Adiv Singh, 9, a Nerul resident, can focus on a bunch of co-curricular activities, especially music, because of the time he saves from not using any kind of screen. He has cleared Level One graded exam in Western music from Trinity College, London, and also won a gold and a trophy at the International Abacus and Mental Arithmetic competition this year

Samiksha, Adiv's mom and a former journalist with Doordarshan, says, “This is why he gets the time to play musical instruments, practise Indian classical vocals, and study music theory. He is also a rank-holder in his class. Because he has never been around screens, his cognitive skills are amazing. He can do high-level arithmetic orally—adding, subtracting, dividing, and multiplying up to 13 digits.”

Prisha Dasgupta with her parents at her residence at Malad West. She does not depend on screens and indulges in other co-curricular activities that set her apart from her peers.

Adiv Singh of Navi Mumbai also lives a tech-free life, and utilises much of his time learning music and doing a slew of other outdoor activities like cycling and playing tennis

Aniruddh Singh, 12, grew up with smartphones and tablets and believes it’s impossible to live without tech; (right) Murtaza Firoz and Fatema Firoz, four and 11 years old, respectively, have stopped using screens for the past month