Forget bands, take up friendship coins

Chief minister Narendra Modi is aiming to create a bridge between children living in different districts in Gujarat. The state will be launching 'Coins of Friendship' for all districts, as part of Swarnim Gujarat celebrations.

Narendra Modi had spoken about the friendship coins on April 23.

According to him, every district will have different coloured coins which will be distributed among children.

Elaborating on the 'Coins of Friendship' project, a highly placed official in the state government said, "The idea is to create a bond between children living in different districts.

Though not all details have been finalised yet, the basic idea is to inspire children to collect coins of all colours. The state government will be launching different coloured coins in each district, which will be taken by the children living in that particular district.

After that they will have to find children from other districts and exchange their own coins with theirs.

In this way, children from various districts will come in close contact with one another in trying to exchange coins." The official further said, "This interaction between the children will help them in a lot of ways.

For instance, a boy living in Kutch will be talking to another in the Dangs to complete his collection of friendship coins. This way, both the children will get to know each other's lifestyle, family and culture. In a way, these coins will be a medium to bring them together.”