Learning through stories

Indian Mythological Tales and Bedtime Stories

Guilty as charged, like most parents, I too have exposed my children to bright, playful animated videos with foot-tapping tunes. Vivid and catchy, they invariably added to their screen time. And we all know that is not a good thing. Enter children's podcasts - a blessing in disguise and a fun way to listen to stories, because, well, all of us can't be great storytellers.

A recent report from PricewaterhouseCoopers pegs India as the third-largest podcast listening market in the world (after China and the US) with 57.6 million monthly listeners. This user base is likely to grow exponentially at 30 per cent CAGR for the next five years. While podcasts may be a new format for India, the concept of storytelling isn't really a novel one. Almost all of us have grown up listening to stories by our parents or grandparents.

We tried the app HeyCloudy. Besides the large number of stories on it in English as well as Indian languages, we were impressed by the massive educational content on it too. Think subject-based quizzes, nursery rhymes, guess the sound games, phonic stories, why-why stories, brain teasers, and info on famous personalities. There's also morning music, lullabies, meditation, nature sounds, beach music, and Indian classical instrument music too. Story-wise too, the content is massive. From folklore from India and around the world to Aesop's Fables, mythological stories, adventure tales and bedtime stories, there is something for every listener. While the app itself is ad-free, the only downside is the constant self-promotion of the app on every small, minute-long quiz and guess game clips. We think that adding stories from the Guru Granth Sahib, the Quran and Buddhist teachings among others would make the app more inclusive and inculcate a sense of tolerance.

This immersive and learning-based story listening app was conceptualised, designed, and developed in India last year, and caters to kids aged two to eight years. Created by Chitman Kaur, a mother and entrepreneur, it hopes to bring joy to growing up with listening to stories, not watching them. That's why the screen-free digital listening app allows kids to immerse in child-safe content created in collaboration with early childhood experts.

What: HeyCloudy
Where: Android and iOS
Additional premium content at Rs 129/month