From Dishoompur to Dholakpur

When I read ‘Be a Child with your Child’ on BlogAdda’s home page, I smiled a wide smile. Do I need anyone or anything to make me turn 5 soon as my son says ‘Let’s play’? Not at all. It requires no external agency and no hard work to forget your age - to prattle to dance to play. All it requires is for your child to hold your hand, pull you up from your chair and drag you into his world of imagination. 

But, I was curious. I clicked, and I signed up for the activity nonetheless. It said it would involve my child as much as it would involve me, and that combination of co-play seemed more attractive than anything I could see foresee for the next few days. 

Soon enough, in came a mail congratulating me for being short-listed as a parent. I beamed. For the first time ever, a blogger community was congratulating me for being that – a parent. I must have done something right, in my past birth or this. Filled up the form well, maybe. Or is it that they had guessed what a darling my child was, thankfully unaware of what kind of a parent he had? 

So, what was the activity about?

Playing games with my child on a microsite for 10 days at a stretch, hosted by ICICIPruLife and Pogo. A session a day once completed would unlock a surprise game for the next day. The child will use the mouse and keys, sitting in my lap or with me by his side. Sounds fun, doesn’t it? It surely was!  

Chota Bheem on Pogo is a rare concoction of mythology, topicality and story-telling. An animation that presents the children with a character they cannot but adore, and his endearing friends fighting evil, saving the innocent, being naughty and always ending on a happy note. Also rare to see one sans incomprehensible violence, questionable language for tender minds or scary scenes delivering nightmares. An animation that celebrates all things good, including traditions and unconditional friendship. Our favourite pass-time, just before bed-time reading, night after night.

And now, he and I were to play games designed around his favourite character. Chhota Bheem and his friends were lost and wanted to reach Dholakpur. The journey involved going through 2 kingdoms. In each kingdom we had to clear obstacles in the form of games. What better! Sounds fun, was my first reaction. Little did I know, it was nothing close to what I had imagined. It exceeded my own expectations. 

What happened over 10 days?  

I was excited like a child. Not just on seeing my son’s reaction at every new game each passing day, but also because I wanted to test myself and see if I could still be called the virtual games champ – like my cousins used to crown me. Set record scores. Scream with joy. Do a little jig, and celebrate with a chocolate, or laddoos, in true Chota Bheem spirit. Of course, all of this and more vicariously, through my child’s reflexes and not mine.

When we were half-way there

The games seemed to be in ascending order of difficulty, but designed such that each game played made the child better versed to handle the next one. We played cricket together and arm-wrestled. We threw hammers and swum across kingdoms. In the meantime, Chintamani stood at hand, to guide in case we were lost. The education based video content was easy to read for children, and the site perfectly designed for smooth navigation and comprehension. 

At the end of every session, we rejoiced and shared our scores with the world. Why, even sent laddoos to other vitual players. What a way to celebrate a stranger’s happy birthday. What a way to be happy, birthday or no birthday. 

And what a way to ‘travel’ from Dishoompur to Dholakpur, by being a child with my child. 

[This post is my feedback for ‘Be a child with your child’ activity sponsored by ICICI Prudential and hosted by BlogAdda]