Child contributors are gifted volumes of the anthology on peace. Picture by Sanjoy Chattopadhyaya

In an attempt to promote peace and help strengthen values of peaceful co-existence and respect for all communities, a new anthology by children, One Hundred Poems for Peace, was launched by PeaceWorks, an initiative by Seagull Foundation, at Loreto School Hall on July 6.

Children from across the country, as well as neighbouring countries like Pakistan, were invited to write for the anthology. Only the finest 100 were compiled in the book.

Several children from Calcutta also contributed to the book. Some of them had written their poems in Bengali, which were later translated into English by the Seagull team.

?Our aim is to break the barriers that are made by human beings. Our country has seen much communal violence in the past and, hopefully, this book will help in bridging the differences and creating awareness,? said Anjum Katyal, trustee of Seagull Foundation.

The experts? panel, comprising literary personalities like Amit Chaudhuri, Ruchir Joshi and Sanjukta Dasgupta, chose their favourites, which were later included in the ?Judge?s Choice? of the book.

The launch was attended by actor-singer Anjan Dutt, Amit Chaudhuri, Ruchir Joshi and all the children who have contributed to the book.

?I am very happy that my poem was included in the book. It is quite difficult to get your poems published. Besides, I feel such topics need to be discussed with our generation. Seagull Foundation has done a great job by initiating such a discussion,? said Kanti Soumyak, one of the contributors.

Anjan Dutt presented a short repertoire of thematically appropriate songs on his guitar and congratulated the children on their success.

?I salute all of those who have written poems for this book. I can feel the pain of the innocent victims staying in areas of communal violence. So, I realise the importance of such programmes,? said Dutt.

Praising the efforts of the children, Amit Chaudhuri said: ?It is very difficult to turn themes into poems, especially of such a serious subject. These children have done this very well. I wish them all success in the future. This will be a stepping stone for them.?

While sharing his experience during the selection of the poems, Ruchir Joshi said: ?These poems are full of energy and it was quite difficult short-listing them. I was also impressed by the maturity of the works. These children are pretty clear about what is peace.?

All the children were presented with their own copy of the book at the end of the programme.