The kids will sign a pledge, and witness a photo exhibition and slide shows put up by conservationists. Game stalls will also be erected. The evening of November 13 will see children form a human chain and display placards. Of course, it is not slated to be a boring, adult event. The grand finale, as the Children's Day event of November 14 is described, includes a lucky dip for kids who write postcards to Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee in support of the tiger. The prizes are innovative too, all designed to generate further goodwill for the cause. Children can win a trip to the Ranthambore National Park, Sanctuary Cub subscriptions and tiger T-shirts.

The `Kids For Tigers' rally, as it is called, will be a gesture of goodwill towards around one million children who created the world's largest `Save the Tiger' scroll earlier this year. The meet, which is relying on the active co-operation of Mumbai's citizens, is also intended to send out a clear message to the country's leaders that the children of India want their national animal protected.

Maybe their exhortation will be heard as far as Orissa and Andhra Pradesh where so many tigers were killed in places they had made their home: the Nandankanan and Hyderabad zoos.

And according to Mr P K Sen, director of Project Tiger, the animal has lost half of its jungle home in the past 30 years. Even now, one tiger is probably dying every day in the wild. Mr Bittu Sahgal, editor of Sanctuary magazine, thinks kids are likely to be the worst victims of a degraded environment. He cites the forests which the tigers inhabit as being "vaults of biodiversity and the sources of our finest rivers". He adds: "By protecting tigers, we not only save a magnificent species but also protect India's food and water security."

Assisting Sanctuary in this effort is its active collaborator, Britannia Industries. In a novel approach, the company will present a special education award to the children of five forest guards who are working to protect the tiger. These security men face a tough task, considering that they have to deal with the powerful poaching mafia apart from the routine threats the tiger faces.

Britannia, with the help of the Sanctuary Cub magazine, will continue to mobilise children for this cause through the Britannia Champs programme. It has been conducting a widespread `Save The Tiger' campaign by getting children in over 700 schools to prepare wall posters, participate in quiz shows and watch relevant films. In fact, the `Kids for Tigers' drive will be extended to other cities so that children across the country get a chance to chip in their efforts with those who have already understood its importance.

Of course, it makes good business sense to sponsor a venture of this kind, but the unifying spirit it excites in participant children across the country is welcome. At the November 1 press conference to unveil the `Kids For Tigers' campaign in Mumbai, the CEO of Britannia Industries, Mr Sunil Alagh, described the tiger as a global symbol for the protection of the environment and forests. He said his company wished to add its corporate strength to the national endeavour to ensure that the animal remained a part of our future.

Mr Nikhil Sen, senior vice-president (Bakery Products) at Britannia, joined the campaign saying, "The `Save The Tiger' scroll was a response to the most serious crisis faced by our national animal. The tiger desperately needs the protection of current and future generations."

Indeed, the corporate house would not be the only beneficiary.