Playtime just got a lot more fun

CHENNAI: Picture this: You have had a hard time at work and a harder time beating the summer sweat and traffic to get home. And then arrives the moment when you step into your house and your kid asks you to get him/her to a toy store. Crazy, isn’t it?Most parents will reluctantly take their kids to the toy store, but that’s not where the test ends. They have to browse through tens of thousands of toys before they can get the perfect one for their child. “One cannot blame the way toys are categorised at a toy store. Every toy has multiple aspects to it,” says Santhosh, co-owner, Bambaram Toy Library. Started in June 2010, this online toy-lending library is based on the Theory of Multiple Intelligences proposed by Howard Gardner in 1983. “We had a simple mission; we wanted to make learning fun for kids,” he adds. The library does not stock eye candy like Barbie dolls, or remote control cars. Instead,  mind games such as Monopoly, Scrabble and puzzles that will help sharpen a child's thought process are part of the inventory, Santhosh informs us.Having served employees of popular corporate firms such as MphasiS and Cognizant, Bambaram opened its gates to the public six months ago. Essentially a toy-lending library, this company also lets its members buy toys. Although the prime focus is on lending toys, Santhosh says, “If a kid gets too attached to the toy or the parents find it useful for their kid, we let our members buy it at a discounted price.” Selection of toys from several giant racks  at a toy store is a problem, Santhosh says.  “Managing a library online is easier and hassle-free for both our customers and us. It’s an added advantage for people who do not wish to travel to a store after a long, tiring day. They can browse our website and get it delivered at their doorstep.”Talking about the membership, he says, “ It’s `350 a month to borrow four items. Customers can use it for a fortnight, return it to us and get a fresh set of toys delivered.” The product limit changes depending on the membership plan a customer chooses, he adds. Lending out toys to kids can be quite a gamble. While most of us know how kids tend to misplace and lose bits and parts of toys, Santhosh disagrees.“Games such as Monopoly come with hundreds of currency notes. It will be unwise for us to expect that our customers will not misplace them.” The customers are given a fair amount of time to look for the missing parts or pieces of our toys. If they fail to do so, the product in question is returned to the customer at a depreciated cost, he informs us. Bambaram Toy Library is co-owned by Mumbai-based Parul Sarin, who is responsible for the company’s strategic management. For details, call  9962387624 or log on to www.bambaram.in