[20th February 2023, Karachi]: During an interactive and engaging session at the ongoing Karachi Literature Festival, Peek Freans Gluco launched its much-awaited book of “Gluco Kahani Rhymes” along with renowned singer and songwriter Bilal Maqsood.
The Gluco Kahani platform was created in collaboration with Bilal Maqsood with the inspiration to create rhymes for children in the Urdu language. The aim was to create purposeful content under the umbrella of Peek Freans Gluco for the benefit of our future generation. Since its premiere in March 2022, the initiative so far has received a phenomenal response, racking up over 22 million views and 95 million impressions on YouTube & over 15 million impressions on Facebook. Gluco Kahani aims to be the vehicle which attracts children to view content in our native language, using easy-to-understand rhymes that helps little ones build vocabulary.
“We wanted to show that nourishment can be fun, entertaining, and memorable. This belief led us on the journey of making learning Urdu fun” said Shahzain Munir, Executive Director at EBM, in a statement. “We saw the opportunity to convert the rhymes into a book format to help inculcate the habit of reading in Urdu in a way that both parents and children will enjoy.”
Peek Freans Gluco is a generational brand, having been trusted by mothers for over 30 years as being the first biscuit for their children that provides wholesome nourishment. To keep strengthening the bond with its consumers, the same stories/rhymes have been made available in book form to allow children to see the fun side of our beautiful language with lovable Gluco characters. The stories are designed to help parents engage and laugh with their children as they learn counting in Urdu with Haathi, run along the jungle with Khargosh and learn the power of helping others with Chirya. There is a QR code on each page to link with the online video and content.
When asked about his views regarding the project, well known singer, Bilal Maqsood said: “This was a dream project for me. I partnered with Peek Freans Gluco of EBM to compose, write, and sing nine original Urdu nursery rhymes for children to play my part in giving our children something to hold on to while growing up – something that’ll keep them connected to their language and cultural values without losing the element of learning with fun.”
The session ended on the note that various elements of society must work in tandem to ensure the availability and proper distribution of Urdu content for the sake of our younger generation.