:: PlanetRead ::

Dr Brij Kothari was only trying to learn Spanish with the help of a Spanish film when he accidentally stumbled upon an idea that is revolutionising the way rural India reads. "The film was subtitled in English. It struck me that had it been subtitled in Spanish, we would have learned the language quicker," says the social entrepreneur, a fellow of the internationally renowned Ashoka Foundation and adjunct IIM professor. From that brainwave was born Same-Language-Subtitling (SLS), a system that subtitled oft-heard film songs in the same language to boost mass literacy. With the widespread popularity enjoyed by Bollywood songs, it didn't take long for the project to achieve success. Moreover, it helped immensely that most people knew the lyrics-even if they could not read or write in the language-and were eager to sing along. With that achieved, SLS then helped viewers to associate with the written word and, subsequently with repeated viewing, get acquainted with the alphabet and phrases. "It's really just karaoke," explains Kothari.

Initially, he subtitled a few Hindi film songs and put the system to test in the towns and villages of Gujarat. Feedback revealed almost 90 per cent of the viewers had appreciated the subtitles. Realising that the system would be most useful if aired on national TV, Kothari approached Doordarshan (DD) to implement it in film-based programmes like Chitrahaar. "Initially, there was scepticism. People feared it would affect the commercial viability of the programmes. We finally convinced DD-Gujarati to run a few pilot shows. Later, people wrote back saying how much they had enjoyed the programme," he says.

That was in 1999. Today, grants from the Google Foundation, the National Literacy Mission and a World Bank award have enabled SLS to run in 10 different languages in as many states. An added bonus is its cost effectiveness. "The Government budgets Rs 150 per person per year for early literacy, and manages to reach only five million people," says Kothari. "We spend one paisa per person per year, and reach 80 times as many people."

In 2004, Kothari instituted Planet Read, an NGO, in Pondicherry to promote SLS. Given the phenomenal growth of TV, the device looks poised to make learning more fun. "With SLS, reading has landed in your home, delivered through your TV," says Kothari. "You sing along and then, one day, you realise you can read."