Nokia, the Finnish mobile company has commissioned poets, author, writers and artists around the world, including the Indian author of British descent, Ruskin Bond, British spoken-word artist George the Poet who is known for kicking off the Royal Wedding of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry with his poem, James McInerney from the UK whose Poetry Project first put positive messages across the London Underground network in 2018, Nairobi based Kenyan comedian George Kagwe, Russian snowboarder Alina Balashova and Bogotá based Colombian author Juan Pablo Gaviria.
These six prominent authors and poets have created these stories as a part of Nokia’s Short Moving Stories (SMS) campaign to help spread love and optimism in challenging times. They together produced fifteen original positive stories of love, friendship, community, work, hope and family. The Ruskin Bond SMS are on the Family and Love for the Nation.
“There is something to be said for writing by hand, and for the hand that holds the pen. I find it far more difficult to share my body and soul with a typewriter or computer. When I was a child, learning to write my first words and join them together, my father would place his hand on mine and guide it along the page. His hand is still there, I feel it now, even as I write. May loving, long gone hands touch yours dear reader. We are not alone,” writes Ruskin Bon on theme family.
On the theme Love for the nation Bond writes “It’s good to go abroad, make a name for yourself, succeed in life. But don’t forget your homeland. Gandhi had a successful legal career in South Africa, but he did not hesitate to give it up and return to immerse himself in the freedom movement. A saga of self, sacrifice and patriotism. Be a global warrior by all means, but don’t forget your homeland.”
“The Short Moving Stories are part of a wider ongoing initiative to recognise Nokia phones which are trusted, secure and built to last. The idea taps into its roots as Nokia phones were developed in Finland – the happiest country in the world – in a bid to spread joy and positivity across the world,” states the Nokia release.