…Travelling stories for children
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I.Why Apalam Chapalam
\n\n\n\nTechnically, like all the best children’s stories, it’s just a nonsensical happy string of words excavated from the old Hindi film song, Apalam Chapalam Chaplayee Re. (From the film Azaad, 1951).
\n\n\n\nWe wanted to keep things\non this channel\nfun and memorable, and this reminded us a little\nof Sukumar Roy’s ‘Abol\nTabol’ or Roald Dahl’s ‘whizzpopping,’ ‘biffsquiggled’ vocabulary.
\n\n\n\nII. WHY DO THIS?
\n\n\n\n- Love and Time are valuable currencies.
If there’s one thing that’s become clear in these uncertain times, it’s that money is not the only currency that makes the world go round. If you’ve been wanting to contribute to others’ well-being in\nsome way, this is a wonderful option to explore doing just that.
\n\n\n\n- It’s a win-win for everyone!
Storytelling\nis a sacred bond between teller and listener. When you share a story you love,\nyou’re reminding a lot of children they’re not alone, and you’re getting to\nexpress yourself in a way that will hopefully leave you feeling lighter\nyourself.
\n\n\n\n- You’re serving as an\nimportant reminder.
When times are challenging, and particularly overwhelming, it’s important to remind ourselves and the littlest amongst us that there’s no limit to the fun and joy we can find in our own imaginations! Ultimately, we just wanted to expand the vocabulary for what it\nmeans to be there for each other.
\n\n\n\nIII. WHERE WILL IT BE HOSTED
\n\n\n\nOn\nYoutube and Instagram.\nThe former is our main resource for distribution, which will go out directly into the communities we’re already engaging\nwith. The latter\nis just for a little\nextra fun, a space for\nanybody and everybody who wants to connect with their inner child right now and\nknow more about what we get upto this month.
\n\n\n\nIV. WHO IS IT FOR?
\n\n\n\nApalam Chapalam aims to reach urban poor children aged 6-14 years living in low-income habitations such as slums, chawls, slum rehabilitation buildings. Living conditions of these children are characterised by single room homes, many family members, shared utilities such as bathrooms, and water taps.
\n\n\n\nSocial\ndistancing/isolation is a huge challenge for these families. This content is\nalso for children who reside in residential care facilities both state-run and\nprivate in urban areas.
\n\n\n\nV. HOW WILL IT REACH THEM?
\n\n\n\nDistribution would take place through WhatsApp. Leher would organize the distribution through frontline workers of NGOs that work on education, life skills, child sexual abuse etc. in urban slums and low income private and public schools. Our primary focus would be Delhi and Mumbai. Leher—NGO/networks heads—Managers of frontline workers—Frontline workers—Communities—households.
\n\n\n\nVI. WHO IS DOING THIS?
\n\n\n\nLeher is a\nchild rights organization that works on child protection. Their vision is for\ncaring families, alert communities and responsive governments to come together\nfor the rights and protection of all children. Housed in Delhi and Mumbai, Leher\nworks nationally to build community leadership for safe childhoods.
\n\n\n\nCreator’s duo Mandovi Menon & Aliya Khan thought up Apalam Chapalam as a fuss-free\nvideo channel for children to bring a little light-heartedness back into any\nhome we reach.
\n\n\n\nTogether, we’re looking forward to building something collaborative\nthat supports many more creative visions beyond our own. (=
\n\n\n\nVII. WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO THESE POST LOCKDOWN?
\n\n\n\nIn\ncase you’re wondering about this, we think good storytelling backed by good\nintent is a timeless resource in a community like ours. Leher will keep it up\nas a shared resource, and continue to distribute it to social sector\norganisations + educational institutes who want to use it in their own\nclassrooms.
\n\n\n\nAlso, Lockdown is longer for children. While we have little idea of when it will be back-to-work for the rest of us, children won’t be able to get back to school till post-summer vacations.
\n\n\n\nThat’s\na whole lot of months with nothing to do so it’s the least we could do to\nentertain them. (=
\n\n\n\nVIII. OTHER COLLABORATIONS?
\n\n\n\nIf you have other suggestions or alternate ways in which you’d like to collaborate, feel free to write to us at apalamchapalam@leher.org or find us and DM us directly on Instagram. We’d be happy to see if we can integrate the same.
\n\n\n\nDon’t hesitate\nto reach out if you have any questions!
\n\n\n\nApalam Chapalam is a travelling story channel for urban, underprivileged children between the ages of 6 – 14. Created for Leher by a community of creatives and storytellers, it encourages collaboration between people from all walks of life and ages to keep children’s curiosity alive while drawing inspiration from India’s rich tradition of oral storytelling. It was born out of the desire to provide some leisure during lockdown, but will live on in the hearts of both the tall tellers and little listeners. To know more about the initiative click here
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