Once upon a time
The Hindu : In the not so distant past, the sight of grandparents, especially grandmothers regaling the tiny tots with stories from all over was a common sight in most households. Given the sway that this oral medium of information dissemination had on children, it was not surprising to see the eagerness with which they waited for their vacations to commence so that they could head to their grandparents house and listen to thestories over and over again.Cut this scene to Generation Next and one finds that they are more or less likely to head to their nearest music store to pick up the latest digital video or video compact discs featuring exploits of their favourite mythological or novel characters. With most having a basic home theatre system, the choice for students to learn their mythological stories has just gone from oral to visual.More moviesLending credence to this trend is the increasing sale of DVDs of leading children’s film titles such as Krishna, My Friend Ganesha, Bal Ganesh, Noddy, Barbie across music stores in the city. The store in-charge of a leading music store at Bejai says, “We have sold nearly 70 pieces of children’s favourite movie My Friend Ganesha and have ordered for more copies. The enquiries for children’s home videos are on the rise,” he adds. Sakshi, and Mithali, just can not do without their daily dose of favourite cartoons films. “They have graduated from Tom and Jerry to watching Asterix and Tintin.While Sakshi goes about her film watching quietly, Mithali is more animated and loves imitating the mannerisms of her favourite characters such as Mr. Bean and the Power Rangers,” notes Stanley Pinto, their father. “They know each scene in the films by-heart,” he adds.Same is the case with Mithun Shenoy, a cartoon buff. When he is not busy zapping the television remote to tune into his favourite cartoon show, he is invariably on to…More
