Remember the time when grandparents narrated fascinating bedtime stories of cunning hares and foolish sages? There were caves that talked and frogs that rode on snakes.
Well, kids today seem too busy with their smartphones and tablets to engage with Indian folklore. And, we are losing an entire generation of storytellers, and with it, our stories.
iD Fresh Food, India's largest fresh food brand renowned for blending tradition with innovation, presents a treasured gift for 21st-century Indian families. The Bengaluru-based company launched a unique storytelling app called iD Family Time at Parikrma Centre for learning, a school for underprivileged children in the city.
'What if we create a digital platform for our stories such that it assists parents in passing on the Indian traditional values in the form of storytelling to the children of today?' Thought the movers and shakers at iD Fresh Food. And so, iD Family Time app was born!
A library of Indian tales and folklore, the app aims to go beyond storytelling and create opportunities for Indian families to spend more quality time with each other.
Speaking about the initiative, PC Mustafa, CEO, iD Fresh Food, said, "'Why is a food company launching a story app?' Some may ask. But as we see it, iD Family Time app is a natural extension of who we are as a brand. Our mission is to bring families and communities together. Tradition and authenticity are integral parts of iD's brand ethos. Whether it's the food
we eat or the stories our children grow up listening to, we want them to be 100% natural and Indian. We are delighted to serve as a facilitator and renew the art of storytelling. Our dream is to bring back the tradition and values of stories told by our grandmothers. The objective of the app is for families to come together and bond over the power of stories. The tales are sure to spark your imagination and take you on to a whole new journey together, as a family."
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Shukla Bose, founder, Parikrma Humanity Foundation further stated: "The event was a great success. It rekindled our interest in the lost art of storytelling. We, at Parikrma, are passionate about keeping the wisdom and simplicity of traditional Indian tales alive. The iD Family Time app is a great way to reinvigorate the tradition of storytelling. This is a great initiative and looking at the joy on the children's faces, we are excited to make storytelling sessions a part of our daily schedule."
From grandmothers narrating the stories from books to adapting to new technologies that cater to today's parents and children, the storytelling has evolved. Yet, the stories are the same. They drive home the wisdom and simplicity of traditional Indian values, which are found lacking in popular YouTube videos and hit Disney movies of today.
To begin with, the iD Family Time app will have 30 bed-time stories of 250-300 words each, with striking illustrations, targeted at children in the age group of 3-10 years. A new folklore or fairy tale will go up on the app every day, highlighting the importance of values like integrity, honesty, teamwork, trust, unity and respect for elders, to name a few.
Each story is specially crafted to appeal to children as well as to busy parents who struggle to make every second together count. Ultimately, the app aims to give something exceptional to families - fun little stories that they can bond over. The iD Family Time app is a great way to reinvigorate the tradition of family storytelling.
As part of the larger CSR initiative, iD Fresh Food also has plans to take the stories to old-age homes and have the elderly read them on video. The videos will then be incorporated into the app.