Katha aims to foster creative problem solving, causal thinking and articulate communication skills in children through a narrative play learning aid. This play-aid is a responsible and sustainable product, designed for manufacturing by craftspeople (Banarasi wooden toymakers, pattachitra artists) in an additional effort to integrate the neglected craft sector with a contemporary educational need for creative pedagogies. This is now a grave need in times where education has become online and kids would be engaged in learning activities at home. Katha is a board game that is played according to certain rules and gets converted into a usable chair for kids at its completion. Currently it is inspired from Mahabharata stories but it can be used for stories of different cultures too based upon requirement. Beauty of this product lies in its narrative structure. Every time the child plays the game a new story is narrated and his critical thinking skills are enhanced. Katha attempts to link the lacunae in our education system with the needs of our craft sector. Therefore, the board game has been designed for manufacturability in the craft sector and not through a machine. The turned characters as well as the wooden board and painted motifs can be made best by hand. The size of the pegs, threading, and form of characters have been decided based on the turning device used by the Banarasi wooden toymakers. Thus, this is design for craft manufacturability. The idea is not to mass produce but create limited editions of high value. Katha consists of multiple narrative trajectories that can be constructed into myriad stories that encourage the child's critical abilities to juxtapose the causal connections into a coherent whole. It encourages the lateral thinking hat of the child and emboldens him to create his own path rather than follow a prefixed trajectory. It also playfully introduces the child to our cultural heritage hidden deep in our ethics. The product idea is copyright protected 9621/2017-CO/L. Its a prototype in current stage and would be enhanced in collaboration with industry experts
