Galli Galli Sim Sim

Encyclopedia

Galli Galli Sim Sim also called Nagari , is an abugida alphabet of India and Nepal...

: गली गली सिम सिम) is the Hindi language adaptation of the American children's television series

Children's television series

Children's television series, are commercial television programs designed for, and marketed to children, normally scheduled for broadcast during the morning and afternoon when children are awake. They can sometimes run in the early evening, for the children that go to school...

Sesame Street

Sesame Street has undergone significant changes in its history. According to writer Michael Davis, by the mid-1970s the show had become "an American institution". The cast and crew expanded during this time, including the hiring of women in the crew and additional minorities in the cast. The...

(famous for its Muppets), for India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

. It is co-produced by Sesame Workshop

Sesame Workshop

Sesame Workshop, formerly known as the Children's Television Workshop , is a Worldwide American non-profit organization behind the production of several educational children's programs that have run on public broadcasting around the world...

and Turner Broadcasting, through Miditech

Miditech

Miditech Pvt. Ltd. is a Indian film and television production company headquartered in Gurgaon, Haryana, India. It was founded in 1992 by brothers, Niret Alva and Nikhil Alva and is today a Rs 50-crore television software company, and one of Asia's leading independent production companies.The...

. Galli Galli Sim Sims Indian production company is known as Sesame India.

The series will be accompanied by a similarly-structured radio program, a move that follows the success of South Africa's Takalani Sesame

Takalani Sesame

Takalani Sesame is the South African version of the children's television program Sesame Street. Co-produced by Sesame Workshop and South African partners, Takalani Sesame is now in its 10th year...

.

"Sesame Workshop's mission is to create innovative engaging content that maximizes the educational power of media to help children reach their highest potential. As with all our adaptations, we are now working with local experts to identify Indian children’s issues and how to best address them on- and off-air. We're thrilled to work with Turner, the undisputed leader in Indian kids' television, to build a long-term presence and to together serve the children of the amazing Indian sub-continent." - Gary E. Knell, Sesame Workshop's President and CEO.

Production of the show is based in Delhi

Delhi

Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...

, but crew will travel the country to tape segments. Filming of the first season's 65 half-hour episodes began in February 2006, with the premiere scheduled for 15 August, 2006.

Funding for the initial development phase of Sesame India was provided through the support of the United States Agency for International Development

United States Agency for International Development

The United States Agency for International Development is the United States federal government agency primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid. President John F. Kennedy created USAID in 1961 by executive order to implement development assistance programs in the areas...

(USAID), ICICI Bank

ICICI Bank

ICICI Bank Ltd. is India's second largest financial services company headquartered in Mumbai, India. It offers a wide range of banking products and financial services to corporate and retail customers through a variety of delivery channels and through its specialised subsidiaries in the areas of...

and Turner Broadcasting.

Format

Episodes will be similar in format to that of the originating series. The show will consist of Street scenes, segments (some filmed locally with Indian actors and children, some Indian animation, some are classic American Muppet skits dubbed in Hindi) will include four new Indian Muppets specially created for the subcontinent's children. The puppet characters will include Indian boy and girl Muppets, a character based on traditional Indian folk tales and an animal Muppet.

About 157 million children in India will be able to tune in to the show from next August on Indian children's TV channels, Turner's Cartoon Network

Cartoon Network (India)

Cartoon Network is a cable and satellite television channel created by Turner Broadcasting, a unit of Time Warner which primarily shows animated programming.-History:...

and POGO.

In a country with more than 15 official languages — not including English — Turner and Sesame Workshop had their work cut out deciding which language the show should be broadcast in, but have decided to launch the first season's shows in Hindi

Hindi

Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...

, with a few English words in each episode.

However, producers hope to make Sesame India available in other languages in the next few year and plans are also under way to broadcast the program on Indian radio.

Producers, who worked with Indian educational experts on the show's content and teamed up with Sesame Workshop to design Sesame India's set and characters, say the shows will reflect India's rich cultural diversity and heritage while helping youngsters to read and write.

Characters

Jugaadu, "who likes to find innovative solutions to fix problems, and does not view his disability as a handicap".
Basha Bhaijaan, "who owns a corner store and knows several Indian languages".
Sid, "who is a cool,smart child and Googly is a fan of his style and dancing".
Dawa Di, Basha's wife, who is from North East India, and teaches dance.
Kabir, Basha Bhaijaan and Dawa Di’s son, who is an active and curious eight-year-old.
Col. Albert Pinto, a retired army person, is an advocate for healthy living and civic sense.
Rukmini Pinto (Doctor Aunty), Col. Pinto's wife. A doctor by profession, she is a combination of contemporary and traditional wisdom.

Leading local Muppets

Boombah, a hedonistic, vegetarian lion who believes he is descended from one of India's historic royal families. Coincidentally, Boombah bears a resemblance to Goleo VI from the 2006 Fifa World Cup, a puppet constructed by The Jim Henson Company
The Jim Henson Company
The Jim Henson Company, an American entertainment organization, traces its origins to the founding of Muppets, Inc. in 1958 by puppeteer Jim Henson, creator of The Muppets. The Muppets helped the company gain worldwide acclaim in family entertainment for more than four decades...

.
Chamki, a schoolgirl dressed in the uniform of an Indian government school; is the only Sesame Muppet to practice a martial art (karate
Karate
is a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Islands in what is now Okinawa, Japan. It was developed from indigenous fighting methods called and Chinese kenpō. Karate is a striking art using punching, kicking, knee and elbow strikes, and open-handed techniques such as knife-hands. Grappling, locks,...

in particular)
Googly, Chamki's best friend, named after the cricket delivery
Googly
In cricket, a googly is a type of delivery bowled by a right-arm leg spin bowler. It is occasionally referred to as a Bosie , an eponym in honour of its inventor Bernard Bosanquet.- Explanation :...

and with a cricket ball
Cricket ball
A cricket ball is a hard, solid leather ball used to play cricket. Constructed of cork and leather, a cricket ball is heavily regulated by cricket law at first class level...

-like nose
Aanchoo, a storyteller who is transported to other places when she sneezes

Crew

Niret Alva
Niret Alva
Niret Alva is an Indian television producer and anchor. He co-founded Miditech, a Rs 50-crore television software company, along with his brother Nikhil Alva in 1992, which is currently one of Asia's leading independent production companies...

, President of Miditech and Executive Producer of the series
Pria Somiah, Supervising Producer
Julius Packiam, Music Director
Samir Chanda
Samir Chanda
Samir Chanda was an Indian art director and production designer across Indian cinema, including Hindi, Bengali and Tamil, most known for his work in films like Dil Se , Guru , Omkara , Rang De Basanti , and Raavan .He also directed a Bengali film, Ek Nadir Galpo starring Mithun...

, Art Director
Asha Singh, Director, Education and Research
Sehba Iman, Head Writer
Prakash Moorthy, Head Animator

Quotes

"I am extremely happy that a revolutionary pre-school kids’ television series, Galli Galli Sim Sim, is launching in India. I am sure that the compelling educational content that the programme has to offer will change the face of young kids’ education in India, just like the globally renowned Sesame Street show has in many countries across the world. For me, Sesame India’s local version, Galli Galli Sim Sim, in days to come, will become an asset to Indian kids’ education as well as provide a new direction in teaching kids to love, understand and celebrate India’s diversity and rich culture. I wish Turner, Sesame Workshop and Miditech the best of luck in this landmark venture - Galli Galli Sim Sim." -- Honorable Minister of Information & Broadcasting and Parliamentary Affairs, Priya Ranjan Das Munshi, in a congratulatory note.

External links

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