Something for the kids this Holi!

A little post about  a fab app developed by a dear friend. 
Hong Kong based Shameeli Sinha in conjunction with  her partner Aarti Khanna have unveiled fabulous apps targeting kids aged 2-10 years compatible with, the iphone, ipad and android devices . The idea is to provide them with fun and engaging ways to learn about Indian culture and languages.

``As children become increasingly technology savvy, we feel the best way to do this is through engaging applications and games, accessible on the web, or on mobile devices, such as smart-phones and tablet PCs'', they say.

The duo launched their first app called  Diwali with Tamarind Tots - related to Diwali late last year.
In time for Holi this year, they offer a burst of  colours with  their new app, Holi with Tamarind Tots. Available in its Lite version for iphone ( sample it here ) The app offers a flavor of the festival of colours allowing kids to celebrate this fun festival on a mobile device. 
Kids get to choose their avatar, celebrate Holika dahan with their friends and engage in a colourful frolic with pichkaaris, gubbare and gulal finally finishing off with yummy Indian food too!
The full app for the iphone is available here, and  for the ipad here .

Do check out their website here, and their facebook page here.


All the best Shameeli and Aarti!!

The Colour post...

India assaults the senses with colour texture, noise and smells. The surfeit of colour and brash celebration of kitsch is a revelation to those exposed to the country for the first time. I can sense that awe in the reaction of my kids to their new home. They are overwhelmed on a daily basis by the sights and sounds .. My little girls cannot get over their bangles, and shimmering kurtas, overdose of colour in the local markets, the splendorous sarees and clothing, loud colours of festivals -Holi, Diwali, Ganesha- brashly painted faces of the behrupias sometimes seen roaming streets....

For me, moving back to India was rediscovering the familiar. For the kids on the other hand, it has been about the creation of a brand new memory bank.. I see them fill it up with colour and language and experience each day. It is hard not to be taken by their wide eyed innocent excitement for the mundane.

Naturally, the house needed to have more colours as a reflection of the excitement..! Albeit still with a little restraint, for all the red and green and blue we have up on the walls, there is black, beige, taupe and plenty of white neutral space too.. all that marries our existing, Chinese, oriental and contemporary possessions into an Indian space.

Here's is a general colour palette used around the house..

Next up pictures of the finished product by colour... do come back !