84 JUNE - JULY 2019
Designer duo Aditi Agrawal and Anjali Menon’s studio, Gudgudee,
develops recreational areas and products to help make our metros
more child-friendly, one playground at a time, learns Huzan TataCHANGING THE GAMES
FEATURES | Q&AA
lthough India is on the path
towards modernising its
infrastructure and lifestyle
amenities, open spaces and
gardens, particularly for kids,
to enjoy the outdoors are still few and far
between. Now, two NID-graduates are out to
change the landscape of play. Aditi Agrawal
and Anjali Menon, who started their company,
Gudgudee, in 2014, are redefining spaces
with fun products — like life-sized drums and
macaron-shaped swings — that are a step
forward in the world of playground design
and suitable for children of varied age groups,
needs and skills. On behalf of the duo, Menon
talks to Verve about their endeavour...What was the impetus behind starting
Gudgudee and focussing on a niche market
in India?
When we were students at the National
Institute of Design (NID), Ahmedabad, we
visited the Blind People’s Association (BPA) as a
part of our research. The BPA doesn’t just cater
to the visually challenged, it also offers training
and school systems to all kinds of special-needs
children. We realised that they participated
in many learning and fun activities in the
classroom, but they never stepped outdoors to
play. This came as a shock to us. We discovered
two reasons for this: the social stigma attached
to disability, and the fact that the existing playequipment was unsuitable for these kids. So
under the guidance of our mentor, Praveen
Nahar, we decided to design a space within the
BPA’s campus, where the school children, their
siblings and other kids could play. We realised
that adding a belt, a safety harness or a ramp to
the existing swings and slides would not work,
as those would end up making the play area
exclusive to children with special needs.
So, we started from point zero to explore
what ‘play’ really is. We met psychologists,
therapists, teachers and parents to understand
their perspectives. It is not merely a mindless
activity that children indulge in during their
free time; play also perfects their gross and
fine motor skills, improves their cognitive and
imaginative skills, and it helps them learn to
negotiate their way through social situations
and make friends. Play is as essential as
education to a child’s overall development.
The elements we designed for the
BPA playground were really appreciated by
the staff. This project won us the iF Concept
Design Award in Germany. That was a great
learning experience and led to the realisation
that playgrounds in India have not evolved in
the last 30 years. We decided to plunge into
the deep end as we believed that we had the
tools to solve this issue. Designing playgrounds
is the most fun job! It’s a niche market right
now, but the demand and awareness
is definitely growing.