Official book launch as part of the Forest of Dreams festival

A new book by Usha Raje Saxena called “Pravas Mein”, which translates as ‘Living Abroad’, will be officially launched at 2pm on Sunday 14 July at Drake House, St Georges Road Wimbledon.

The book is a collection of ten stories in Hindi woven around the lives the real and fictional characters living in Merton and South London and is being launched as part of the Forest of Dreams community festival. At the event a new organisation called South London Women’s Guild of Hindi Writers will also be launched.

The Forest of Dreams, which runs until 14 July, was organised by Merton Council to promote global harmony and environmental issues. The Commonwealth Institute has sponsored the festival as part of the Spirit of Friendship’s celebrations leading to the Commonwealth Games 2002.

Usha Raje Saxena, who is a resident in South London, has enjoyed much success. She has written four dual language books and articles on educational development of under fives in the multilingual society. Merton translation Service translated the books into 14 community languages and articles were published in local and national newspapers and broadcast on the radio. She also organises workshops for local teachers outlining the needs of bilingual children and the use of the mother tongue as strength in learning English.

For further information on the Forest of Dreams festival contact Iqbal Husain, Merton Council’s Ethnic Arts and Community Development Officer on 020 8545 4197