Toy love!

I m an ardent lover of toys…The time spent in toy shops are definitely greater than the time I have spent on any kind of shopping…I enjoy reading reviews from parents, grandparents, uncles on different websites on the toys I want to buy

Many times after serious thought, I discard the idea of buying too many for the following reasons

• Kutti “r” is too small…its going to be awhile before his preferences develop
• The luxury of time to read reviews, search the web and identify the one for my lil baby as the months pass
• Space – we live in a rented apt and the lofts in one room are bulging out (Yes, I have inherited and accumulated enough kid stuff)
• Cost

I love libraries, old book shops and have a huge collection of children books already…but not all libraries carry toys. After being in the US for a good number of years, I have always liked the idea of libraries lending toys and I was happy to find a library in Bangalore that did the same.

I was happier when I came across “Bambaram” and this post is from the TOP Operating Officer who was a classmate in school.

Bambaram - India's First Multiple Intelligence Based Online Toy Rental Store

A brief note on Bambaram:
Bambaram is an Online Educational Toy Library based on the renowned Theory of Multiple Intelligences! Bambaram serves kids in the age range of 0 - 9 years. On becoming a member, one can rent Toys/Books/CDs every week for a nominal monthly subscription which starts from Rs 250 onwards. Bambaram serves parents working with various corporates/institutions in Chennai - Cavinkare, Mphasis, Polaris, Scope Eknowledge, Virtusa, Tech Mahindra - to name a few at their doorsteps (Home/Office). They also offer services to select schools, preschools & gated communities.

Origin & People Behind:
Bambaram was started by Santhosh & Parul. Santhosh is an IIT Kharagpur alumnus and has worked with ITES & Retail sectors before venturing into Bambaram with Parul. Parul is an XIMB alumnus and has handled various Sales & Marketing assignments with FMCG sector. She also holds a certification on MI from Multiple Intelligent Institute, Singapore. It was during one of Santhosh's stint with an NGO in upcountry Tamil Nadu, he realized the potential of Toys & Games as a tool for to make learning fun. Bambaram was born!

Why the name 'Bambaram'?

Being a north Indian, Parul found the words 'Bambaram' and 'Bommai' the easiest to pronounce in Tamil and had a close relation to what they intended to do. Finally it was Srishti, Parul's two year old, who picked up 'Bambaram' over 'Bommai'

Link to FAQ section - http://173.45.68.165/bambaram/index.php?c=staticpages&m=show_page&page=faq

And soon we'll have a section in this blog where fellow blogger moms are invited to participate. A toy review fun contest! Pick out the most popular toy from your child's collection and post a review on your blog and link it to our "Bommai review section". The reviews will reach Bambaram and if Bambaram picks a toy based on your review, the blogger will be rewarded. No rules here...Have fun and repeating Dr. Seuss, "It is fun to have fun But you have to Know how." – and it’s definitely OK to teach your kid how to have fun J