Sisimpur steps into 18th year

‘Sisimpur’, the Bangladeshi version of the children’s popular television series Sesame Street, has completed 17 years and steps on the 18th year on this 15 April, says a press release.

Set in a vibrant and colorful neighborhood, the series, which launched in 2005, features locally beloved characters like Halum the Bengal tiger; a small blue monster called Ikri Mikri; Shiku, a curious and inventive jackal; and Tuktuki, a vivacious young girl.

With the help of the television show and printed materials, Sisimpur helps children with identifying letters, identifying letters from words, matching words with letters, creating sentences with words. They also use the materials from the surrounding environment and help identify the colors and words through them.

For example, the beginning letters of the words such as house, banana, mango, table, clock, cow, tree, leaf, pen, book etc. are taught through play. Through the characters of Sisimpur, different elements of the environment such as colors, shapes, etc. are taught.

The accurate pronunciation of Bangla language has always been regarded as an essential matter at Sisimpur. That is why, all the Sisimpur Muppets, human characters and even in the animation episodes the Standard Bangla pronunciation has been especially emphasized so that the children get sufficient exposure to Standard Bangla language and can practice as well. At the same time the dialects, cultures and life-styles of different areas are also portrayed. So, the children learn to show respect towards various cultures and dialects which are different than theirs.

Currently, the fourteenth season of Sisimpur is being aired on BTV, Duronto TV, and Maasranga Television. According to a press release, about 10 million population of the country is enjoying the programme through three TV channels.