He wrote, “the acting was never worse than the pose of Chacha Nehru with the children.”Ĭrocker, a great admirer of Nehru in general, had no patience for the parade of children with flowers that his sycophants organised on Nehru’s birthday because he felt “(Nehru’s) interest in children was slender”. Nehru’s India: Essays on the Maker of a Nation quotes the Australian High Commissioner, Walter Crocker, as saying that like all politicians Nehru had to occasionally perform for TV cameras. It is true that he did establish the Children’s Film Society India in 1955 and said something about children being “buds in the garden” which should be “carefully and lovingly nurtured.” But an essay by Aakar Patel in It galls me further to realise now that Chacha Nehru was probably a PR creation. It did not make me feel kindly about ‘Chacha Nehru’. Instead it was all about essays, sit-and-draw competitions, and skits that required rehearsals. I would have liked Children’s Day to be a day where I could do as I pleased. Instead we sometimes had to write an essay on some lofty nation-building topic. I don’t remember ever getting a treat for Children’s Day. I remember always being slightly resentful that while Teachers’ Day was an occasion to shower teachers with gifts, treats and ‘thank you’ cards, Children’s Day usually meant more work for children.
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