There is a growing concern amongst the parents and the doctors about the number of hours that children spend either on watching television or on computer. The length of time children spend watching screens is frequently a battleground in families, with parents increasingly powerless to control their children’s viewing which has, now these days, moved beyond TVs and computers, on to smart phones and iPads. Alarmed by this trend, Radha Srinivasan, a Navi Mumbai based resident, opened a Pandora box of activities for one and all at Seawoods called ‘Little Orkid’.
A staunch believer in kindling the spirit of creativity, Radha feels that learning and nurturing oneself has no age limit. “Every person is a kid when it comes to developing or nurturing hobbies,” she says with a smile.
“I know a person who inspite of having a great job at Air India is happy teaching Guitar and made this teaching his main profession and at the end of the day, he is a happy person”. Somewhere, down the line, we all fall prey to the robotic, mechanical, academic race and are forced to leave behind our interests, creative skill and talents”, she adds.
“A 360 degree overall development is always essential for a happier you. Give yourself or your kids the hobby time and see the magic unfolding,” says she.
“During my childhood, almost every kid in my neighborhood had some sort of hobby. Collecting and trading stamps was a popular pastime, as was coin collection. There were kids who were interested in photography, while others opted for dancing or singing. Sadly, these now these days children are hooked on to television or video games. It is unfortunate that many of the children have never experienced the rewards of a hobby. To encourage children to take up a hobby, I decided to start an activity centre where children can get enrolled in whatever hobby they are interested in,” says Radha.
‘Little Orkid’ provides a plethora of activities under one roof to help people utilize their leisure time in a fruitful manner and to help them discover their hidden talent. Be it vocal music (carnatic & Hindustani, instrumental music); classical & western dance forms; drawing; sketching; yoga; zumba, Pilates Karate, silambam, gymnastics; or robotics and dermoglaphyics etc.- Little Orkid has it all. Not just that, if your interest lies in mastering a foreign language like French, German, English or the local languages like Hindi, Marathi and Sanskrit, ‘Little Orkid’ has classes of those too by professional language experts.
“Nurturing hobbies and interests have many benefits in the overall development of a child’s personality besides acting as stress buster for elder kids who are generally hard pressed with time due to their academics. The plus point of having a hobby is that at times it can become one’s career as well”, stresses Radha, who herself participated in the Guinness book of world record for world’s biggest crochet blanket.
“Not just that, I encourage the underprivileged children too to take up various activities. I have asked some of the maids and the labourers to send their children for various activities for free of cost. It is heartening to see them enjoying these classes and it gives me immense satisfaction that I am the medium through which they are able to achieve their dreams”, beamingly says Radha.

As a future plan Radha wishes to develop ‘Little Orkid’ into a big school of vocational and sports activity. “My aim is to inculcate a hobby culture amongst all the children. It is so heartening when I see my students excelling in various extra- curricular activities and winning trophies and appreciations,” says Radha with a sense of satisfaction.