In an effort to imbibe knowledge and instill pride about India’s rich cultural heritage, biographies of historical characters and Indian folk tales among the current generation of school going children, Uniform Junction, part of the 116-year old iconic Arvind Mafatlal group has partnered with Amar Chitra Katha (ACK), the name synonymous with visual reinvention of Indian stories from the great epics, mythology, history, literature, oral folktales and many other sources.
The partnership with Amar Chitra Katha is a unique and an important partnership for Uniform Junction that aims to teach children about the importance of culture and keep them in touch with that of India. The partnership is spurred by the belief that it is not the sole responsibility of parents to educate children about the various aspects of Indian culture. Schools and learning platforms must also propel the students to develop an interest in the same. The partnership also comes at a time when the new National Education Policy 2020 lays emphasis on the importance of India’s varied cultural heritage in terms of arts, crafts, traditions and literature.
With children confined to homes with online learning since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Uniform Junction is able to provide the much acclaimed comic series on its platform in every nook and corner of the country making it for easy and convenient learning. The ACK Learn offerings include workshops, summer camps and courses on storytelling, cartooning, creative writing, travel writing, Indian folk art and many more.
Speaking on the partnership with Amar Chitra Katha, Gagan Jain, Co-founder & CEO, Uniform Junction says, “It is imperative for children to develop an awareness of India’s rich cultural heritage, mythology, the great epics and history in children from an early age as it gives them a sense of identity and belonging. Mythology and legends are important for us today for a number of reasons. They offer timeless and universal themes as they give us insight into other times and places and they help us to see how much humankind had and has in common. Through this partnership we envisage to broaden the horizon of children’s knowledge and outlook and to help them to be better citizens and lead a life of values drawing inspiration from the Indian culture, mythology and legends”.
Prateek Dhruva, Head – ACK Learn and Licensing, Amar Chitra Katha Pvt. Ltd. said, “We at Amar Chitra Katha Learn are excited to be partnering with Uniform Junction to find larger audiences for our workshops as well as bring value to the brand through this association.
We are looking at fostering a long-term partnership with Uniform Junction, where we are part of the high-quality programming that UJ offers and we can expand the scope of our specially developed workshops, around storytelling, creative writing and art to a larger audience. Our joint vision with Uniform Junction is to build both brands through high engagement properties. May it be workshops, quizzes, school connections, Uniform Junction is well suited to capture the market and with the amazing content and goodwill that Amar Chitra Katha brings being in the children's content space for the last 54 years, this association is primed to succeed”.
Apart from the learning materials on the platform, free workshops for children of various age groups are also being conducted. The Kala Gurukul workshop is held for students from Nursery to class 1; while the Tinkle story creation workshop is conducted for students from class 2 to 5. Finally, the Flipbook Animation workshop is held for students from class 6 to 9. The Kala Gurukul workshops will expose children to Indian stories, culture and heritage, help build communication skills and improve their vocabulary, learn and practice the Indian techniques of healthy living like Yoga & Meditation, develop fine motor skills through some fun and DIY activities and engage in understanding values through stories via group interaction. On the other hand, the Tinkle Story creation workshop will help students create their own main characters, learn to build their own plot and story and advance with creative writing skills. Finally, the Flipbook animation workshop will equip children with the knowledge and techniques to help them create their own flipbook, learn how basic animation works and animate with household stationeries.
About Uniform Junction:
Uniform Junction is the youngest member of the iconic Arvind Mafatlal Group who command an 85% market share in the school uniforms space. Uniform Junction has been founded with the objective to cater extensively to a growing segment of schools in Tier II & III cities across India by offering a single-window platform to teachers, parents and students for all educational products and services. Within a short span of since the launch of Uniform Junction it has over 300 courses live and many unique and exciting non-curriculum courses in the pipeline.
About Arvind Mafatlal group:
The Arvind Mafatlal Group is a 116 year old business house having interests in the diverse fields of Textiles, Rubber Chemicals, Information Technology, Real Estate, E-commerce and Healthcare. The Group holds a very strong ethos for values, technology, and adaptability, and has witnessed various stages of both consolidation and expansions over the years. Two of the flagship companies of the Group are Mafatlal Industries and NOCIL Limited, both of which are listed on the stock exchange