebrating the Spirit of India\'s Disadvantaged Urban Child

Contents: Walking the bridge/Prabuddha Dasgupta. Celebrating the spirit of India\'s disadvantaged urban child/Nanni Singh. Introduction. I. Survival: 1. The rights to survival: i. Munnalal\'s story. ii. Shekhar\'s story. iii. Bullet\'s story. II. Development: 1. The right to development: i. Yashoda\'s story. ii. Meenu\'s story. III. Protection: 1. The right to protection. 2. Abdul\'s story. 3. Rajesh\'s story. IV. Participation: 1. The right to participation. 2. Shahana\'s story. Love puts an end to all discrimination/Leena Labroo. The children. Sharing rain/Uday Khemka. What you can do. Credits. Glossary.

"\'If I Were Rain\' is a book about children, by children. It is a visual and testimonial tribute to the spirit of India\'s children who live in the very difficult circumstances of poverty, exploitation and exclusion. Structured around the convention on the rights of the child, the book examines India\'s urban reality in the context of basic child\'s rights and the experiences of children living in disadvantage. Through their voices, poetry, art and in-depth stories, these children talk about their greatest challenges and their hopes for the future.

The title of the book, \'If I Were Rain\' is taken from a series of art workshops in which a group of children experienced empowerment through the imaginative possibility of being rain. These works of art and expression open every significant section in the book dealing with the rights of the child.

If I Were Rain\' endeavours to tell it like it is. By no means does it trivialise the underlying extreme adversity in which these children grow, learn and create. On the contrary, it explores the wealth of intelligence, creativity and joy that is also part of their lives.

The book seeks support for children not from a standpoint of pity--rather from a concern for perfect children in an imperfect world.

All proceeds from the sale of this book will go towards supporting organisations working with disadvantaged children in India." (jacket)