CHENNAI: What would have happened if the coronavirus spread during Treta yuga? Would Ram, Sita and Lakshman have gone to the forest? What if there was a COVID-19-induced lockdown in the Dwapara yuga? How would the Kauravas maintain social distancing? This is the basic premise for entrepreneur Santhosh Subramanian’s online quiz through his creative agency, The BS Labz, which is keeping kids busy during the lockdown. Story-telling sessions, interactive workshops, online tutorials, animated movie-screening, and live sports classes. Kids have been busier than ever, glued to the screens in the comfort of their homes. Santhosh is just adding to the plethora of already available options.
“These are not your regular academic-oriented topics. We wanted to create awareness about COVID-19 as well as pique the interest of every child. We got the idea for our quiz from Ramayana and Mahabharata that was being retelecast and gaining popularity among patrons. Thus we weaved in the mythological characters from the epics and created a set of questions,” shares Santhosh, who posts one question a day on The BS Labz’s Facebook and Instagram page @thebslabz.
He also shares it on his personal account for a larger reach. The quiz series was launched a week ago. Eight questions have been released so far. Sample this. ‘After a tiring grocery shopping, Bheema is planning to have his yummy 12-course lunch which includes jalebis, laddus and payasam. What should he start with?’ The options are the above-mentioned sweets along with the ‘wash hands with sanitiser or soap’. The questions are framed in a way that they’re informative and engage all age groups. Every day, Santhosh receives enthusiastic responses from his young audience.
“I never expected the kids to spend time finding out the answer. The quiz might look fun on the outside but even those whom we assume to knowing the basic information don’t. There are PDFs and documents by the World Health Organization floating about WhatsApp on the dos and don’ts during the crisis. We include some ideas from there too,” he explains.
The BS Labz is working on a digital game as part of their next project. “This too will be corona-related. It will involve the protagonist navigate through obstacles to get the grocery and reach home safe without getting infected. We’re still working on the concept and it will be released on our page soon,” he says. For details, visit Instagram page: @thebslabz