Acerca de

When I was seven years old, my family moved into a new home. We had two tiny televisions, but the good one was the one in my grand-parent’s room, and some of my fondest memories of living in that house are the ones spent sitting across that tv screen. Our cable tv package included the usual hits: Tom and Jerry, Spongebob Squarepants and even a whole range of Disney channel shows. However, with restrictions on how long I could watch tv, I had to make a choice. I chose Chhota Bheem.

 

A tv show centered around one of Indian mythology’s most famous figures, Bheema, this show taught its viewers that strength, when coupled with kindness, respect and generosity, is an unstoppable combination. Those were values that epitomized Bheema’s character in one of the nation’s great epics, the Mahabharata.

 

India is a country with a history so rich that it would be foolish to ignore and indeed, many lessons and values taught to young Indian children stem from these historic tales, because that is what this country was built on. It’s a formula that, in my opinion, works.

 

Although I did not realize this at the time, but in retrospect, a lot of the children’s shows I watched growing up adopted the same idea of having their protagonist be a character from Indian mythology. There was, however, one glaring commonality across the board: the protagonists were always male and just like that, my definition of what a hero is became extremely rigid. There is nothing inherently wrong with having male protagonists of course, but it had become a trend and a worrying one at that, because it convinced impressionable, young children that heroes look a certain way. Hence, I present to you: The Gurus .

 

Five children’s stories centered around five female characters from five different mythologies of the world. That is what The Gurus is all about. It is about taking the traits these historical characters embody and passing it on to children in a way that they will understand and enjoy. Would mythology be too heavy a theme for young children? Honestly, no. Young children are impressionable and a lot smarter than we give them credit for. Let us show our children that heroes come in all shapes and sizes and that they come from every corner of the world. Let us inspire our children to pick the correct heroes, because if the 21st century has taught us anything so far, it's the fact that choosing our heroes is as crucial a task as it is difficult.

 

For that very reason, I hope to make the job just a tiny bit easier. I give you: Brigid, Elli, Olapa, Pachamama and Sita.