<p>I have had a deep connection with India since I came here for my first diplomatic posting. My son was born in India during that time. <br /><br /></p>.<p>Maybe since we have such a strong family feeling about India it was only natural that my daughter found an Indian man as her husband. Today, this afternoon, as soon as I arrived in Delhi, I met my in-laws,” said UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. <br /><br />To mark the 70th anniversary of United Nations, the Secretary General, was in the city once again, after he was posted as a diplomat in India in 1972. Addressing an enrapt audience he said, “I even enrolled in Max Mueller Bhavan - maybe some of you know Max Mueller Bhavan where they taught languages - to study some Hindi. That was so long ago, 42 or 43 years ago, I would sound old-fashioned if I try to speak it! But I used to say Main Hindi thoda thoda bolta hun.”<br /><br />“Mera iss desh ke saath ek gehra bandhan hai. Main Bharat vaapas aake bohot khush hua. (I have a deep connection with this country. I am very happy to be back in India,” he said. <br /><br />Nobel Prize winner Kailash Satyarthi, who was also present at the occasion talked about child labour and slavery, and commented that it stillexists in its cruelest form. <br /><br />“It is impossible to achieve United Nations Millennium Development Goals if child labour continues to exist,” Satyarthi said. He spoke of the need to end child labour, after having earlier submitted a petition to Ban Ki-moon with over 5,50,000 signatures to include abolishing child labour in the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.<br /><br />UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador for Hygiene and Sanitation, Sachin Tendulkar shared an anecdote about his dream of being a cricketer as a child and having the freedom and support of his family to reach his goal. “When I think of my childhood I remember my parents giving me complete freedom to do what I wanted to do”. <br /><br />He said, “The first inning of my life was exciting. I took hold of the World Cup trophy after 21 years of my career. In my second inning, which started soon after the retirement, the first responsibility that I accepted was to be UN ambassador for hygiene and sanitation.” <br />He shared his experience of playing cricket with visually impaired and physically challenged kids in Ratnagiri, and spread the message of good hygiene. <br /><br />Veteran actor Sharmila Tagore rallied in support of improving maternal health, with a special focus on the non-urban areas. She shared her personal experiences about working with women and how easily avoidable maternal deaths are. <br /><br />Reminiscing about the video she shot with child labours, actor Nandita Das said, “Being a mother I can say what you want for your child is what you want for other children as well.” Das laid thrust on the freedom of expression. <br /><br /></p>
<p>I have had a deep connection with India since I came here for my first diplomatic posting. My son was born in India during that time. <br /><br /></p>.<p>Maybe since we have such a strong family feeling about India it was only natural that my daughter found an Indian man as her husband. Today, this afternoon, as soon as I arrived in Delhi, I met my in-laws,” said UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. <br /><br />To mark the 70th anniversary of United Nations, the Secretary General, was in the city once again, after he was posted as a diplomat in India in 1972. Addressing an enrapt audience he said, “I even enrolled in Max Mueller Bhavan - maybe some of you know Max Mueller Bhavan where they taught languages - to study some Hindi. That was so long ago, 42 or 43 years ago, I would sound old-fashioned if I try to speak it! But I used to say Main Hindi thoda thoda bolta hun.”<br /><br />“Mera iss desh ke saath ek gehra bandhan hai. Main Bharat vaapas aake bohot khush hua. (I have a deep connection with this country. I am very happy to be back in India,” he said. <br /><br />Nobel Prize winner Kailash Satyarthi, who was also present at the occasion talked about child labour and slavery, and commented that it stillexists in its cruelest form. <br /><br />“It is impossible to achieve United Nations Millennium Development Goals if child labour continues to exist,” Satyarthi said. He spoke of the need to end child labour, after having earlier submitted a petition to Ban Ki-moon with over 5,50,000 signatures to include abolishing child labour in the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.<br /><br />UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador for Hygiene and Sanitation, Sachin Tendulkar shared an anecdote about his dream of being a cricketer as a child and having the freedom and support of his family to reach his goal. “When I think of my childhood I remember my parents giving me complete freedom to do what I wanted to do”. <br /><br />He said, “The first inning of my life was exciting. I took hold of the World Cup trophy after 21 years of my career. In my second inning, which started soon after the retirement, the first responsibility that I accepted was to be UN ambassador for hygiene and sanitation.” <br />He shared his experience of playing cricket with visually impaired and physically challenged kids in Ratnagiri, and spread the message of good hygiene. <br /><br />Veteran actor Sharmila Tagore rallied in support of improving maternal health, with a special focus on the non-urban areas. She shared her personal experiences about working with women and how easily avoidable maternal deaths are. <br /><br />Reminiscing about the video she shot with child labours, actor Nandita Das said, “Being a mother I can say what you want for your child is what you want for other children as well.” Das laid thrust on the freedom of expression. <br /><br /></p>
