‘Punni ki Kahaniyan’ (PKK) was launched in Hyderabad, amidst thunderous cheers from over 1,500 children, representing 35 schools from the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secundrabad. They were joined by tennis icon, Ms. Sania Mirza.

We organised this function along with our print media partner, The Hindu, and social media partner, IridiumInteractive, on 26 October, 2010. The screening was preceded by messages of multiculturalism by Ravi Pratap Singh, AEA Regional Director; P. Ranga Reddy, Regional General Manager, The Hindu; Rajiva Wijesinha, Member of Parliament from Sri Lanka; and Ganes Devi, Educationist (both are board members of AEA SA). All the speakers drove across the point of multiculturalism in their own ways. While Ravi Pratap Singh narrated his childhood experiences, Rajiva Wijesinha compared multiculturalism with a bouquet of flowers. He said “The bouquet looks good because of many flowers, but what makes the bouquet more beautiful is that the flowers are of many colours.” Wijesinha thereby drove home the need to recognise ethnic diversity. Ms. Mirza spoke of India’s greatness and how it makes her proud when she wins a medal for the country. “I have travelled all over the world and met all kinds of people, of different colour and different religions, and to me, that is the great thing about sports. There is no boundary of religion, of countries, or colour discrimination”, she added.

Sriram Bharatam of IridiumInteractive, narrated a very interesting story that stressed the need for children to look beyond their boundaries and actively explore new things. His story drove home the moral of cultural acceptance, and that one should shun the herd mentality and perform to realise their true potential. His account of his childhood experiences helped the children connect with him. RP Patnaik, music director, also echoed the same sentiments and sang the popular song 'Saare jahan se achcha', in which the children happily participated.

The dignitaries also bestowed accolades on the children who were part of the cast of ‘Punni Ki Kahaniyan’. Punni has been promoted in the social media circles by a wide range of activities through Facebook, Twitter (Twibbons), blogs, news portals, and other avenues.