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Tag: Galli Galli Sim Sim

  • DD to dub Galli Galli Sim Sim in more Indian languages: Sahu

    NEW DELHI: The popular children’s programme Galli Galli Sim Sim, the Indian adaptation of the internationally acclaimed TV seriesSesame Street, will be dubbed in different Indian languages so that children all over the country can see the series.

    With a reach of 14 million viewers, Galli Galli Sim Sim is watched on Doordarshan’s network of channels: DD National, DD Rajasthan, DD Uttar Pradesh, DD Bihar, DD Madhya Pradesh, DD Sahyadri and DD Girnar.

    Speaking at the launch of the ninth edition of the series, Doordarshan Director-General Supriya Sahu said Galli Galli Sim Sim “teaches children important life lessons like executive functioning skills, health and hygiene, prosocial behaviours and much more. We are glad to take forward our partnership of past years with Galli Galli Sim Sim and create an impact through quality, age-appropriate content for children.”

    The series will be telecast on DD National every Saturday morning at 10.30 am. This season, the Galli friends bring important life messages to the young audience with an aim to help them understand and practice kindness.

    The launch had a unique touch, with the Gallizens being the anchors and inviting various speakers on the dais.

    The programme will show the Gallizens dance to foot tapping songs, make new friends, add new words to their vocabulary and learn to be kind.

    Compassion and kindness are important values that children in India need today to accept and appreciate differences and become more sensitive to the pain and suffering of others. Multiple studies have shown that prosocial behaviours like kindness are linked to academic success in children as they enhance children’s self-regulation skills such as emotional control and capacity to pay attention, which in turn affects learning, attention and memory.

    When children learn to regulate their emotions and develop self-control, they are more likely to become aware of themselves and others, understand each other’s perspective and respond appropriately. That is why this season, the world famous Cookie Monster, the furry frenzied muppet, makes his debut on the Galli to show the young viewers how one can be kind to self and others through self-regulation.

    In order to imbibe kindness skills into their lifestyle, children need to see adults as role models practice these behaviours for them to know what it means to be kind and respectful towards others. This is where Galli Galli Sim Sim and its cast of diverse muppets play a critical role. The overlaying thread of kindness runs across the Galli, in every possible way, and in all the fun that the characters have, be it echoing kind words like ‘Thank you’, ‘Sorry’, ‘Please’ or educating the viewers about imbibing values of inclusion, respect, empathy, and being generous.

    The season also introduces a new segment where Bert and Ernie take the viewers to the fairy tales land where they are seen enacting characters from the classic fairy tales like Sleeping Beauty, Little Red Riding Hood, Snow White, Beauty and the Beast and many more. As kids visit the fantasy world, they imbibe skills of helpfulness and problem-solving. There is a fresh segment centred on friendship which reflects colours of camaraderie shared by the characters, with an objective to build the seeds of kindness in children. All these segments of the show reinforce the values of kindness, caring, sharing and cooperation to the young viewers.

    Sesame Workshop India MD Sashwati Banerjee said, “Multiple studies done across the globe confirm that what kids are exposed to in the early years has a long term impact in building lifelong habits. Unfortunately, today’s kids are growing up watching age-inappropriate content on television that may be violent, male-skewed and stereotypical, and this is impacting their thought processes. It is critical to expose them to content that helps them understand and respect differences, challenge stereotypes, cultivate empathy and helps them grow smarter, stronger and kinder.”

    She said around 330 million children in India watch TV and around 51 per cent of them are aged two to four years, studies had shown.

    Hisham Mundol, country head for India at the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation wjhich funds Galli Galli Sim Sim said, “Galli Galli Sim Sim is a wonderful show that helps children improve learning and build personalities, all while having huge amounts of fun! It is the perfect companion to every parent and teacher in the country. This season, the show will address a much larger social issue of building kindness and we are proud to partner with Sesame Workshop India in this endeavour, and are grateful to Doordarshan for their support.”

    Alka Malhotra a Communication and Development specialist with UNICEF said group watching of children with adults should be encouraged, while Young Lives India Country Director Renu Singh said this was possible if topical issues were picked which were of relevance to all ages.

  • Turner, Sesame Workshop launch preschool educational series ‘Chamki Ki Duniya’

    Turner, Sesame Workshop launch preschool educational series ‘Chamki Ki Duniya’

    MUMBAI: Turner Broadcasting and Sesame Workshop have joined hands to launch a new preschool educational series called Chamki Ki Duniya, which will be aired on Pogo.

     

    Chamki Ki Duniya, which is the second venture between Turner and Sesame Workshop, will air on weekdays at 8:30 am. Kuala Lumpur based animation studio Inspidea has been commissioned for the animation of the series.

     

    Prior to this, Turner and Sesame Workshop had partnered to create five seasons of Galli Galli Sim Sim, the Indian adaptation of the popular American series, Sesame Street.

     

    Turner International Asia Pacific chief content officer – kids networks Mark Eyers said, “Chamki Ki Duniya is a unique show that not only will be the first completely animated series by Sesame Street, but will also encourage social and emotional development of children in a narrative that is fun and entertaining. Turner has always believed in setting benchmarks for creating innovative and engaging content. With the largest portfolio of local content in the kids’ genre, we strive to create content and characters that resonate with children.”

     

    Chamki Ki Duniya takes young viewers on a journey with five-year-old Chamki, an adventurous and inquisitive schoolgirl, anxious to learn more about the world. A warm, sensitive and friendly girl, Chamki is always surrounded by her group of friends from the galli, who love playing games, making music and solving mysteries around them.

     

    The show addresses topics such as early literacy, creative thinking and reasoning, family and community life, healthy habits, appreciating cultural plurality and many more via compelling and humorous stories, music and art. The series is targeted towards children between two and six years of age.

     

    “It’s wonderful to work with Turner and Inspidea to bring the beloved Chamki Muppet to kids and families in this beautiful new animation. Being smart means knowing so much more than letters and numbers. Chamki Ki Duniya’s curriculum is designed to engage the whole child and seeks to help kids grow smarter, stronger and kinder,” said Sesame Workshop India managing director Sashwati Banerjee.

     

    Inspidea managing director Andrew Ooi added, “We are delighted to have partnered with Turner and Sesame Workshop in producing this path breaking series that aims to subtly and humorously educate children. After detailed research and development with Turner and Sesame Street, we created a visual style for Chamki Ki Duniya, which is charming yet playful that can resonate with Indian audiences and be culturally relevant.”

     

    Chamki Ki Duniya is sponsored by MetLife Foundation as part of its global “Dream, Save, Do: Financial Empowerment for Families” campaign. Part of the content in the series is intended to improve knowledge, language and strategies on financial literacy and increase the dialogue between parents and children to help them make informed choices around spending, saving and sharing to help them realize their financial and non-financial goals.

  • Galli Galli Sim Sim commences seventh season on Doordarshan

    Galli Galli Sim Sim commences seventh season on Doordarshan

    NEW DELHI: Sesame Street’s Galli Galli Sim Sim, the popular preschool programme has commenced its seventh season on Doordarshan. The programme was premiered on 14 February at 10 a.m. with a repeat telecast every Wednesday at 8 30 am.

     

    Produced in association with RedDot Productions, the all-new Season seven of Galli Galli Sim Sim engages children as it educates them on important life skills that enable them to be more school ready. With generous support from the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, each episode of Galli Galli Sim Sim has multiple segments that are thematically linked together to address a whole-child curriculum.

     

    Galli ki Duniya hosts favourite Muppet friends Chamki, Googly, Boombah, Aanchoo, Khadoosa and Hero, and an all new human star cast – Aamir, Pia Aunty, Doctor Didi with engaging stories that teach children about sharing, making friends, healthy habits and task persistence. Grover takes to the streets in search of new word and to the sky in Super Grover 2.0 to teach children concepts around STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths). The Bert and Ernie animation segments teach pre-numeracy and maths concepts. The Elmo and Parents segment models strategies and behaviours to address topics like bullying, self-esteem and confidence, using vocabulary to express oneself, reflecting on the feelings of others and learning strategies for responding to academic or social and emotional challenges.

     

    Season six of Galli Galli Sim Sim, which concluded broadcast in February 2015 was watched extensively with each episode reaching 1, 10,000 children on an average.

     

    Speaking about the new season, Sesame Workshop India MD Sashwati Banerjee  said, “We are preparing children for the 21st century. Along with the necessary literacy and numeracy skills, children need to learn about self-regulation such as focused attention, controlling their emotions and their impulses.  Recent studies have shown that self-regulation and executive functioning skills are critical indicators for school readiness. The process that enables them to learn about  planning, initiate and complete an activity while controlling their temper, maintaining attention and responding to feedback from others need to be taught at a very young age. The new season of GGSS specifically deals with issues that promote self-regulation and provides both the vocabulary and the strategies. We encourage parents to watch it with the children.”

     

    Children’s Investment Fund Foundation executive director Peter Colenso, said “Children’s early experiences have a uniquely powerful influence on the formation of their cognitive capacities, social skills and even later I.Q. We are very excited to support Sesame Workshop in India to develop content that will engage young children in learning experiences and help them develop.”

     

    As always, Galli Galli Sim Sim is filled with hysterical moments for both children and their caregivers and will be broadcast also in Gujarati (DD Girnar) and Marathi (DD Sahayadri) later this year.

  • ‘Galli Galli Sim Sim’ back on Doordarshan

    ‘Galli Galli Sim Sim’ back on Doordarshan

    MUMBAI:  Sesame Workshop in India (SWI) has launched the sixth season of Galli Galli Sim Sim, the popular children’s programme, on Doordarshan with a brand new message, “Hasaye Zabardast, Seekhaye Mast’.

    The show aimed at children aged 0-8 years believes in harnessing the power of television to provide a strong early childhood educational foundation to preschoolers. Season six being aired on Doordarshan, which reaches out to 13 million children, focuses strongly on literacy and numeracy. Aprt from it, it will also focus on other areas of child development such as problem solving, caring and sharing, giving a head start to a significant number of children with little to no access to early childhood education.

    Doordarshan director general Tripurari Sharan said, “As a public service broadcaster, we have to always look out for a holistic programming mix as we have a vast and diverse viewership.  With Galli Galli Sim Sim we are able to reach out to children from all strata of society and we are extremely glad to continue its broadcast on our network.”

    The show was first aired in 2006. “As India’s first educational programme on TV, Galli Galli Sim Sim has played a pioneering role in imparting high quality early childhood learning and providing children with a head start in understanding and communicating in the world around them,” said Sesame Workshop India MD Sashwati Banerjee. “We believe we have a critical role to play in making early childhood education take center stage in India and by being on Doordarshan this takes us closer to our goal.”

    The show started airing from 14 December, 2013 at 9 am and will run every Saturday at the same time, a total of 52 episodes of 22 minutes each.

  • National Award for Miditech co-founder Niret Alva

    National Award for Miditech co-founder Niret Alva

    MUMBAI: Miditech co-founder Niret Alva has been awarded the National Award for his ‘Outstanding Effort in Science and Technology in the Electronic Medium’. President APJ Abdul Kalam hosted a special felicitation ceremony for the winners and was also attended by Minister for Science and Technology Kapil Sibal and R. Chidambaram, Principal Scientific Advisor.

    The National Awards instituted in 1988 by the National Council for Science and Technology Communication, Ministry of Science and Technology encourages and recognizes efforts in the area of science popularization.

    Alva was presented the award for using the electronic medium to powerfully convey the traditional science and current developments in the country.

    Accepting the award Alva said, “I am truly overwhelmed by this moment. I wish to thank the Government of India for giving me this honor and recognition. It will be my endeavor to continue using the electronic medium in a more progressive and powerful manner”.

    He has developed and built major brands like Indian Idol, Galli Galli Sim Sim (Sesame Street), Wheels, and Living on the Edge. Alva has also anchored travel shows (Great Escape), automobile (Wheels) and environment (Living on the Edge and Earth Report).

    Niret Alva will also be representing India at the Asia 21 Young Leaders Forum in Kochi from 3 to 5 March. Alva had earlier chaired the first session of the Asia 21 Young Leaders Summit in Seoul last year where the focus was on value-based leadership.

    The Asia 21 initiative unites professionals from across the Asia-Pacific region representing varied spheres, ranging from business and politics to media, arts and culture. The meet in Kochi is designed to share and discuss best practices in leadership and problem solving.

    Excited at representing India at the Asia 21, Niret Alva said “I am honored to be a part of this forum. This is a great opportunity for me to interact and collaborate with dynamic people from various regions and understand the challenges faced by our society. I hope to contribute to this forum to the best of my experience and knowledge. “

    The first meeting of this year’s class of fellows will address topics related to protecting cultural heritage, human security, environmental protection, economic development, corporate social responsibility, public health issues.

    Shaffi Mather, Malini Mether and Logsang Sangay are other delegates chosen to represent India at the forum.

  • Galli Galli goes to the ‘gallies’

    Galli Galli goes to the ‘gallies’

    NEW DELHI: From the highest level of technology, the TV, to the oldest poor-man’s ‘movie’ entertainment, the bioscope: that’s what mass education programme Galli Galli Sim Sim, will give to the slum children in its mass education programme.

    At the moment, the programme will be shown to children through TV sets carried on designed pushcarts, but the prototype for the bioscope is being readied as well.

    “We have modernised the bioscope and we shall deploy these vends when these are ready to slums as part of our programme for mass education for those millions of children who cannot access TV,” Shaswati Banerjee, executive director Sesame Workshop India (SWI), which runs the programme, tells indiantelevision.com.

    The programme, Galli Galli Sim Sim, is a hit on Doordarshan and Pogo channels, with the TG of two to six-year-olds, and the funding for the initial educational outreach was provided by a corporate social responsibility grant from Turner Entertainment Networks Asia. In an effort to reach these millions, SWI, a subsidiary of Sesame Workshop, the non-profit educational organization behind Galli Galli Sim Sim and other educational media for children, has kicked off a mobile viewings programme, in which during the first phase, starting 15 February, one branded pushcart with a TV set and a DVD player will reach the poorest of slums and show the programme.

    Banerjee explained that the trial phase, in which a Maruti van was used to take the programme to the slums, proved too costly and could not give the intended impact. Hence, they designed a pushcart that can be taken to any corner of a slum.

    “Initially, we reached 22,000 children over the 25-day period of the pilot project. Using the cart, we shall be able to show the programmes to much larger numbers and run the programme during the whole day,” Banerjee said.

    She added that the cart is fitted with cells that would do away with the necessity of power connection, which means it would be able to look at localities where there is no regular power supply. Over all, this changed mode of delivery will increase the number of screenings from just three a day to between eight and 10. The trial with five pushcarts will start in Sanjay Colony, Bawana and Madanpur Khadar slums of Delhi, and in five locations in Mumbai, including Dharavi, Gavandi, Borivili and two other places yet to be finalised, she added.

    January to March will be the testing period, and from April the full programme will be launched. Sometime about then, the bioscope boxes, once extremely popular as entertainment source in villages and small towns, will be introduced as well.

    Testing of the prototype replacing the TV set with the bioscope will start too.

    The baseline survey will be conducted and impact measured during the pilot project. And finally the impact-based model for delivery will be worked out, Banerjee said.

    The cost per child, the ratio that funding agencies use to measure, varies according to the models, of which there are two, she added.

    In the outreach-based model, which is the pushcart with TV set model, in which the programmes are screened and also educational material left with the NGOs handling the Balwadis, costs Rs 25 per child.

    The cost for the impact-based model, in which only educational materials are given, costs Rs 15 per child. These are the ones being tested before being scaled up and become replicable across the country.

    Galli Galli Sim Sim is the Indian version of the world-renowned children’s television series Sesame Street, and airs on Cartoon Network, Pogo and Doordarshan.

    Commenting on the successful completion of the first phase of Galli Galli Sim Sim’s outreach initiatives, Soumitra Saha vice president, regional entertainment advertising sales for Turner Entertainment Networks Asia, said: “Turner’s partnership with Sesame Workshop goes beyond television.

    “Given how many young children in India don’t have access to basic educational and developmental needs, it is highly rewarding for Turner to partner with Sesame Workshop in their carefully created and well coordinated educational outreach programme to help fill this gap.”

    Based on the work in the pilot phase, the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation has awarded Sesame Workshop a grant, which the organisation will use to support Sesame Workshop India to research, develop, and implement similar educational interventions in slum areas in India’s six largest cities such that there are measurable improvements in children’s learning outcomes.

    “Sesame Workshop India’s unique outreach programme reaches large numbers of children and instills them with the power of learning at a very early age, which is extremely important in a country like India where several million children drop out of school before they reach the fifth grade,” said Barun Mohanty, Director of the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation in India.

    “Equally impressive is Sesame Workshop India’s commitment to measuring its impact on learning levels to ensure sustainable, positive changes in early childhood education, Mohanti added.

    “We are excited to help bring this program to India’s urban slums, as Sesame Workshop India draws upon its global expertise and lessons learned from similar communities in Egypt, South Africa and elsewhere,” Mohanti emphasised.

    The initiative is estimated to reach over 1.5 million children and caregivers over the next five years.

  • Cartoon Network’s ‘Galli Galli Sim Sim’ second season to be repackaged

    Cartoon Network’s ‘Galli Galli Sim Sim’ second season to be repackaged

     MUMBAI: In its second leg on Cartoon Network, the Indian adaptation of Sesame Workshop which is co-produced by Miditech, Galli Galli Sim Sim is set to be repackaged with new muppet characters in the show.

    The second season is scheduled to roll-out in February following an advanced workshop on muppeteering conducted by Marty Robinson, and a writers workshop conducted by Annie Evan of Sesame Workshop, New York, with Miditech’s production team.

    Galli Galli Sim Sim is India’s first international magazine format muppet show for pre-schoolers, that will now see new set of muppet characters introduced in the forthcoming series. The existing characters Boombah, Chamki, Googly and Aanchoo will have new friends joining-in to entertain children under the age of six.

    Muppeteering is a scientific creation of characters, but more importantly a difficult art to perform as it must match the role of its scripted characters in the show. Robinson said, “Through their experience the muppeteers have mastered their individual physical technique and performance. In the workshop, we have further developed the relationships between the characters to help work as one team.”

    “They are strong characters with great comic potential, and exciting additions to the Galli.”

    Annie Evans has been working with the scriptwriters’ team to create new storylines, to introduce muppet characters. She says, “The new members of the Sim Sim family will add colour and energy to the Galli. These muppets have great potential for physical comedy, which is a great way for children to watch and learn.”

    With a key challenge in creating television content for children that is entertaining and educative, Miditech has closely worked with Sesame Workshop, New York and Turner Broadcasting, in making multiplicity the mantra, using universal elements from different regions that would provide identity to children in any part of India. The programme features cross-genre content infused with basic childhood matters and is seen from children’s point of view, states an official release.

    In addition to teaching basic cognitive skills, such as literacy, Galli Galli Sim Sim promises to represent the vibrancy of India’s multiculturalism. The series will celebrate the similarities and differences that are part of children’s every day lives built around cognition, emotion, physical well being, social relations and culture.

     

  • Fisher-Price unveils ‘Galli Galli Sim Sim’s’ Elmo singing & dancing to the ‘Hokey Pokey’

    Fisher-Price unveils ‘Galli Galli Sim Sim’s’ Elmo singing & dancing to the ‘Hokey Pokey’

    MUMBAI: Fisher-Price, the infant and pre-school brand from Mattel Toys has introduced Galli Galli Sim Sim’s main character Elmo to the Indian market, as a soft toy that can dance, sing and speak. What’s more, it speaks the local language, Hindi. Apart from Elmo, the range also includes other characters like Bharat, Ernie and Biscuit Badshah from the show.

    The surprise element of the range is that the first-ever Hindi speaking Elmo sings and dances to the tune of “Hokey Pokey” while grooving to the beats and doing all the steps, including turning around in a full circle and shaking all about.

    The assortment from Fisher-Price includes soft toys including Bharat, Ernie, Biscuit Badshah and Elmo in 9 and 18 inch sizes, priced at Rs. 299 and Rs. 799 respectively. While a jumbo size of 24 inches is priced at Rs. 1099. The customised ‘Hokey Pokey Elmo’ is 11 inches tall, and is available for Rs. 1399. The complete range will be available at all leading departmental and toy stores, informs an official release.

    Sesame Street’s Indian adaptation Galli Galli Sim Sim aims to empower young children by making learning fun. International versions of Sesame Street are given their own muppets to reflect local issues. In India, they have characters like Googly, Chamki, Aanchoo and Boombah, who have been specially created with Indian characteristics and elements.

    Developed with the help of Indian educational experts, the show exposes children to reading and counting and claims to help children to cope with their emotions, develop healthy habits, value diversity, take pride in their culture and treat others with respect.

     

  • Cartoon Network Enterprises unveils ‘Galli Galli Sim Sim’ merchandise

    Cartoon Network Enterprises unveils ‘Galli Galli Sim Sim’ merchandise

    MUMBAI: Cartoon Network Enterprises (CNE), the global licensing and merchandising division of the Network has announced the launch of consumer products featuring the Galli Galli Sim Sim characters including Elmo, Biscuit Badshah, Bharat, Ernie across four categories. In their efforts to extend the magic of the series, Turner International wants to give children a chance to touch, feel and own the characters outside of their TV sets.

    The first phase of the Galli Galli Sim Sim merchandising programme will commence with the launch of an entire range of apparel, publishing, plush and home furnishing for which CNE has partnered with Liliput, Euro Kids, Scholastic, Mattel and Portico.

    Cartoon Network Enterprises – India and South Asia director Jiggy George said, “The objective of Cartoon Network Enterprises is to mirror the success of the channel off-air. The fabulous response received for the revolutionary pre-school series Galli Galli Sim Sim along with the instant popularity being enjoyed by the show’s Muppets are reasons enough for us to offer kids’ merchandise centered around these new stars of kids’ programming.”

    “We are bullish about the Indian market and endeavour to consistently expand our products portfolio by constantly adding newer characters, brands, categories and retail partners.”

    Targeted at 2 – 8 years old, the Galli Galli Sim Sim range of apparel merchandise will be manufactured and distributed by Lilliput and will be available in 60 Liliput stores across India and multi-brand outlets.

    Euro Kids will offer eight storybooks across 25 cities while Scholastic will offer six titles across the Book Club catalogue to be sent to 2200 schools across 500 cities as well as various book fairs.

    Mattel will manufacture and distribute non-toxic Classic Sesame plush across multi-brand outlets and toy stores in over 20 cities. The range will introduce a Hindi-speaking plush for the first time in the country.

    Home furnishing merchandise will be manufactured and distributed by Portico and will include bedsheets, pillow covers, duvets and quilts featuring the Galli Galli Sim Sim Indian Muppets.

    Priced between Rs. 70 to Rs. 1399 across categories, the products will be available in multi-brand retail chains such as Lifestyle, Shoppers’ Stop, Pantaloon, Piramyd, Landmark and Hypercity. Galli Galli Sim Sim branded merchandise will be launched across several other categories in 2007.

    With this, Cartoon Network Enterprises continues to strengthen its retail presence with over 700 products currently available in over 13 categories such as apparel, plush, home furnishings, home décor, party products, stationery across 3000 plus counters and 20 cities, including branded in-store Cartoon Network corners in retail chains such as Lifestyle, Piramyd, Pantaloon, Shoppers’ Stop, Liliput, and others.

  • ‘Galli Galli Sim Sim’ comes to DD & Pogo; Literacy Yatra culminates in Mumbai

    ‘Galli Galli Sim Sim’ comes to DD & Pogo; Literacy Yatra culminates in Mumbai

    MUMBAI: On the eve of World Literacy Day Turner’s newest edition Galli Galli Sim Sim is all set to expand its outreach by launching the series on Doordarshan on 9 September during the Cartoon Network Duniya block on Saturdays at 10:30 a.m. The pre-school television series will also air on Pogo at 8 am, with a repeat telecast at 4 pm, Monday to Friday, starting World Literacy Day- 8 September 2006.

    With the aim to make learning fun, Galli Galli Sim Sim promtes the philosophy “Seekhne ka Mastana Andaaz.” In connection with this and prior its launch on DD, the series has paved the way to create a nationwide awareness with the Galli Galli Sim Sim Literacy Yatra that kicked off on 15 August 2006. This initiative was strategically undertaken to spread its viewership before its entry into DD, thus attempting to access the most remote areas of the country.

    Galli Galli Sim Sim Literacy Yatra, is an educational initiative by Turner International India Pvt. Ltd (TIIPL) and Sesame Workshop, which was flagged off from New Delhi and culminated its journey in Mumbai today. Encompassing four states across the country including New Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Maharastra, the Yatra is said to have travelled over 5000 kms attempting to reach out to as many children, empowering them with the educational objectives of the series.

    The Literacy Yatra arrived in Mumbai at the Guru Nanak Higher Secondary School, along with the adorable muppets Chamki and Googly from Galli Galli Sim Sim and actor Rahul Bose was given a cheerful welcome by the kids.

    TIIPL VP advertising and sales networks, India and South Asia Monica Tata said, “The uniqueness of Galli Galli Sim Sim lies in its 360-degree approach of combining the power of television and on-ground initiatives to spread education to children, aged two to eight in India. Galli Galli Sim Sim Literacy Yatra was our first on ground initiative to deliver the unique content of the television series to children who may not have access to television.

    “We are happy to announce that this Literacy Yatra was a success as we received a great response across different sections of society – from children as well as caregivers. We have already reached out to thousands of children through community screenings and with the launch of Galli Galli Sim Sim on Pogo and Doordarshan, we further hope to reach out to more and more children across the country.”

    With DD and Pogo being added to the roster, the show will continue to air on Cartoon Network at 1 pm. In addition, kids will also be able to catch Galli Galli Sim Sim on Saturday evenings in a segment called Sim Sim Shanivar from 4 pm to 6 pm starting 16 September on Pogo.

    Galli Galli Sim Sim set in an “Indian Galli” represents the reality of daily life for the widest possible range of Indian children and families. The series is targeted towards children between the age group of two to eight years, transcends socio-economic barriers and will feature animated segments and live-action films, with music, stories, and art drawn from various elements of Indian culture and regions of the country.

    Primarily to cater to Indian families and kids, the adorable residents, the Indian Muppets – Googly, Chamki, Aanchoo and Boombah, have been specially created with Indian characteristics and elements, along interesting and a well thought out human cast. In the first season, the series comprising 65 episodes of 30 minutes each will be aired in Hindi, with usage of some English words.

    Galli Galli Sim Sim is the Indian adaptation of the popular American series, Sesame Street. The series will help in developing social, emotional and cognitive skills in children, and become the catalyst to encourage children to pursue educational goals. It was born over 37 years ago as a new way to utilize the power of television to not only entertain, but to educate young children as well.

    Today, Sesame Street is the longest street in the world, reaching over 120 countries and serving as the largest informal educator. In India, Galli Galli Sim Sim will address topics such as early literacy, creative thinking and reasoning, family and community life, healthy habits and appreciating cultural plurality.

    Funding for the development phase of Galli Galli Sim Sim was provided through the generous support of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and Turner. Moving forward, the producers of the series will look to combine the strengths and resources of the public and private sectors for local development initiatives.

    Sesame Workshop is a nonprofit, educational organization making a meaningful difference in children’s lives around the world. Founded in 1968, the Workshop changed television forever with the legendary Sesame Street. Today, the Workshop continues to innovate on behalf of children in 120 countries, using its proprietary research methodology to ensure its programs and products are engaging and enriching.

    Sesame Workshop is behind award-winning programs like Dragon Tales and Sagwa, The Chinese Siamese Cat and ground breaking multimedia productions in South Africa, Egypt and Russia. As a nonprofit organisation, Sesame Workshop puts the proceeds it receives from sales of Sesame Street, Dragon Tales and Sagwa products right back into its educational projects for children around the world.