New Delhi: This summer, kids of Kashmir have an exciting new gift waiting for them on television. The much-loved edutainment show, Galli Galli Sim Sim, the Indian adaptation of the world-renowned Sesame Street, starts broadcast in their mother tongue– Kashmiri and Urdu. Kids of the valley can tune in to DD Kashir from Monday to Sunday at 6:30 PM and 11:40 AM to watch their favourite show in their own language. The show will soon be available on DD Urdu also. The show is packed with special episodes that are culturally and contextually relevant and aims to develop the necessary skills and protective factors that can help children cope with stress, build their resilience and develop their school readiness skills. Galli Galli Sim Sim will air on DD Kashir and DD Urdu is supported by the Vitol Foundation.
Children often binge on content available on television, most of which is in Hindi or English and not culturally and contextually relevant for them. This is for the first time that an age-appropriate TV show has been made available to the children of Kashmir in their own language, so they can laugh, play and learn as they watch the funny and educational stories on the show.
With support from Vitol Foundation and Doordarshan, Sesame Workshop India has packaged special episodes of its flagship initiative Galli Galli Sim Sim, which address the specific school readiness needs of the children living in Kashmir.
The special episodes teach children a lot more than only literacy and numeracy. They also foster important life skills like socio-emotional and executive function skills that can help young children manage their own behaviours and emotions, retain information in mind, resist distractions etc. so that learning can be effective. The show features the well-loved muppets, Chamki, Googly, Grover, Elmo and others, to bring messages of hope, diversity and inclusion to children. The characters act as positive role models and help them develop coping skills. By combining content that is grounded in research and has proven impact, with the power of media, Galli Galli Sim Sim teaches children important life skills which help them grow smarter, stronger and kinder. The show has been curated to address children’s school readiness by providing content that they can relate to.
Each episode has different stories mapped to learning objectives so that children can learn even when they are away from school. In the ‘Galli Ki Duniya’ segment of the show, children and parents see Chamki and Googly donning astronaut helmets and travelling to space, Dhenchoo auditioning for a new film, Chamki playing a genie in a school play and many such exciting tales. In the ‘Word on the Street’ segment, Grover explores the meaning of different words like ‘Udaas’, ‘Muskaan’, ‘Suraksha’ and more which encourages young viewers to understand the meaning of these words and use them in their daily conversations. There is a special segment on math with Bert & Ernie, who through their small games and challenges help children identify numbers and understand math concepts like counting, addition, subtraction, etc. The ‘I Heart Elmo’ segment of the show is designed specifically to address children’s daily socio-emotional challenges like entering a new group, resolving conflicts, task persistence, understanding safe touch and many more. Each episode ends with foot-tapping covers of Bollywood dance tracks, adapted in the Galli Galli Sim Sim-style, which motivate kids to get up and dance.
