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Kalam pens poem for riot victims

Ehtasham Khan in New Delhi | September 29, 2003 17:35 IST

The 'missile man of India', President Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam, is also a poet.

And his words will know bring solace to victims of last year's Gujarat riots.

Kalam's poem 'The Life Tree' has been included in a music album called 'Peace Works' -- brainchild of renowned danseuse Mallika Sarabhai.

The money generated from the sale of the CDs and cassettes will go towards rehabilitation of the riot victims, says Mallika.

"Kalam's poem speaks of the need for us to understand that life is about coexistence and about being united if we want life's tree to blossom," she says.

Ranjana Argade has translated the English poem into Hindi.

The poem was originally written for Mrinalini Sarabhai to create a dance piece.

"When we asked his (Kalam's) permission for it to be included in the album, he graciously agreed," says Mallika.

The CD will cost Rs195.

Other artists who have contributed for the album are Fazal Qureshi, Gauhar Raza, Indian Ocean, Javed Akhtar, Louis Banks, Mark Haydon, Shubha Mudgal and Ustad Amjad Ali Khan.

The music video -- a joint venture between the Darpana Performing Group and Darpana Communications -- seeks to create a genre by marrying cutting edge technology with contemporary dance as a language for transmitting ideas, Mallika says.

Rock composer Mark Haydon has created the music and the choreography for the dance piece is by Revanta Sarabhai. It was co-conceptualised and created by Mallika and Yadavan Chandran.

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