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5 Web Series in Hindi for Tweens

Tween is a unique age. You are older but want to learn a lot about life and it’s many facets. The below shows are great for kids learning to speak hindi but want to be entertained so they can stay engaged. With captions, these make a great way to learn Hindi as well, for those reluctant or still struggling to learn to speak conversational Hindi.

Yeh Meri Family – Netflix

Yeh Meri Family is an Indian comedy drama web series series written by Saurabh Khanna and directed by Sameer Saxena for The Viral Fever. The series follows the life of a 12-year-old Harshu Gupta, played by Vishesh Bansal, in Jaipur, Rajasthan in the late 1990s.

Lakhon Mein Ek – Amazon Prime

Aakash just finished high school and is planning to study commerce with his friends in Raipur. His father has different plans for him. He sends Aakash to Genius Infinity, an IIT Coaching institute far away from Raipur. Aakash reaches there to discover it’s a whole different world and he is a complete misfit. People here are far ahead of him in studies. There is no room for fun. Slowly, a friendship forms between him and his roommates Bakri and Chudail. So does a rivalry, between him and Chandrakanth, the topper of the institute. Aakash gradually gets into the groove of the grind and begins to fit in.

Panchayat – Amazon Prime

 

Abhishek Tripathi (Jitendra Kumar) is a freshly graduated young man from Delhi. Unable to find a good job in the city, he is compelled to accept the only offer he has in hand, an unattractive government posting in a small village in Uttar Pradesh. Panchayat is a comedy drama about an individual born and raised in the city, who must deal with the ordeals of life in rural India.

Simple, light hearted story telling makes for a great show with life lessons.

Be warned – One episode (chair one) has the word ” as**@#$#@ ” in it. But it is used to teach an important lesson. So, one can ignore that.


 

Mahabharat – Netflix

 

Two young brothers encounter a singing bird who treats them to a musical reinterpretation of one of India’s most epic ancient tales. Bollywood stars Ajay Devgn and Sunny Deol join an all-star voice cast in this animated reimagining of an Indian classic.

 

 

Operation MBBS – YouTube

 

Operation MBBS. Operation MBBS chronicles the lives of three first year students – Huma, Sakshi and Nishant in one of the best MBBS colleges in the country. Follow their journey as they navigate through friendships, hardships and medical student life.

 

Be warned – The first episode has ONE inappropriate dialogue about ( having s*x during that time of the month) and that’s it. One can forward that really quicky. Few other dialogues have suggested bad words. Not many.

 

Akbar Birbal

Birbal (IPA: [biːrbəl]; born Mahesh Das; 1528–1586), or Raja Birbal, was a Hindu advisor and main commander (mukhya senapati) of army in the court of the Mughal emperor, Akbar. He is mostly known in the Indian subcontinent for the Folk Tales which focus on his wit.

Tweens find this serial’s many lessons and riddles very interesting.

 

Itihaas Ki Thali Se

An amazingly interesting show Itihaas Ki Thali Se on Netflix that teaches about Indian foods historically. It is a great way to teach kids about how the world has collaborated towards every single Indian food with many interesting stories.

Mouthwatering food + History + Fun animation. Win Win ! A definite must watch with your entire family !!

 

Transgenders in India - Deserve Respect So Long Denied

Transgenders in India – Deserve Respect So Long Denied

Transgenders! Around the world, the word itself still raises eyebrows. Various derogatory remarks even get passed  about them.  In recent times in India, at least, the acceptance towards them is slow but not enough.

For the past three decades, that I had witnessed, their inbuilt complex had stopped them from moving ahead in any direction. In India, their presence at the red light areas for begging or their dance during any family function (which is considered auspicious), just for the sake of money, is a common scenario. The fact that they traditionally have often harassed people to give them money has not lent to their credibility. One should wonder though why begging for money is their main resort to earn.

Only a few among them are seen at schools or any other institute of “repute” for getting education or any relevant information.

Sometimes, even their basic needs-using the loo or getting adequate education or even love, are not met. Many have faced violence and rejection from their families and religious communities. The litigation and people’s indifferent attitude has also lead to major social adjustment problems for them.

Why can’t we (the so called educated people) educate the transgenders along with other children, instead of making faces? Let them use the washrooms freely, instead of considering them with suspicion ?

It is ironical that their blessings / curse are considered superstitiously of great power but we dread to give them a standing in society.

We can certainly change that by passing on the lineage of respecting them to our children? We can provide job opportunities without any bias to the deserving candidate, instead of fearing about our reputation?

Yes, everything can be done. But when this ‘can’ will change into ‘should’, only time will tell.

The live example of the success of their community is Laxmi, a transgender who when provided with few opportunities and when she had overcome her own complex, had made heads turned wherever she entered.

She is a transgender rights activist, Hindi film actress, and a trained Bharatnatyam dancer in Mumbai, India. She is also the first transgender to represent Asia Pacific in UN in 2008.

[bctt tweet=”More transgenders need to take a stand like Laxmi and feel free to stand for their rights.” username=”contactrwc”]

A great example of – Where there is a will there is a way!

But for the other members of this community, this will needs to be generated and encouraged.  It will definitely give a boost not only to their morale but also to the working potential of any country leading to more success and more respect. What do you think we could do to integrate transgenders into our society ?

Transgenders in India Deserve REspect So Long Denied www.raisingworldchildren.com #transgender #intersex #life #india #respect #equality

Ruchika Rastogi, an Indian who was born and brought up in Delhi. She loves to explore the unexplored. A mother of two lovely kids, she works as a teacher and her passion for writing has helped her survive during her hard times. Her first non fiction book got published last year with the name-A Mystical Majesty-the woman. As a contributing author, her anthology with the title–Wait Till I Tell You got launched recently. With dreams in her eyes, she believes in living life optimistically.

How We Celebrate Sri Krishna Jeyanthi At Our Home

How We Celebrate Sri Krishna Jeyanthi At Our Home

 

India is famous for its cultural and traditional richness of festivals and celebrations. We, our family love the second half of every year since those six months are full of many festivals. I personally love to celebrate many festivals like Maha Shiva Rathri, Krishna Jeyanthi, Vinayagar Chaturthi because of their vibrant, colorful, foodie and cultural way of celebrations rather than their religions importance.

Festivals really help us to inculcate friendship, cultural importance and moral values in the young minds of our children. Recently we celebrated Sri Krishna Jeyanthi at our home. So I thought of sharing the pooja and celebrations of Sri Krishna Jeyanthi with you to throw some light on our Indian tradition and culture.

 

What Is Sri Krishna Jeyanthi?

Krishna Janmashtami or Janmashtami or Sri Krishna Jeyanthi is an annual Hindu festival that celebrates the birth of Krishna, the eighth avatar of Vishnu.

 

When Is Sri Krishna Jeyanthi Celebrated?

It is celebrated on the eighth day (Ashtami) of the Krishna Paksha (dark fortnight) during August or September.  

 

 What Are The Other Names For Sri Krishna Jeyanthi?

  • Krishna Astami
  • Janmashtami
  • Gokulasthami
  • Sree Jayanti

 

How We Celebrate Sri Krishna Jeyanthi At Our Home?

We invite our friends and relatives for the pooja and festival. Sri Krishna Jeyanthi is a fun filled celebration particularly for kids. So we invite all nearby kids for the festival. Also, we involve our son to be a part of the celebrations by making decorations and arrangements at our home.

 

Beautiful Krishna Sticker
Beautiful Krishna Sticker At Our Drawing Hall

 

We welcome our guests with colorful Kolam or Rangoli. Also we draw small footprints of rice flour from the entrance of our house to our pooja room. This is for welcoming Sri Krishna to our house. Making the footprints using rice flour is for small creatures like ant and insects to eat. We just care more for all living creatures.

 

Kolam or Rangoli
Kolam or Rangoli

 

Krishna's Footprints
Krishna’s Footprints

 

All the idols and photos of gods and goddesses at our pooja room are decorated with flowers, garlands and jewels. And Sri Krishna statue or photo is specially decorated. We offer Sweet Aval or Poha, Seedai, Murrukku, Butter, Butter Milk, Jhangiri, Pal Kova, Betal Leaves, Coconut and Fruits as prasad. Mostly the snacks will be prepared at home with extra flavor of yummy ghee. Krishna is a big lover of butter and ghee. So we believe that he will bless us with all abundance by tasting his favorite snacks.

 

Decorations At Our Pooja Room
Decorations At Our Pooja Room

 

Krishna songs and slogams will be played. The house will be filled with aroma of splendid incense sticks. It adds a divine effect to the celebrations. All family members will assemble and the eldest of the family will do the pooja. And the pooja starts with Aarthi, Songs and ends with yummy snacks.

 

Sri Krishna Jeyanthi - Offerings To Lord Sri Krishna - Raising World Children
Offerings To Lord Sri Krishna

Children will be dressed as Krishna and Radha. The elders will tell the stories of Sri Krishna. They enjoy by singing songs, playing instruments, dancing, reciting mantras, drawing, coloring and playing dramas. We, ladies, myself, my amma and my mother in law will recite Krishna Astakam and sing Sri Krishna Songs.

Also we visit to nearby Krishna Temples. Anna Thanam or Donation of Food will be offered at most of the temples on this auspicious day. We would usually donate some money and rice for this ceremony. Thus festivals will bring us closer, kinder and happier by all means. Also festivals are an easy way to teach spirituality to our kids.

What Mantra To be Chanted On Sri Krishna Jeyanthi?

 

We will chant Krishna Maha Mantra. This mantra can be chanted by anyone irrespective of religion, faith, gender and nation.

Krishna Maha Mantra
Image Credit: Pinterest

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna
Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama
Rama Rama Hare Hare

Krishna means “the all-attractive one,” and Rama means “the reservoir of pleasure.” Hare invokes His presence in our lives. This Maha (great) Mantra – chanting of His holy names brings innate satisfaction and the highest pleasure to all of us.

Info Source: ISKON, Delhi.

What Is The Significance Of Krishna Maha Mantra?

The sound and vibrations of this maha mantra will bring peace, happiness, cleanse the mind and soul, suppress our sorrows and anxieties.

Do you celebrate any festivals? What are the fun and joy about your festivals? How do you involve your kids on the celebrations? Please share with us …… And stay tuned for our Vinayagar Chaturthi celebrations .

How To celebrate Krishna Jayanti - Raising World children | Krishna Jayanthi | Celebration | Indian Festivals

 

 Vasantha Vivek Raising World ChildrenVasantha Vivek loves to call herself as a happy woman, daughter, sister, wife, mother, teacher, friend, mentor, seeker, lover. She’s from Kovilpatti, a small town of Southern Tamilnadu of India. She was a teacher by profession. She worked as a professor at an Engineering College for nearly 15 years. She has learned a lot as a teacher. She hopes that she had inspired some hearts during that period. Teaching is her passion Reading is her love. Cooking is her heart. She enjoys reading and writing very much. You can find her @mysweetnothings on Facebook and Twitter.
5 Meaningful Hindi Movies to Watch This Summer

5 Meaningful Hindi Movies to Watch This Summer

How do you entertain yourself? Do you read books? You might be a lover of music or a photographer. There are scores of things that people indulge in to unwind , but one form of entertainment that majority of the world would agree on, The Movies.

Cinema revolutionised the way we entertain ourselves, being available in most of the known languages on this planet.

I’m a huge fan of English language films, to the extent where i can watch some of the movies on a loop. All the same we Indians love our cinema to the point of quitting all reason and immersing ourselves in the insanely colorful world of Hindi cinema.

The Indian film industry boasts of cinema in many regional languages. Hindi film industry, popularly known as bollywood, is on of the largest centres of film production in the world.

You can imagine the number of movies it churns out annually.

These are statistics, but anyone who is even slightly familiar with Indian films will agree how we have a flair for the dramatic.

We have a song for even the unlikeliest of situations and it doesn’t take much for us to dance.

We clap on all the adrenaline highs, go overboard, root for our actors even in the most illogical scenarios. Most of the time we like to keep things simple but a little complication is what keeps things spiced up.

Despite all the drama our films also have the knack to acknowledge the truth, say it unencumbered, however unpleasant it might be. We have taken on social stigmas and ventured into the uncomfortable to confront our own social thread.

Many say cinema is a reflection of it’s times and the society. Over the years our movies have changed, some have become those instruments of change in the mindset of people.

There is a treasure trove from the world of old hindi cinema, but it might take an in-depth understanding of the Indian culture, without which most of the meaning and essence will be lost.

Though Indian cinema has many note worthy movies in regional languages, but me being a hindi speaker cannot do justice to films from all languages.

So to share with you all the joy of Hindi films on this multicultural platform, I have compiled a short list of 5 Hindi films, from the recent times.

Some of these are underrated, some very popular, but all of these 5 films speak of some thing meaningful albeit in a slight dramatic way.

NIL BATTEY SANTA

Dated: 2016
The name of the movie means “Zero divided by zero”. Despite the odd name this films talks about a very important topic- Education.

Set in the capital city, it tells you the story of a single parent ,Chanda, who struggles to give her teenage daughter, Apu, a better life. Coming from a lower middle class background she understands that the key to a better life for her daughter is through education.

Working at four menial jobs, including that of a domestic help to a lady doctor, she only dreams for her daughter. Struggling with Apu’s indifferent attitude for studies, she tries to find her some help.

Things take a dramatic turn when the daughter declares, she hopes to be nothing more than a household help.
Herself being a high school dropout, she takes the extreme step of enrolling in Apu’s class. Making an effort to finish her own studies and to impress on her the significance of education.

Despite it all being an uphill task, she overcomes her predicament and teaches her daughter the value of dreams.
A heart warming drama that speaks volumes in a subtle manner.
This movie tells you about ever persons right to dream and change their lives.

MARY KOM

Dated:2014

This film is a biographical sports film about the Indian female boxer, Mary Kom. The movie introduces you to a simple girl from the north-eastern state of Manipur. A girl who chances upon a pair of boxing gloves and dreams of becoming a boxer.

The narration takes us through the struggles of an aspiring female athlete in a male dominated sport. The world knows Mary Kom as the bronze medal winner at the 2012 Olympics, the trials and turbulences that she had to overcome are brought forth in the movie.

Finding love, success and achieving her dreams, her life comes a full circle after she gives birth to her twin sons and again sets to make a comeback.

The movie portrays her grit as an athlete and strength as a mother beautifully, when she competed in the AIBA Women’s world boxing championship in 2008,with one of her twins in surgery and coming out a winner.

For anyone who doubts a women’s strength, Mary Kom will say it all.

THE BLUE UMBRELLA

Dated:2005

An adaptation from the Ruskin Bond book , of the same name, I have included this one for it’s simplistic beautiful story.

This story is for the kids and adults alike.

Set in a small village in the hills of northern India, it is the tale of a little girl named Biniya. The girl happens to come about a Japanese umbrella and the plot unfolds from there.

It is a simple narration that tells you about greed, simplicity, forgiveness and acceptance. Even when the simplest of people can resort to immoral acts, a little girl teaches us that love and forgivness is what makes the world go round.

POSTER BOYS

Dated:2017

Before all you hindi speaking people question this choice hear me out.

Though it is one typical overboard, overdramatic hindi film but with very relevant and important social messages. This movie manages to raise a few topics that we as a nation need to deal with, like now.

Based on a real life incident where three men find their pictures, printed without consent, on a poster for a vasectomy campaign. Hence ensues a cycle of humiliation and denial of justice for these three men.

While the story talks about corruption at the heart of the system, it also deals with the significant issue of the girl child in India. The movie tackles the stigma attached to vasectomy for men, when population control is one the most pressing global issues.

RANG DE BASANTI

Dated:2006

The name means, Colour it Saffron or can be literally translated to “Paint the colours of spring”.

I saved this as the last on the list because there is so much i can say about this one. It is my personal view, this movie changed our perception of hindi cinema.

It brought about a revolution in the mindset of the youth.

The story revolves around a young British journalist who wants to make a documentary about Indian freedom fighters, based on handwritten accounts of her grandfather’s diary, who was a jailer in colonial India.

On travelling to India she comes across the “New India”. A generation diconnected with it’s past and unconcerned about the future. It takes a close hand to hand with corruption and a British journalist for these youngsters to realise they are equally responsible for their nation’s future.

This movie beautifully binds the past and present all the while questioning our choices for the future. After a long time we as a country re-learned to demand justice,stand up for it and take action.We acknowledged there is corruption rampant but now the onus lies with us to rectify the situation.

Cinema is an escape into the virtual, but what is being said through this medium reaches millions. People sit up and take notice, all the while getting entertained.

So, folks theses are a few Hindi movies to start with .Do let me know what you think of these.

5 Meaningful Hindi Movies to Watch This Summer

  Shalini is an Indian,currently living in Dubai. She is mother of two school going children and is a stay at home mom. She is an avid reader and has recently forayed into the world of writing. Apart from being a contributing writer to the book “ When you’re done expecting”, she hosts her own website tyagishalinid.com.

Cultural Storytelling - Its Importance and Impact On Our Kids

Cultural Storytelling – Its Importance and Impact On Our Kids

As we discussed in our previous article 7 Storytelling Hacks – Introducing Kids To Cultural Stories, Indian culture is rich with stories sharing life lessons, morals, traditions and values. Story telling is really an art and a story teller is an artist.

When I was teaching as a professor, I would introduce a new book to my students during my lecture. This will make them curious in reading the book. I would list the name of the book, author, publisher and cost of the book. Mostly I would list only those books I have read. Most of my students really appreciated this.

Still my students thank me for teaching them the toughest subjects like Data Structures, Programming and Operating System in an easier way. This was made possible only by experimenting various pedagogic tools. Among all,  story telling, puzzles, and role play are my favorites.

[bctt tweet=”Story telling is really an art and a story teller is an artist” username=”contactrwc”]

We are dedicate an hour in a week as Reading Hour in our family during Sundays. We three will engage ourselves in reading for that one hour. It’s a family bonding hour and relaxation hour too. And we have a policy of gifting friends and kids with interesting books only.

We are die hard fans of books and stationary items. And we are collecting books for setting up own library in our house. We are proud to share that we have collected nearly 300 books so far. My son is having his own collection of nearly 150 books.

Though Indian culture is rich with stories, story telling is found to be lacking in this modern era. The reasons for this are wide spread. With my personal experience as a mother and as a professor in an engineering college, here i have listed some important reasons for the lack of story telling.

Reasons for Lack of Story Telling

Raising World Children Cultural Stories

Teachers and parents are not able to tell stories in this modern world due to some difficulties as:

  • Limited time to complete the syllabus: In schools and colleges, they have only limited time to complete the prescribed portions. Hence they could not experiment with many pedagogic tools like story telling, role play and all.
  • High stress in working environment: Parents are facing work pressure and high stress beyond their limits. They are being driven by annual targets, performance hikes, societal pressure, and work challenges. So they love to relax in front of TV when they are back home.
  • Lack of time: Moreover, parents also not finding time to read stories and other topics. They have to manage the physical, financial, emotional and critical needs of their family. All these demands time for its execution.
  • Less priority: Parents are not aware of  the benefits of story telling and spending quality time with their kids. They are happily satisfied  by providing them with expensive gifts and hi tech life. They have hope on quantities than the quality. Work is their higher priority.
  • Lack of interest: Social media and digital gadgets are becoming the most important in our life. They are slowly making us to be lazy.  Both parents and kids are not interested in traditional stories, games and discussions.
  • High homework stress to kids: Kids are being forced only to get academic excellence rather than getting real world knowledge. The performance of a kid is measured only by exam marks and not by his interests and talents.
  • Effect of Micro Families: In earlier days, my father and grandfather and all lived in the same house as joint family. And today micro / nuclear family is the trend. The parents are running for their life and the kids are dumped with the maids, or gadgets or  play schools. So nobody is there to tell them the fascinating stories.

Advantages to Cultural Storytelling 

While it is totally understandable that life gets in the way of creating a magical land fueld by imagination, the impact is tremendous. Science says that story telling has numerous benefits.

Moral values Get Rooted Deeply

Through stories and plays, it’s very easy to inculcate the moral values and positive things in the minds of kids. They get those values deep rooted in their hearts and will learn life lessons too.

Makes Younger Minds Malleable

 Younger minds can grasp easily and can learn the morals and values from the stories. It’s easier to built a positive attitude in the minds of younger kids than the grown up adults.

Encourages Kids To Be Curious

 Kids may be introduced with adventures, science fiction, riddles, and traditions through stories. They also develop their knowledge by exploring their culture, tradition and inventing new things.

Vocabulary Is Improved

By reading and listening, kids can improve their word power. They build their confidence in communicating their heart. They will be introduced with new words and thus their vocabulary gets improved.

Screen Gets Reduced

Story telling aids in lesser screen time. It keeps the kids creative and active. Their self confidence and the art of communication gets improved. This will lead to happier and stress free life.

Kid’s Memory and Focus  Enhances

By repeating and replaying the stories, kid’s memory and concentration power gets enhanced. It really helps in decision making and boosting their potential to face the life with much confidence.

Kids Develop Empathy

They develop a deeper understanding of the world around them, in terms of people, history and subtext. It is important to explore different varieties of stories like the ones we have in our cultural section.

Do you tell stories to your kids? What are your favorite stories? What is your favorite time in a day? List your suggestions for spending quality time with your kids. Looking forward to read your stories.

Cultural Storytelling - It's importance and impact on our kids. www.raisingworldchildren.com #cultures #storytelling #stories #kids #kidslearnfromstories #countries

Vasantha Vivek loves to call herself as a happy woman, daughter, sister, wife, mother, teacher, friend, mentor, seeker, lover. She’s from Kovilpatti, a small town of Southern Tamilnadu of India. She was a teacher by profession. She worked as a professor at an Engineering College for nearly 15 years. She has learned a lot as a teacher. She hopes that she had inspired some hearts during that period. Teaching is her passion Reading is her love. Cooking is her heart. She enjoys reading and writing very much. You can find her @mysweetnothings on Facebook and Twitter.