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Cartoon characters are fast replacing the kids’ idea of toys, and the toys too, instead of being soft and silent, are getting more techno-savvy and riotious; mirroring what the children think, says Anita D. Mahajan What’s childhood without toys? Be it the soft ones, the Barbie dolls or more recently, the latest craze Beyblades are make childhood what it is. From Schools and Colleges
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Smart kids, smarter toys Without its losing charm, the world of toys has witnessed significant changes in its demands, concepts, colours and designs. “With the introduction of technology like computerised numerical control (CNC) machines, high quality dyes and safe plastic material, wooden toys lost their race to plastic toys. Introduction of electronics into them made them go further ahead in race,” says Ms Kavita of Kukusworld, which offers online toy services. The latest in toys interact with the child, like talking and walking robots. “The toys have changed from their basic form to become highly sophisticated,” adds Kavita. The impact of television characters is also significant. Kids love character toys which they see on cartoon channels these days. “Pokemon, Bob the Builder, Power Puff Girls, Beyblades are the most in demand,” Kavita adds. Today, the toy industry in India, which has 800 manufacturers, suppliers and distributors, invests a significant amount on the research work to develop new learning concepts to design visually appealing and wholesome toys. “Toys that educate and develop learning skills in child are the preferred ones in the market, as parents want their kids to learn while they play. However, computer games and electronically-operated toys remain all-time favourites,” says Ms Kulwinder Kaur, a mother of two kids. As you know that there is a gender difference between the taste boys and girls. Boys prefer cartoon characters and racing cars while girls, growing up to be homemakers, love toys like miniature cookers, microwaves and tea sets, besides soft toys and dolls like Barbie. “Hot Wheels, Spiderman, Batman and Beyblades are part of my collections and the more I see these, the more I feel excited”, says 10-year-old Priyanshu Saini, a resident of Urban Estate Phase 1 here. On the negative impact of toys that glorify violence, experts say as long as parents are supervising and making sure what kind of toys they give their kids, there cannot be any problem. “Kids do pretend to play with swords and guns, the usage of these toys with proper guidance will do no harm to their thinking”, says Ms Kavita Talking about dolls, international companies have Indianised their products, like the special Indian Barbie series. “The Barbie in this series wears a saree. There is a Wedding Fantasy Barbie, Soni Punjabi Barbie, Sundari Gujarati Barbie and a Barbie wearing salwar kameez, ” says Mr Arun Mahajan of Kiddies Store, a shop in the Model Town area. But the Barbie series are too expensive and more of a hit among the NRIs. “The people, who are going abroad buy these Barbie dolls. Apparently, it seems the dolls remind them of their identity on foreign land,” he said. Though toymakers keep on introducing new concepts and new versions including the one resembling Lalu Yadav, experiments have been found to be less appealing to the kids. “As far as we think, kids don’t find these toys attractive but they are more interested in toys based on famous cartoon characters,” says Mr Mahajan.
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From Schools and Colleges Students of the Police DAV Public School organised an exhibition on Saturday depicting various social and economic changes in the past few decades. Through massive exhibits, the students also showcased the rural life style in the backdrop of kuchcha houses, traditional kitchen and black and white TVs. Showing the modern life style, they depicted huge sky scrapers, invasion of multi-national companies and use of latest technologies in all devices. Various seasons of the year were also on display. Senior science students held a separate show highlighting the use of biotechnology and nanotechnology. A cultural show was also held in the evening. Ms Rashmi Vij, Principal, was present on the occasion. Annual function Cambridge International School for Girls celebrated its annual function on Saturday. The programme began with a prayer in Sanskrit. As part of the cultural show, students performed on a play titled “Peter Pan”, a boy who never grew up. Cambridge Colour was a musical presentation by the little gems of Class Nursery. The students represented “colours of rainbow” and was a bonanza that shook the little ones and danced to the tune effortlessly. “Zokasha Orchid”, story of brave prince who saved his father from the clutches of the evil witches had a mixture of fairy tale and horror. Class V’s Shiekh Chilli was a riotous hit. Mr Ashok K. Gupta, Deputy Commissioner, was the chief guest on the occasion. Musical assembly Grade Six students of Mayor World School organised a special assembly on Tuesday. Mr Jasveer Jassi, famous Punjabi singer, was the chief guest. Besides, the usual ingredients of the assembly like prayer and prayer-song, there was a lively imitation of the musical notes. The classic play “Pied piper of Hamlin” was enacted very well and children astonished the audience with their knowledge of musical terms in a quiz based on music. Ms G. Bindra, Principal, appreciated the efforts of the students. ‘Best out of waste’ To encourage students to be thoughtful and creative, a “Best out of waste” competition was organised for the students of Class I to V from Delhi Public School. Kids were told to make decorative articles out of the waste material lying at home. They made out fascinating things like wind chimes, photo frames, paitings, puppets, jewellery boxes and wall hangings. Mr B. Banerjee, Principal, gave prizes to the winners. A visit to helipad was organised for the pre-primary students of the school on Monday. The students were shown helicopters and hangars. The pinnacle of their excitement touched the sky as they saw the helicopters take off and land. They were told about the mechanism of its working through rotors. Inter-college seminar The political science forum of Hans Raj Mahila Maha Vidyalaya organised a seminar on “Human rights awareness” on Tuesday. Justice R.L. Anand, member of Punjab State Human Rights’ Commission, raised various issues, including increasing crime rate against women and atrocities faced by them at domestic, social and judicial level. Mr M.S. Kainth, Additional Deputy Commissioner, said the crime against women began at home when the mother differentiates between her son and daughter. Mr S.K. Kalia, SP, Jalandhar Division, said rights and duties must go hand in hand. Nine students of HMV College, SD College for Women and DAV College presented papers on different topics related to human rights. NCC Raising Day The cadets from DAV College celebrated the NCC Raising Day here on Thursday. Commanding Officer, Lt Col M.L. Sawant, was the chief guest. Capt S.K. Tuli made the cadets take oath to fight social evils. On the occasion, Mr Rajeshwar Chowdhary, an industrialist, gave Rs 10,000 to the NCC (army wing). Athletics meet DRV DAV Centenary College, Phillaur, organised its annual athletic meet that concluded on Wednesday. Mr Santokh Singh Chaudhary, MLA, was the chief guest. He announced a donation of Rs 1 lakh to the college. Ms Tania Sandhu of Plus One and Mr Sunil Grover of BA–I, were adjudged as the best athletes of the college. Annual day The annual prize distribution function of Saffron Public School, Phagwara, was organised recently. Mr Vikas Garg, Additional Chief Administrator, PUDA, was the chief guest. Prizes and trophies were awarded to the outstanding students and prize winners of the previous academic session. The students held a cultural show performing various classical and western musical items. Mr Manmohan Singh, managing director of the school, was present on the occasion.
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What’s childhood without toys? Be it the soft ones, the Barbie dolls or more recently, the latest craze Beyblades are make childhood what it is.
“Offering a wide variety of products ranging from educational to entertaining ones, toys contribute significantly to the behavioural development of today’s child,” says Mr Pradeep Kumar, owner of a shop in Model Town. 
