The business acumen of industrial magnate Ratan Tata, the focus of spiritual guru Swami Vivekananda, the scientific genius of nuclear hero APJ Abdul Kalam and, of course, the patriotic confidence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Do you want to raise well-prepared children?
India has an app for that. In fact, there are many apps.
For centuries, Indian mothers have drawn on their rich cultural and religious traditions to impart knowledge that guides their parenting. Underpinning this maternal inheritance is a practice known as garb sanskar, where the nurturing of a child and the creation of an environment conducive to instilling Hindu values begins in the womb.
But in today’s India, ancient ways are no longer sufficient. In a country hurtling headlong into a digital future, a new breed of business is springing up, primarily from the entrepreneurial western state of Gujarat, aimed at mothers-to-be.
Startups large and small are offering apps that combine traditional pre- and post-natal guidance with scientific research to help with healthy habits and meal planning, as well as yoga, meditation, art, storytelling, lullabies, and more. It also incorporates the child’s daily developmental activities.
All packaged in a sleek interface for a generation that responds more quickly to reminders from their smartphones than from their mother-in-law.
“Lovely mama, if you can drink water, please,” Garv Sanskar Guru, one of the apps, urges in a text message, in the form of a fetus. “I love dancing in the rain.”
India prides itself on striking a balance between the old and the new. The rise of Mr. Modi and a new elite around him has further reinforced the idea that India can pursue an inward-looking nationalism while simultaneously expanding its ties abroad. App developers are counting on the fact that new tools and knowledge are needed to overcome this reality.
In the process, smartphones, which have been blamed for separating India’s youth from their traditions and ameliorating the worst of hatred and division, are helping to uphold the highest values. Related to increased loneliness, the device is programmed to not only help women cope with a period of high anxiety and stress, but also to improve couple bonding by bringing some structure to the maelstrom of pregnancy. ing.
When Dhara Jignesh Panbar, 29, and her husband Jignesh gave birth to their second child last year, they and their older child, Darshan, now 6, did activities together every day on one of the apps. was. She reads stories and sings lullabies. At times, they placed their hands on Ms. Panvar’s stomach and repeated to her unborn child, “We welcome you to this world.”
What kind of baby did they want? The app recommended an exercise called “dream charts,” where parents create a large collage to visualize the qualities they want in their children.
In the case of the new baby, Diei, now 17 months old, the chart includes pictures of the baby with fine hair and a cheerful smile, as well as depictions of the Hindu gods Krishna, who represents friendship, and Hanuman, who represents power. It was
There was also a photo that matched the smiling face of Tata, the Mumbai businessman who expanded the Parsi family’s business into one of India’s largest international companies. Another photo of his uncle was “because of his height,” said Panbar, who helps run an online business selling kitchenware. “My husband and I are both a little short.”
Sometimes the other women in the family tease her when the boys are restless or stubborn. why? “
“It’s not always perfect,” she replies.
Jitendra Timbadia, the founder of one of the apps called DreamChild, worked at a children’s activity center associated with a Hindu sect before turning to development studies. Another founder, Cheta Dhaval, has a background in branding, while Timbadya’s wife, Suyogi, a yoga instructor, designed and leads the app’s physical activities.
Timbadia said the latest research was important given Dreamchild’s far-reaching ambitions.
“From the sixth month to the fourth year of pregnancy, the blueprint for your entire life is laid out,” he said. “Today’s mothers won’t accept it without science.”
The app has around 15,000 paid users since its launch in 2019. A basic package with limited online-only activities costs about $25 for nine months. Hybrid packages, which supplement daily app tasks with offline workshops, range in price from $100 to $180.
On a recent afternoon at the app’s offline center in Surat, Gujarat, about 20 women – some whose pregnancies are progressing well, others in the planning stages – are doing yoga to the sound of soft music. After doing breathing exercises and breathing exercises, they engaged in art activities.
Hetal Pandav, a 26-year-old optometrist, was in the first trimester of her first pregnancy. More than anything, she said, she came here for a sense of community.
“In families, even in educated families, people don’t talk about these things openly,” Pandav said.
“There’s no tension, no worries, no family, nothing here. Neither us nor the baby,” she added, placing a hand on her stomach.
Dream Child regularly holds large-scale seminars under the slogan “Make your pregnancy happy and confident.” In September, about 500 couples gathered at a large auditorium in Ahmedabad to participate in a three-hour program that resembled a job fair. They placed sticky notes on a map of India and listed the qualities they wanted in their baby, including confidence, creativity, empathy, national pride and integrity.
There was a performance of the Hindu epic Mahabharata, in which Abhimanyu, son of the central character Arjun, absorbs battlefield strategies while still in the womb, as his father converses with his mother. Speakers at the event made more contemporary references. When Mr Modi’s mother Heeraben was pregnant with the future prime minister, she recited the Mahabharata and another epic, the Ramayana.
On a recent day, Prashant Agarwal, founder of Garbh Sanskar Guru, an app with about 18,000 paid members, sat behind his laptop, a ring light nearby, as he conducted his online seminar. was held. About 125 people tuned in to hear his introduction, in which he cautioned against relying on unverified information transmitted through WhatsApp groups, saying: “There is only confusion.”
He explained to the participants how to use the app and then showed them a cute reminder about drinking water. The baby in her womb wanted to dance in the rain.
“It’s not that we have less love for babies; it’s that we forget,” he said. “How many of you can say no to a baby?”
He then revealed the price of the package. Despite India’s rapid growth in digital literacy and online payments, app startups are finding that moving people from free to paid services remains a challenge. The problem is the family structure in India. Her husband is in charge of the purse.
Agarwal offered discounts to those who signed up within 30 minutes of the end of the session. She asked if the woman named Payal could continue her discount until the evening.
“Because I have to talk to my husband,” she said.
Panbar, a mother with height issues, used the app during both of her pregnancies. She said she sees “60 to 70 percent” of what she envisioned in her dream picture in her second child.
“For nine months, I thought, ‘You’re going to do something big,’ like Abdul Kalam,” said the man who helped drive India’s nuclear program and later served as its president. She spoke about national heroes.
She added with a smile: “But there’s no pressure.”