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the guide SERVICES FEBRUARY 10, 2013. SUNDAY MiD DAY19
RINKY KUMAR [email protected]
TO SAY that life changes aftera baby would be a gross under-statement. Changing nappies,washing feeding bottles andappeasing a six-month-old canbe quite tough. But like mostother parents, while I fuss overmy little one, I tend to forgethow seemingly harmless itemsinside and outside my homecan be dangerous for her.
It was such lack of aware-ness amongst parents thatprompted Shalini and SachinAgarwal to start Safe Baby,India’s first child safety compa-ny in April 2011. They try tominimise chances of accidentsand injuries to children by con-ducting audits of residences,play schools and day care cen-tres, installing safetyequipments and organisingworkshops for parents, grand-parents and nannies.
When Shalini visited myhouse this week, she gave me awide smile, “Your home is agreat place for kids since it hasmuch-needed floor space.”Then she proceeded to give me
some handy tips — how a cen-tre table should never becovered with a cloth as a hotdrink or food kept on it caneasily spill on the child oncehe/she pulls the cover; or a fur-niture piece with pointededges should be shielded withblunt covers.
Later, she conducted anaudit of each room, openingcabinets and cupboards, andtaking pictures of things thatwere unsafe. She suggestedthat we tie up the TV wire andhide it behind the set, unplugall electric appliances whennot in use, keep medicines incupboards with cabinet locksand hide cleaning agents andplastic bags away from thereach of my child as she caneasily choke on them. She alsosaid the distance between thebed and wall must be minimal.
Shalini recommended thatthe latches of bathroom doorsmust be fitted on top so thatchildren don’t open them acci-dentally. “Kids can easily fallinto Indian-style toilets andchoke within seconds,” shewarned.
She installed baby-proof
equipment too, such as a plas-tic plug for three pin holes andcabinet adhesive locks tosecure cupboards. Later, shedemonstrated how I could giveCardio PulmonaryResuscitation (CPR) to mydaughter in an emergency.
Shalini and her husbandlearnt about these tips andexercises after conductingextensive research and inter-viewing doctors. “In India, thehighest instances of accidentsrelated to children are due topoisoning after consumption of
cleaning agents or swallowingcoins. Our research revealedthat if basic precautions aretaken, children could be safer.”
In the long run, theAgarwals plan to extend theirservices across India andbabyproof playgrounds,restaurants and malls. “Wemust give a safe and secureenvironment to kids. After all,play is the work of childhood,”concludes Shalini. Log on to www.safebaby.in orcall Shalini Agarwal at9967550801
(Left) ShaliniAgarwal, co-founderof Safe Baby,conducts an audit ofa house to ensurehow safe is it for ababy and (far left)shows how to giveCardio PulmonaryResuscitation (CPR)to a child in case ofan emergency. PICS/
SAMEER ABEDI
PHORUM [email protected]
GUESTS attending 23-year-oldChandni Kejriwal’s weddingceremony have probably neverreceived an invitation in suchfilmi style. Her father ensuredthat a pre-wedding video of thebride and groom was shot atAamby Valley, complete withstories of how the couple metand how they felt at themoment. He then invited 300guests for a screening ofDabangg 2 and played thewedding invite video duringthe interval. The guests werestunned. “It was the most excit-ing part of my weddingpreparations. It was amazing!”an excited Kejriwal tells us aday before her wedding.
However, it was notKejriwal’s father who imaginedand executed this unique idea.The brains behind this conceptare two former executive pro-ducers for a television channelwho founded their company,Blockbuster Shaadi, when theTV channel they worked for,shut shop.
Thirty-two-year-olds SwatiKhanna and Meghana Badolastarted Blockbuster Shaadi lastJuly after becoming joblessovernight. Today, their firmoffers a unique service to theirclients — a wedding invite notprinted on paper, but in theform of a video.
So what is it exactly that
they have for couples? “A com-plete film set. From a spot boywho is ready with juice orumbrella, to make up, dresschanges and a creative script.The couple is treated like starson a movie set. All they have tochoose is a song, theme andlocation,” explains Khanna.
“We ask them about howthey met and their courtshipperiod to gauge their personal-ities. We get the couple tospeak about their courtship atthe end of the theme song,”says Badola. They also takepains to make sure every clientis satisfied. “It is very easy toget overwhelmed in front ofthe camera. So if the groom istoo shy, we add a voice over,and if the bride looks awk-ward, we change the angle,”explains Khanna.
The duo also makes celebra-tion videos, Thank You films,music videos, and revamps oldfootage into quirky 10-minutefilms with added voiceover,music and colour correction.“Our videography is like a one-hour movie that captureseverything from the baraat,pheras, bidaai and tiny bytesfrom the bride, groom andclose family members — allpacked with emotions,” saysKhanna.
Log on to www.blockbuster-shaadi.com orfacebook/blockbustershaadiCall: 9820420587
Build a safer homefor your child Safe Baby
provides tipsand easysolutions tosafeguardyour littleone fromaccidentsand injuries
Chuck those cards away. Two city-basedyoung women have now launched an onlinefirm that turns your wedding invite into avideo
