In a country where libraries are neither common nor valued, Santhosh Kumar Subramanian and Parul Sarin, imaginative entrepreneurs based in Chennai and Mumbai respectively, have promoted a library with a difference — the online children’s Bambaram MI Toy Library (a venture of Rultosh Edufun Pvt. Ltd) — to make learning enjoyable for children in the 0-9 age group. Named after a spinning top (bambaram in Tamil) which uses complex principles of physics and design while spinning, Bambaram MI Toy Library (BMTL) offers a unique product mix of toys designed on the theory of multiple intelligences (devel-oped in 1983 by Dr. Howard Gardner of the Harvard School of Education). Promoted with a capital investment of Rs.800,000, Bambaram presents five different membership plans to registered customers. Toys are delivered at customers’ doorstep every week and collected for a nominal monthly fee and refundable deposit.
Newspeg. In the one year since it commenced operations, BMTL has accumulated an inventory of over 1,000 toys, Do-It-Yourself science kits, books, and CDs/DVDs. The toy rental services were initially in partnership with several Chennai-based companies including CavinKare, Mphasis, Polaris and Cogni-zant which in turn provided this service to children of employees in pursuance of these companies’ employee welfare programmes. Subsequently, BMTL has expanded its services to people across the city and currently boasts over 170 registered members. Moreover, some city schools have expres-sed interest in using Bambaram’s games and science kits to enliven their curriculum and make it more interactive.
Direct talk. “Our USP is scientific classification of toys based on the MI theory and advice to customers to select toys, games or books based on their children’s interests and IQ levels. We allow parents to sample our products before they buy/rent, and our wide range is easily accessible through our online store (www.bambaram.in). Our service enables parents to save time and money on buying toys and avoid clutter in their homes. Most important, our games-based approach to learning helps parents understand their children better and teach them effectively at home,” says Santhosh.
Genesis. Santhosh is a mechanical engineer from Bharathidasan University and business management alumnus of IIT-Kharagpur while co-promoter Parul is a graduate of the Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar (XIMB) with multiple intelligences certification from the MI Institute, Singapore. After working in reputed companies for over six years, the duo were inspired by a Chennai-based NGO Vidyarambham (which runs schools and a mobile free-of-charge toys library in rural Tamil Nadu) to start Bambaram for young urban parents willing to pay for value-added services in the education sector.
Future plans. Having established BMTL in Chennai, plans are on the anvil to widen the business and create new, ingenious education products for children. “We are already working towards our goal of associating with schools countrywide. It’s encouraging that special children are also showing interest in the toys library concept. Given the increasing attention modern parents are paying to children’s early education, there is ample scope for rolling out the BMTL concept countrywide. In particular, it offers a great opportunity for creating products for bottom-of-the-pyramid children, enabling them to learn joyfully,” says Santhosh.
Wind in your sails!
Hemalatha Raghupathi (Chennai)