17-year-old Arshya is using the Karaoke technology to make kids Read Together during COVID-19

Celebrities like Kareena Kapoor have given her a shoutout for adapting  70 chapters from the NCERT English syllabus of classes 1-5 that into audio-visual content

A 17-year-old girl in New Delhi, is on a mission to enable primary school students to read better, learn better, think better, and be better. The ongoing pandemic has impacted learning for millions, and experts around the world are looking for innovative ways to make learning at home accessible and effective. Arshya Gaur is a student who is passionate about writing and storytelling. She has used the karaoke technology to create an online learning platform – readtogether.in/ which consists of 70 chapters from the NCERT English syllabus of classes 1-5, adapted into audio-visual content.

Research shows that only 10% of information is retained with only reading, while 80% of information is retained with hearing, seeing, and telling. So, it is very beneficial for children who don’t have English as their primary language. She has combined visual, auditory and oratory aids to make learning more engaging. On the platform, there is an audio that reads the story while the text automatically gets highlighted with each word that is said. This fulfills the purpose of both providing someone to supervise the child while reading and identifying the words and their respective pronunciations. To make the experience even more enjoyable, each story or poem has its own customised illustrations.

Talking about the inspiration behind Read Together, Arshya says:
‘When I was younger, I remember persuading my mother to not just buy books but read them aloud. It used to test our patience, while my mother was left gasping for breath. A few months ago, I looked back and wondered if things could have been done differently. So, I developed readtogether.in/ so that a greater number of children can find a companion to learn without it being a tedious task. Children these days are learning to use the iPad faster than writing their names, let’s use that to advantage.

I believe that education is the primary solution for uplifting humanity. My aim is to integrate technology and literature in a way that makes reading as an activity more enjoyable and independent during the pandemic for today’s ‘Digi-Children’.

Under the initiative, she also launched an online fundraiser and collected close to INR 1 million, which she is using to sponsor tablets for children, and diversifying content to add more chapters on the website. Her work has been appreciated and endorsed by Mr. Arun Kapur, who is a leading educationist, Dr. Shelja Sen, who is a founder of an adolescent mental health institute, and Ms. Rekha Krishna, principal of Vasant Valley School in Delhi. She also received a shoutout from Bollywood actress Kareena Kapoor on Instagram.

She is also an advocate for mental health in teenagers, stemming from her own struggles from mental health when she was 13. She has written a book ‘How to open a parachute’ which is a compilation of poetry about her journey with mental health. She is keen to deepen her understanding about societal issues and use her skills to contribute to making a difference.

Emerging as a force for good, children like Arshya are not only enabling children to get a better future, but also inspiring peers and elders to make a difference with their skills.