Hyderabad: A doll created by a rural innovator has become a powerful tool to teach children about the need to protect themselves against abuse. The ‘Samskar’ doll developed by Yakara Ganesh, 26, from Warangal has so far been used to educate 60,000 students about ‘good touch and bad touch’.
After its initial success, Ganesh is now getting ready for Samskar 2.0. “I intend to make a humanoid that can be used even more effectively,” Ganesh told TOI. He has already had a preliminary discussion about the project with ‘T-works’, India’s largest prototyping centre in Hyderabad set up by the Telangana govt. The doll helps kids understand the ‘intentions’ of a person who comes close to them.
National recognition for Innovator
Ganesh, who has studied up to Intermediate, found support at the Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE) at International Institute of Information Technology (IIIT), Hyderabad, which enabled him to transform his idea with both technical and financial support.
In his ‘Mann ki Baat’ programme in Dec 2020, Prime Minister Narendra Modi lauded Ganesh for another innovation that he had come up with – to provide a ‘device for the deaf’ costing only Rs 150. In the market, a hearing aid costs as much as Rs 2,500.
How does the doll work
The Samskar doll is simple to use. When someone places his hand on the private parts of the doll, it immediately shouts “Don’t touch”. Ganesh got different people to lend their voice for the doll, including his friends. The doll has been adopted as teaching material in Yadadri Bhuvanagiri district to bring awareness among students about ‘Good touch and bad touch’. A former district collector also lent her voice for the recording.
“Parents and teachers find it sensitive to talk about the ‘good touch and bad touch’ with children. Samskar has made it is easy for them to now talk about it,” Ganesh said. Catering to requests, he made 60 such dolls initially.
Interest beyond borders
Ganesh is receiving many requests for the doll. A school in Chengalpattu in Tamil Nadu has shown interest in the doll. The Tamil Nadu police and child protection officers were also given a demo on how the doll can be used. Going global, a visitor to India from Poland evinced keen interest too.
Last month, Ganesh showcased the Samskar doll to Telangana’s IT minister D Sridhar Babu for a formal launch of his innovation.
The doll can speak in seven languages, including Telugu, English, Hindi, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam and Konkani. In the next stage, a facility will be provided where any teacher or parent can record his or her voice for the “Good touch and bad touch” alert that Samskar gives. The metamorphosis will allow the humanoid that will be developed, to be a teacher, explaining to children what ‘Good touch and bad touch’ is. From just being used a tool to teach, ‘Samskar’ will itself become a teacher.
Making a difference
In a testament to its impact, at an awareness programme organised near Hyderabad a few days ago, a boy got up to tell the teachers that this exact ‘bad touch’ was what someone was doing with his sister and neither he nor his sister knew that it should not be allowed.
“It is not just about creating awareness among girls, it is boys also who should known that they should not touch a girl inappropriately,” Ganesh said.
Though it is referred to as Samskar doll, Ganesh has christened it ‘Aadhya’ for simplicity. He himself loves to call it ‘Chinnari’ (little one) suggesting that anyone can give the doll a name that connects with children.
