India in an app
Meet two NRI moms who create stories and apps for kids to teach them about Indian culture
Inspired by Gandhiji’s three monkeys, two Indian mommy-preneurs in California have a new start-up that creates interactive digital apps and books for kids on Indian culture. Shuchi Mehta and Shweta Chopra, both originally from Delhi, started 3 Curious Monkeys so that they could provide young children with content that is contemporary and fun.
The Diwali Gift, their first print and ebook was released this month on Amazon. They have also launched an app called “Dress Up Party” that engages young children in an activity to show them the diversity of Indian attire.
“Both of us are mothers with young kids, and we love reading books to them. But in books on India, we found that the content for very young children was not what we wanted,” says Shweta, a molecular biologist and a marketing professional, in a telephonic interview. “Most of the content concentrates on mythology and the past. The kids kept asking us why people were killing each other when we teach them that it is wrong to kill. So we wanted content that would let our kids find out about India in a fun manner.”
Shuchi, 36, a marketing professional has twin boys aged five, and Shweta, 35, has a four-year-old daughter. “We wanted our kids to experience India like we did, growing up with the simple things of everyday life,” adds Shuchi. Both believe this is not just an NRI need, but a need for kids in India too.
The mums devised ‘3 Curious Monkeys’ named Suno, Dekho, and Jaano for the two to eight-year-old age group. “Suno is a girl who loves to dance, sing and talk, and she’s characterised with big ears. Dekho is an outdoorsy guy who loves adventure, is very observant and has big eyes. Jano is the kid who knows everything, the walking-talking encyclopaedia,” says Shuchi. The next book and related app they are working on is themed around food. The dress-up app celebrates India’s diversity with clothes from eight regions featuring Paithanis, Jamdanis and Kanchivarams, and the different types of headgear and accessories men wear. The app also teaches children to say ‘You are looking good’ in eight languages including Gujarati and Malayalam,” says Shuchi.
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