Have you checked this library yet?

A screenshot from one of the sessions

With schools shut and outdoor playtime considerably compromised, children's routines had a significant overhaul. On the other hand, many artistes who perform live found themselves out of work. The School Library Project, which brings free content to children daily, came as a blessing to children, parents and artistes alike. It is the brainchild of Shaizia Jifri, head of design at Theatre Professionals.

"During the pandemic Tasneem Fatehi and I thought about what we can do for our community. We had to do something that wouldn't cost us anything, since we didn't have any money at that point. We approached a team of instructors who we've been working with over the years with the idea of creating content for children for free. We chose the social media platforms YouTube, Facebook and Instagram because we wouldn't have to pay anything to use them. Luckily, they agreed to do this too," she explains.

The theatrical adaptation of When Ali Met Bajranbali

Krithika Ramakrishnan, Annie Ambily, Srividya Srinivas from Bengaluru, Kriti Tiwary from Delhi and Shaizia Jifri Manekshaw from Mumbai, designed and executed fresh content for children every day. Alumni from The Drama School Mumbai have also been contributors. "At a time like this, children don't have access to a physical library. At a library you can pick out a book on any subject and choose from a wide variety of interesting topics. That's why we chose to call it The School Library Project," shares Manekshaw.

But what about this adding to children's screen time, considering their online schooling routines? Manekshaw admits that it's a valid concern but looks at the brighter side. "Kids watch content despite online school; so why not have content that is interesting and informative, and something that makes them think? I do a series with a Muppet called Francois and the current one is called Flora and Fauna. There's a set of videos on the environment too. So it's not mindless, white noise."

Annie Ambily and Krithika Ramakrishnan

The content covers a wide range of subjects for children from three to 12 years. There's storytelling in English, Hindi and Marathi, with illustrations apart from music-based, art-based and fitness-based content, including an ongoing series by Capoeira India. The duration of each sessions ranges from between a little over a minute to 30 minutes, depending on the subject and the level of interactivity.

Eight-year-old Rahini Saigal's mother Shinibali Saigal, loves the fact that her child is exposed to stories from across the world, by watching these videos. Khushboo Shah has also been watching these videos with her six-year-old son Zian. "The videos have inspired him to be more creative. When he watched a video with shadow puppets, he played with light, and created his own shadow puppets. Today, when he stands on our balcony, he observes the birds and the trees outside. They were always there, but we've begun to notice them now," says Shah.

Srividya Srinivas, Shaizia Jifri Manekshaw and Kriti Tiwary

The group had also presented a pre-recorded play called, When Ali Became Bajrangbali, adapated from Devashish Makhija's book by the same name. "The play is recorded but we make it seem like it's live and also have a live interaction after the play. It's about a little monkey who is trying to stop a man from cutting the tree where the animals live by pretending to be Hanuman. The play is a ticketed show and sometimes, we take it to schools as well," says Manekshaw.

Next up is an initiative called This is the Day, with Meghna Singhee where kids write in with an anecdote from their day. She responds to these and writes one back to them. This becomes a physical exchange of written pieces. A year later, and with the city cautiously opening up, Manekshaw believes the nature of their content will change. "When we started online we knew at some point, as soon as we could, we would offer offline aspects as well like a festival where contributors can create together. Maybe then, we won't need to post every day but we can still use the digital medium in a meaningful way," she signs off.

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