Kids pray for their new ‘Superman’, Anna Hazare

Moving on from Spiderman, Batman and Ben10 — who have unimaginable powers of eliminating evil in seconds — teens on Saturday prayed for Anna Hazare, who they called their own ‘Superman’

Sentiments ran high as many teens said “they had never seen anybody in their sacrificing himself for the country in their lifetime.”

“I fast on Janmashtmi and Ramnavami, but fasting for 13 days is divine. He might be Superman,” says Suyash Somani (16) from Saraswati School Thane.

Teenagers see a hero in 74-year-old Anna. Varsha Gandhi, 15, a 10th grader from Hiranandani School says, “Till now, we have seen such people only in our history books or in movies. He is my hero.

SIES student Mona Mane, 18, who protested in Azad Maidan for four days, said, “Initially we all were praying for the bill. But on Saturday, I began praying for his life while watching the whole drama in Lok Sabha on TV. It was like the day when India played the World Cup finals and we prayed during every ball that was bowled.”

Some schools organised prayer meetings for Anna. Neeta Kamble of Gyanganga Education trust, Kandivli said, “The bill was not on our mind as Anna’s life was in danger.”

Anna was the sole hero during the finals of a debate competition at the YMCA International centre at Mumbai Central. Almost 40 students participated in the competition. Students spoke extempore on the topic

“Will Anna Hazare’s style of protest cause a bad precedence?” Campion School teacher Twila Fernandis says, “The students were amazingly updated on the issue.”