Masterclass on Make Your Own Play: Insights on Contextual Learning
2025-04-01 16:00 - 17:00 (Asia/Kolkata)
Join us for a Masterclass by Swatantra Talim focused on understanding how contextual learning i.e., learning from materials around us, can transform into playful manipulators leading to the holistic learning of a child. The idea is to help parents, teachers, and the community understand how children and adults can find more ways of engaging in ‘play’ together. The more shared experiences we have with our children, the more we understand them, and the more we help them become better, free-er, more creative versions of themselves.
Key Takeaways

Ideas for parents on how to integrate play, with objects from around them into their child’s learning.

Teaching learning material for educators to engage children creatively.

Some of the best practices from Swatantra Talim’s pedagogy and theory of change.

Simple stories and games to build shared experiences with children, and why they matter.

This masterclass is valuable for parents, teachers, educators, and program personnel looking to discover ways of incorporating play that is contextual in nature.

Masterclass on The Hidden Costs of Childhood Adversity Confirmation
2025-04-09 16:00 - 17:00 (Asia/Kolkata)
Join us for a Masterclass by Dream a Dream to explore how adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) shape a child’s development and long-term well-being. This session will delve into the hidden costs of childhood adversity, focusing on Failure to Thrive—a condition where a child’s physical and psychological growth is hindered due to environmental, emotional, or medical factors.
Through real-world insights and practical stories, this masterclass will help social sector professionals, caregivers, and educators build a deeper understanding of childhood adversity and learn how to create supportive interventions that foster resilience and healing.
Key Takeaways:

Develop awareness and sensitivity towards childhood adversity and its long-term effects.
Identify signs of Failure to Thrive and understand its root causes.
Internalize a model for fostering resilience and supporting children’s thriving journeys as adults.

This masterclass is valuable for NGO leaders, social workers, policymakers, and development professionals looking to better understand and address the impact of childhood adversity.

Masterclass on Reading Pictures: Using Wordless Picture Books to Unlock Joy for Children
2025-04-23 16:00 - 17:00 (Asia/Kolkata)
A Wordless Book is made up of pictures and no words to let readers insert themselves into stories as interpreters. Wordless books empower readers to use their own vocabulary and imagination to create and infer a story based on a series of images.
Wordless picture books encourage collaboration between a child and an educator. Because of the absence of a read-aloud component, how children interpret the images and choose to talk about them can help adults see what’s in front of them with completely new eyes as well. Wordless picture books also enable lateral thinking in readers who use the same visuals to tell multiple stories at every reading.
Bachpan Manao, Librarians of India, Pratham Books have come together to offer a masterclass for teachers, storytellers and librarians. In this webinar, picture-book creators and teacher-facilitators will be walking us through the process of making a wordless book, its value to readers and the best ways it can be used with children.

Masterclass on Mom Brain: The Neuroscience of Parenting and Perinatal Mental Health
2025-04-29 16:00 - 17:00 (Asia/Kolkata)
Join us for a Masterclass by Dr Jodi Pawluski, PhD to explore the key transformations in the brain during the transition to parenthood and what this means for parenting.
This session will delve into the neurological changes throughout pregnancy and into the postpartum in both mothers and fathers and will provide insight as to the role of these changes in perinatal mental illness. Through real-world insights and practical stories, this masterclass will help social sector professionals, caregivers, and educators build a deeper understanding of the neuroscience of parenthood and learn how to create supportive interventions that foster resilience in parents, benefiting both parent and child.
Key Takeaways

Develop awareness and understanding of how the brain changes across pregnancy in mothers
Understand that the brain changes with fatherhood as well.
Discover how to better promote mental health during the transition to motherhood. Relevant for whom

This masterclass is valuable for NGO leaders, social workers, policymakers, development professionals, and anyone looking to better understand how the transition to parenthood affects the brain.

The ‘First Songs’ Celebration – A Lullaby Project
2025-05-14 16:00 - 17:30 (Asia/Kolkata)
The First Songs project invites you to a special event to mark the launch of its microsite and share the incredible journey of collecting more than 100 lullabies in 13 languages from across India. These lullabies—often a child’s first experience of rhythm, comfort, and language—are being collected and shared so that families everywhere can sing, learn, and grow together. Research shows that children learn words not just through individual sounds but through rhythm, and tone —exactly what lullabies offer. Singing to children lays astrong foundation for language development, emotional bonding, and a lifelong love for learning.
This project and celebration is a collabaction of Bachpan Manao, an initiative to celebrate the abundance of childhood through joy, and play. We’d love for you to join us—to listen, to sing, and to be part of a movement that values the first songs we sing to children.
Bachpan Manao, Loriya Sunao!
Let’s celebrate lullabies. Let’s celebrate childhood.

Bachpan Manao Sabha
2025-05-25 09:00 - 18:30 (Asia/Kolkata) | Sabha
​It takes a village to bring up a child and we are trying to bring together a micro village to answer this question by creating a space to pause, connect, and reimagine what childhood means today — and you’re invited.
​We are the Bachpan Manao team at EkStep Foundation
​Bachpan Manao is an initiative that invites you to celebrate the first 8 years of life as a time of joyful learning and deep potential. Seeded by EkStep Foundation, the initiative connects 100+ organisations working to nurture every child’s growth holistically.
​There are 3 segments to this day. Here’s what to expect:
​🔹 Thinking of Childhood Together – An invite-only Workshop
A space to pause and ask: What does a thriving childhood look like today?
In this participatory workshop, you will step into a dialogue – guided reflections and small-group exchanges will help surface memories, insights, and possibilities, reclaiming the essence of childhood as we imagine what it could and should be for every child in India.
​You are also invited to participate in other events on the day, which are focused on bringing the essence of Bachpan Manao and the heart of CollabAction alive.
​🔹 BM8 Talks, a dynamic platform inspired by the TED Talk format—focused on sharing bold, thought-provoking ideas on Early Childhood in 8 minutes or less.
​🔹 Katha Utsav, a celebration of stories, from the inaugural FactorDaily–Bachpan Manao Fellowship, and a Fireside chat on “Stories That Grow Into Culture: Beyond Hero’s Journey”.
​This is a space to pause, connect, and see the threads of a larger story we’re all helping shape.

Masterclass on Scribbles Matter The Role of Art in Early Brain Development and Emotional Expression
2025-05-29 16:00 - 17:00 (Asia/Kolkata)
Join us for a Masterclass by Dabble to explore how art plays a vital role in early childhood brain development, emotional expression, and communication. This session will uncover how children interact with colours and creativity from infancy, why early scribbles are foundational, and how simple art experiences can spark confidence, connection, and imagination.
Through real-world insights and practical ideas, this masterclass will help parents and preschool educators build a deeper understanding of the science and significance of art in the early years—and learn how to create engaging, age-appropriate opportunities for artistic play at home or in class.
Key Takeaways:

Understand why art and colour are essential tools for early brain development, emotional regulation, and creativity
Learn when and how to introduce art to young children in developmentally appropriate ways
Discover practical, easy-to-implement strategies to foster creativity and strengthen the parent-child bond through shared art experiences

This Masterclass is valuable for parents, preschool educators, caregivers, and early childhood professionals who want to nurture creativity, emotional intelligence, and holistic development in young children.

#ChoosePlayEveryday: A webinar by UNICEF-India and EkStep Foundation
2025-06-09 16:00 - 17:00 (Asia/Kolkata)
Join UNICEF India and Bachpan Manao for a webinar to launch the #ChoosePlayEveryday campaign for the International Day of Play (June 11th). Let’s rally together to make play visible across India!

Masterclass on Peek-a-boo, Nature Too! - Part 1
2025-06-18 16:00 - 17:00 (Asia/Kolkata)
Join us for a Two-Part Masterclass to Explore How Nature Can Transform Early Learning 🌿
In this interactive two-part masterclass (1 hour each on June 18 & 25), discover how simple, intentional interactions with nature can nurture curiosity, critical thinking, and a deep sense of connection in young children. Through guided observation, sensory play, and movement-based experiences, we’ll explore how to turn both indoor and outdoor spaces into meaningful learning environments.
Educators will learn practical strategies to bring nature into the everyday classroom—whether it’s through inquiry-based approaches, reflective conversations about the environment, or encouraging mindful time in green spaces.
🌱 No matter where you teach or parent, nature can be your co-teacher—and this session will show you how.
Key Takeaways:

Learn how to design nature-rich learning opportunities through observation, movement, and sensory exploration
Understand how early conversations around climate change can be meaningful and age-appropriate
Discover how time in nature can enhance emotional wellbeing, cognitive growth, and a child’s connection to the world

This Masterclass is valuable for preschool and early years teachers, parents, caregivers, and educators who want to bring nature-based learning and environmental awareness into children’s everyday live

Masterclass on Peek-a-boo, Nature Too! - Part 2
2025-06-25 16:00 - 17:00 (Asia/Kolkata)

Masterclass on Brain Beats : How Rhythm Shapes Language and Literacy
2025-07-08 16:00 - 17:00 (Asia/Kolkata)
Join us for a Masterclass by Professor Usha Goswami to explore how early childhood experiences, particularly hearing Baby Talk, shape a child’s linguistic development and set them up for literacy. This session will delve into the benefits of singing to babies and using Baby Talk, focusing on speech rhythm—an essential component of both learning language and learning to read.
By describing her cross-language research programme, Professor Goswami will explain how children’s speech-sound awareness is rooted in rhythmic learning. The Cambridge Baby Rhythm project revealed that speech rhythms and brain rhythms are intimately linked, providing the key foundations for language learning and literacy.
Key Takeaways:

Talking Baby Talk and singing to infants is crucial for brain development
Across languages, rhythmic speech is the foundation of later speech-sound learning
Rhythmic activities in home and pre-school settings support language learning and protect against dyslexia

This masterclass is valuable for educators, social workers, policymakers, and development professionals looking to better understand and address the importance of childhood language and literacy

Masterclass on Why Play Matters: Rediscovering What We’ve Forgotten
2025-07-23 08:00 - 17:00 (Asia/Kolkata)
As educators and adults, we often forget the importance of play (doing) and playfulness (being), even though for children, it’s the very foundation of how they learn.
​Play isn’t just an activity—it’s an attitude of lightness that fosters joy, safety, connection, and deep learning.
​In this masterclass, we invite you to rediscover the powerful role of play and playfulness in your own life and work.
​Together, we’ll explore:

​What is play for me?
​How can I bring a state of play into my being and my teaching?

​Join us for a reflective, experiential session that brings joy back to the heart of learning—for your students and for yourself.
​✅ Key Takeaways

​Experience and reflect on playfulness as an attitude in our lives
​Practices to incorporate play into our role
​Understand the relevance of play in education

Library Banegi Apni: How to Set Up a Library Listening to Voices from the Field
2025-08-12 17:00 - 18:00 (Asia/Kolkata)
This Librarians’ Day, join us for an inspiring online session where three incredible changemakers share their lived experiences of building vibrant libraries from the ground up.

🎙 Meet the Speakers:
📍 Nadira Chaturvedi – Founder, Aseem’s Libraries
📍 Jatin Lalit – Founder, Bansa Community Library & Resource Centre
📍 Saba Khan – Founder, Savitribai Fule & Fatima Shekh Open Libraries

🗂️ Agenda:
📌 How to Set Up a Library
📌 Listening to Voices from the Field

🔍 Three Rounds of Conversations:
🧠 Starting the Library – From idea to action
📚 Building the Space & Collection – Shaping shelves, stories, and spaces
🌱 Community & Sustainability – Keeping the library alive, thriving, and relevant

💬 Why Attend?
Hear real stories, practical tips, and honest reflections from the field—perfect for anyone dreaming of starting or strengthening a library in their community.

📖 Let’s celebrate Librarians’ Day by learning from those who’ve turned their vision into a living, breathing library!

Masterclass on Spotting the Signs: Early Childhood Development Made Simple
2025-09-04 16:00 - 17:00 (Asia/Kolkata)
Through this hour, specialist from Nidhi Foundation for Early Interventions take a guided journey through one of the most important stages in a person’s life -early childhood through the lens of ‘development’.
Whether you’re a parent, an educator, or both, this session will offer valuable insights into how young children grow, learn, and develop. The session will explore the key principles of early development, the conditions needed for children to thrive, and the factors that can support or hinder healthy growth.
You will learn how to recognize when a child might not be developing as expected, and why early identification and support matter.
The goal is to start the conversation on building a shared understanding of early childhood that empowers you in your home, classroom, or community to support every child’s potential.
Key Takeaways:

Understand what typical development looks like in early childhood, including the key areas of growth physical, cognitive, language, social, and emotional.
Begin to recognise, at an introductory level, early signs that may suggest developmental delays or disabilities, and understand why early awareness and support are so important.

This session is not about making diagnoses, but about helping adults who care for and work with young children feel more confident in noticing when a child might need additional support — and knowing what steps to take next.
This masterclass is valuable for Parents of young children, professionals working with children, anyone interested in early childhood.

Bachpan Baithak
2025-09-12 17:00 - 18:00 (Asia/Kolkata)
Everyday Climate Futures: Childhood, Play & Space
When we speak of climate, we often think of rising seas, hotter summers, and shifting food systems. But climate is also lived in small, everyday ways: where children play, what they breathe, how families migrate, and which foods find their way to their plates.
For children, these shifts are not abstract. A playground that floods every monsoon, a classroom too hot to sit in, or the loss of a seasonal fruit all shape their earliest experiences of the world. These everyday encounters with climate leave lasting imprints on how they learn, grow, and imagine the future.
At Bachpan Manao, we believe care and childhood are central to how societies prepare for change. That is why, during India Climate Week, we are hosting a Bachpan Baithak, an informal roundtable that brings together diverse voices to reflect on what climate means for India’s youngest citizens, and what this reveals about the futures ahead.
Together, we’ll ask: How do children experience climate in their everyday lives of play, space, and care? And how can these perspectives help us imagine futures that are not only climate-resilient, but also child-friendly and just?

Emerging Shifts in Classrooms through Creative Facilitation
2025-09-17 16:30 - 18:00 (Asia/Kolkata)
We’re excited to celebrate the stories of teachers, art & joyful learning.
Saturday Art Class, in collaboration with Bachpan Manao, invites you to a special webinar on Wednesday, 17th September 2025.
This session will spotlight the personal journeys and stories of educators across India who are placing creativity, art, and social-emotional learning (SEL) at the heart of teaching. Their experiences reflect a powerful shift in mindset and a renewed confidence to approach learning as a joyful, engaging, and meaningful process.
As part of this conversation, Saturday Art Class will launch their report, “Emerging Shifts in Classrooms through Creative Facilitation.” The report captures how the Art for Educator (AFE) program has supported educators in this journey—helping them embrace visual arts and SEL, build confidence, and reimagine student learning experiences.
Here’s what you can expect:
🎨 A hands-on, reflective art activity
📖 Launch of the research report with key insights
🗣️ An engaging panel discussion with spotlighted educators, partner organizations, the chief guest Ms. Deepika Mogilishetty (Chief of Policy and Partnerships, EkStep Foundation), and the Saturday Art Class team.
We welcome you to be part of this important conversation on supporting educator well-being and shaping creative, joyful classrooms.

Masterclass on How Nurture and Nutrition shape Growth and Development: Trends in Early Childhood from an Indian Birth Cohort
2025-10-15 16:30 - 17:30 (Asia/Kolkata)
Through this hour, Dr. Beena Koshy, a developmental paediatrician with over two decades of clinical and research experience in childhood development and disability, will take us through the crucial early childhood factors that influence a child’s growth and development.
Drawing from her extensive community-based work with families and cohorts at CMC Vellore, Dr. Koshy will offer rich, research-backed insights that connect everyday practices to lifelong outcomes for children.
Whether you are a health worker, teacher, community worker, or school authority, this session will deepen your understanding of how early nutrition, growth, development, and early education come together to shape the foundations of life.
The session will also highlight findings from Indian research and lived community experiences, offering new perspectives to strengthen how we support young children in our homes, classrooms, and communities.
Key Takeaways:

Glimpse into Indian research that underscores the importance of the early years.
Understanding of key factors influencing early childhood growth, nutrition, and development.
Motivation and insight to strengthen your role in supporting early childhood wellbeing.

This masterclass is valuable for all individuals working with young children, including health workers, teachers, carers, community workers, researchers, and school authorities.

Masterclass on Is Space Important for Child Development?
2025-10-29 16:00 - 17:00 (Asia/Kolkata)
In most ideas, discourses related to child-development and education and hence in the efforts to actualize and bring them to practice, where these will manifest – the space – has least attention. Whereas, space encompasses them all the time in all places – indoor or outdoors.
In this context, Kabir Vajpeyi will be hosting the upcoming Masterclass – Is Space Important for Child Development? This session underlines and focuses on how space has the immense possibility and potential to contribute significantly in the natural process of child development and learning through multiple senses.
Kabir Vajpeyi is an architect and social entrepreneur from Bhopal, has spent over three decades using design as a tool for social change. As co-founder of VINYÃS and VINYÃS Society, he has worked with governments across 22 states to make schools, Anganwadis, and health centres more inclusive and child-friendly. His pioneering idea, BaLA (Building as Learning Aid), has transformed over three lakh schools and two lakh Anganwadis across India, and inspired work globally.
Key Takeaways:

Become more aware of the importance of creating sensitive and responsible spaces for children.
Develop an understanding of how to develop such spaces in their own environments – home, campus, neighbourhood, settlement, or institution.
Integrate space into providing a better childhood for their own children and those in society.

This Masterclass will be valuable for Anganwadi workers, program designers, caregivers, preschool or ICDS programme administrators, preschool teachers and principals, parents, and policy professionals.

Manotsava: National Mental Health Festival
2025-11-08 - 2025-11-09
We are delighted to share that Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies, in partnership with NIMHANS and NCBS, is hosting the second edition of Manotsava, the National Mental Health Festival on 8–9 November at The Lalit Ashok, Bengaluru.
The festival brings people together to explore everyday mental health through conversations on parenting, screen-time, childhood stress, caregiving, loneliness, intergenerational ties, wellbeing at work, and growing older with dignity, through talks, workshops, art, and experiential spaces.
And guess what?! Bachpan Manao will be there too!
Whether you are a practitioner, parent, policymaker, educator, student, or simply curious about how care shows up in our everyday lives, we would love to meet you there.
Festival Highlights
The line-up features leading voices in mental and emotional wellbeing, including:
Dr Richie Davidson (Center for Healthy Minds, University of Wisconsin–Madison)
Dr Prabha Chandra (NIMHANS)
Prof Vidita Vaidya (TIFR)
Dr Kaz De Jong (Médecins Sans Frontières)
Rahul Roy (Filmmaker)
Prof Surya Dolla (IIT Bombay)
Dr Amit Malik (Amaha)
Keynote Conversation: Rohini Nilekani will be in conversation with Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw and Nikhil Kamath
The festival is free and open to everyone.
Step into the Bachpan Manao Zone
At Manotsava this year, the Bachpan Manao Zone is a space to pause and reconnect with the worlds of children, through play, imagination, and everyday care.
It is an open corner for:
Remembering childhood as relationship, not just a stage of life
Noticing how safety, comfort, and belonging shape a growing mind
Exploring how play becomes expression, regulation, and meaning-making
Reflecting on the link between care, childhood environments, and mental health
You will find prompts, small playful interactions, and reflective corners that invite you to look at mental health through the lens of early experiences, and not only interventions.
This is a space for anyone working with, caring for, or simply curious about children, across education, health, parenting, youth work, community building, or early childhood systems.
If this sounds intriguing, come join us at the Bachpan Manao Zone. Slow down and step into a child’s pace.
What’s inside the Bachpan Manao Zone?
A collective of beautiful experiences – each one exploring childhood and mental health in its own unique way:
Bachpan Manao
This stall invites visitors to soften their burdens and step into the overflowing spirit of childhood. Childhood is not a memory locked in the past, but a wellspring of imagination, laughter, and wonder that lives within us. By moving from heaviness to lightness, the stall reminds us of all that childhood holds, mischief, colour, curiosity, and play, and how much of it still belongs to us. It is a celebration of that abundance, and an invitation to carry a little of it back into everyday life.
Artreach India
Step into Visual Voices, a vibrant showcase of how art empowers children to share their stories. Featuring unique artworks and animations from child care institutions, low-income schools, and community programs, this stall highlights how creative expression fosters joy, focus, confidence, and connection. Explore how art supports emotional wellbeing, skill-building, and mental health for children facing adversity.
Bookworm Goa
Take a break at the Calm Corner, a cozy space with books and sensory toys for children. Join the Collaborative Art Station to express emotions through guided art activities, or enjoy an engaging Read Aloud session, complete with discussions and activities before and after the story.
Funky Rainbow
A bookstall featuring a curated selection of children’s books that help young readers explore emotions, relationships, and life’s complexities — all in a language that feels real and relatable to them.
Pratham Books
An interactive book corner, “A Little Corner for Big Feelings,” featuring three stations that explore mental health and social-emotional learning (SEL) through children’s picture books. Station 1 uses wordless books with “feeling stickers” to track emotions, Station 2 showcases SEL books in Indian mother tongue languages with reflection prompts, and Station 3 encourages self-reflection through a mirror installation and affirmations. A QR code guides visitors to a short reflection form.
Sva-Hitha Child and Adolescent Well-Being Centre
Step into a world where play sparks growth! More than just fun, play is how children express themselves, solve problems, and build confidence. Explore hands-on activities and interactive displays to see how play therapy and everyday play help young minds thrive: boosting creativity, empathy, and positive relationships along the way.
Vazhai Foundation
Try traditional games like Pallankuzhi, Gilli Danda, and Uriyadi alongside brain and sensory games. Fun and hands-on, the space celebrates cultural games while sparking creativity and joy for all ages.

Bachpan Manao In A Box - A Citywide Invitation To Reclaim Childhood
2025-12-01 - 2026-01-16
Bachpan Manao invites schools, anganwadis, community groups, RWA’s, individuals and organisations across Bengaluru to host their own ‘BM in a Box’ – a joyful series of micro-events that bring play, storytelling and creativity into everyday spaces.

Click here to know more.

Masterclass on Small Shifts, Big Feelings: Integrating SEL into Everyday Activities
2026-01-13 16:00 - 17:00 UTC
What if integrating Socio-Emotional Learning didn’t mean adding more to your plate, but rather repurposing what’s already there? This hands-on masterclass invites participants into an experiential journey where you’ll engage in an art activity that reveals the difference facilitation approach makes in children’s learning. Through creating together, participants will discover how small, intentional changes, in the questions we ask, the space we hold, and the prompts we offer can transform ordinary moments into powerful opportunities for emotional awareness, self-expression, and growth. Participants leave with concrete, low-resource tools they can implement into their immediate settings.

Click here to know more

Makkala Hubba 2026
2026-01-16 - 2026-01-25 | Freedom Park, Bengaluru
When Bengaluru’s beloved city-wide arts and culture festival, BLR Hubba*, decided to hand Freedom Park over to children, something extraordinary happened – Makkala Hubba came to life!
At Makkala Hubba, chase the migration trails of Bengaluru’s butterflies (Follow the Butterflies), peer into the bioluminescent deep in Phytoplankton World, navigate the city through a life-size puzzle (Elli, Ekke, Ennu?), stir up recipe maps of India in Cook & Keep and more.
(*BLR Hubba — Bengaluru’s festival of festivals, anchored by the Unboxing BLR Foundation — is a 10-day celebration of the city through dance, music, theatre, art, food, and more, bringing historic landmarks alive with genre-defying experiences. Nested within it, Makkala Hubba is its dedicated children’s sub-festival curated by Bhawna Jaimini. Bhawna Jaimini is an urban practitioner and writer whose work sits at the intersection of architecture, society, and culture, with a deep commitment to equitable spaces for women and children)

Click here to know more

Launch of ‘The Playbook of Play’
2026-01-17 12:00 - 13:00 (Asia/Kolkata) | Freedom Park, Bengaluru
Join us for a special gathering as we mark the launch of ‘The Playbook of Play’ with Rohini Nilekani—a moment to pause, reflect, and reconnect with the true spirit of childhood.
This is not just a book launch. It’s an invitation to rethink how we see play.
Through this conversation, we explore:

Simple, age-wise ways to understand play
Visual tools to observe children’s growth and milestones
Easy-to-use activity ideas for everyday moments
Thoughtful approaches to both indoor and outdoor play

And yet, at its heart, this playbook carries a powerful reminder:play does not need instructions.
Children already know how to play.They learn the most when they are free to explore, imagine, and simply be.
For caregivers, educators, and anyone who cares about childhood,this is also a moment to breathe a little easierto trust that joy, learning, and growth are already unfolding through play.

Bachpan Manao Baithak at Makkala Hubba
2026-01-23 10:00 - 12:00 (Asia/Kolkata) | Freedom Park, Bengaluru
Makkala Hubba, part of BLR Hubba, is a 10-day celebration of childhood filled with stories, play, nature, and exploration. Set in the historic Freedom Park, it brings together joyful experiences for children and for childhood itself.
Bachpan Manao invites you to a small, invite-only Baithak within this vibrant setting. This is a space to pause, experience the festival, and come together in conversation.
We will reflect on a simple but powerful question:What does it really mean to invest in childhood?
From education, health, and safety to play, care, rest, and belonging, we will explore how our everyday choices shape the lives of children and those who care for them.
We would love for you to be part of this intimate gathering.

Masterclass on Setting Up a Community Library: What to Start With, What to Build Over Time
2026-02-12 16:00 - 17:00 (Asia/Kolkata)
This masterclass offers a practical, experience-based guide to setting up a community library that is inclusive, child-friendly, and rooted in the local context. Drawing from on-the-ground learnings from Bansa Community Library, the session explores the key considerations involved in starting a library, from choosing and preparing a space, selecting books and materials, and building trust with children and families, to fostering shared ownership and long-term sustainability.
The focus is on principles and practices that can be adapted across communities, helping participants move from intention to action when creating meaningful library spaces. The session will also offer practical insights for educators, caregivers, and program implementers on creating inclusive, child-centred community spaces that support both childhood and collective growth.
What to expect?

Gain a practical understanding of how to start and sustain a community library that is welcoming and useful for children and families
Learn how to prioritise access, trust, and shared ownership while setting up the space
Understand how to select books and materials that encourage engagement
Explore ways to create simple systems that support regular use without over-regulation
Build the ability to anticipate common challenges and adapt library practices to their own community contexts

This masterclass is designed for:

Preschool educators and Anganwadi Workers
NGO program officers and frontline implementers working with children and communities
Parents and caregivers
Early childhood practitioners interested in creating inclusive, child-centred spaces
Curriculum designers and researchers exploring community-led approaches to supporting early childhood development

The Shared Shelf
2026-02-21 09:30 - 16:00 (Asia/Kolkata) | Bangalore Design Centre
Librarians, educators, authors, and book lovers come together in Bengaluru to explore a simple but important question:How do we build libraries that welcome every child?
The Shared Shelf is a day of honest conversations and hands-on learning on what inclusion really looks like in practice.
The day will include workshops on tactile books, library rights, and building collections that reflect the diverse realities of children’s lives.
If you believe every child deserves to see themselves in the books they read and the spaces they enter, we warmly invite you to join.

Masterclass on Where Are the Fathers? Designing Content that Promotes Fathers’ Engagement in Early Childhood Programs
2026-03-24 16:00 - 17:00 UTC | Online
Early childhood programs increasingly recognize the importance of engaging fathers in caregiving and early learning. However, designing effective father-focused content requires a systematic and research-driven approach.
This masterclass will walk participants through the Sesame Workshop’s content development cycle used in the Daddy Cool Program to design content to promote fathers engagement in early childhood development. The session will the entire process of content creation that resonates with fathers and supports positive parenting practices. Participants will gain insights into how evidence-based design and storytelling can be used to create impactful, culturally relevant content that encourages fathers to actively participate in their children’s early development.
Participants will learn:

Key elements and steps to design content
How to translate research insights into a clear educational framework for behaviour change
How to transform research into engaging narratives and content
The process of developing father-focused programmatic content that resonates with the target audience
Practical lessons from implementing the Daddy Cool Program

This masterclass will be valuable for:

Early Childhood Development (ECD) practitioners and program designers working on parenting, caregiver engagement, and early learning initiatives
NGOs and development organizations implementing family strengthening, gender, or child development programs
Government officials and practitioners working in ICDS, health, education, and community development systems
Behaviour Change Communication (BCC/SBC) specialists designing social and parenting campaigns
Researchers and policy professionals focusing on parenting, gender norms, and early childhood development
CSR teams and foundations supporting programs related to parenting, caregiving, and child wellbeing
Curriculum and content developers creating educational materials for parents and caregivers

Raising with Algorithms - Bachpan Manao at the AI Impact Summit
2026-04-14 08:00 - 17:00 (Asia/Kolkata) | Bharat Mandapam, Delhi, India
We are pleased to invite you to a special panel discussion, “Raising with Algorithms: Who Shapes the World the Next Generation Grows Into.”
As AI becomes part of how children learn, are cared for, and are prioritised within systems, this session asks a simple but urgent question: who is shaping the conditions in which the next generation grows? We will explore what safety, responsibility, and local realities mean when algorithms enter classrooms, clinics, homes, and community spaces.
The panel brings together leaders working across education, public systems, and AI infrastructure:

Adam Ingle, LEGO® Education – bringing global perspectives on playful, hands-on learning and the future of education technology.
Vedeika Shekhar, Public Policy Specialist, NITI Aayog – bringing a national policy lens on innovation, governance, and enabling cross-sector collaboration for India’s development journey.
Azeez Gupta, Founder, Rocket Learning – working closely with governments to reach millions of young children across India through early childhood systems.
Bronson Bakunga, Co-Founder, Crane AI Labs – building offline-first AI infrastructure for African languages to support teachers and caregivers in low-resource settings.
Pallavi Poojari Mohindra, Co-Founder & CEO, The Nurturant – working at the intersection of parenting, early learning, and digital engagement.

This discussion, moderated by Deepika Mogilishetty, Chief of Policy and Partnerships, EkStep Foundation, is part of the AI Impact Summit.

Masterclass on Making Playfulness Real for Families: From Advice to Practice
2026-05-07 16:00 - 17:00 (Asia/Kolkata)
Most parents know play matters. What they need is permission to believe that what they’re already doing is enough. This Masterclass is built around one shift: from doing play to being playful: a quality of presence parents can bring to moments they already have; not an activity they need to add.
What to expect?
A framework to go from entertaining to responding, from control to flexibility, from performance to presence
A practical tool for tense or rushed moments
One question to give any parent: “What is my child already doing that I can join?”
Confidence to support parents in what they already do, rather than adding to their load
This masterclass is designed for:
NGO professionals
Anganwadi workers
Preschool educators
Community practitioners (working with families of children aged 0–3)

Practical and directly usable in:

Home visits
Parent group sessions
Community settings

Made In Play Summit
2026-06-02 10:00 - 15:00 (Asia/Kolkata)
India’s first national televised summit on play and early childhood, the Made in Play Summit brings together the people who think about it from very different places, reaching not just a room but homes across the country at the same time.
Brought to you by Bachpan Manao with EkStep Foundation and NDTV, the Summit starts from a single argument: play is not a luxury. It is infrastructure. And it builds that case across a full day of conversations.
Rohini Nilekani opens with why, as a society, we have misclassified play as reward when it should have been treated as a core input to child development. A National Play Manifesto, by children, of children, and for every caring adult, sets the tone for what follows. Panels bring together a Municipal Corporation Commissioner, toy designers, and urban planners to ask how systems can actually make space for play. A developmental paediatrician, an author, and early years educators explore the art, heart, and science of it. Architect Kabir Vajpeyi looks at the invisible playgrounds we have stopped designing. Disability rights activist Nipun Malhotra asks what play looks like for every child. Singer Vidya Shah makes the case for why you must sing to your child. And standup MOMic Amruta Bendre brings honesty and humour to parenting in the early years.
The Summit closes by recognising a Champion of Play, someone who shows up, every day, for children’s right to play.
