Posted on 03/02/2006 3:07:42 AM PST by CarrotAndStick
It was lessons in counting from none other than the US First Lady Laura Bush when she met the directors of Indian version of the famous American cartoon serial Sesame Street in Noida Thursday.
Participating in the shoot of one of the episodes, Laura, not minding the take or re-takes, was a sport while acting with the lead characters of the serial Chamki.
She might be a novice at acting, but the mother of two, Laura, knew how to charm the kids when she interacted with Shubham and Satyam at the sets.
Received by the Noida administration at the Eagle Studio in Noida among others by CEO Sanjeev Saran, Laura also exchanged pleasantries with social activist Nafisa Ali, who acted with her for the episode.
Laura was also apprised by Nafisa about the serious decline in the number of girl children in the country.
A smiling Laura, also provided enough photo opportunities to mediapersons who were keen to capture many moods of the first lady.
Dressed in a grey striped business suit, there was nothing business-like when the first lady made her first individual stop, breaking away from the entourage of her husband George W Bush and came to this industrial town to see the production of Gali, Gali Sim, Sim.
Describing how her daughters had grown up enjoying the famous serial in America, she hoped the Indian version will have the same impact on the kids of this country.
The result of a US-India public-private partnership between USAID, Sesame workshop and broadcasting, the programme is scheduled to be aired in August 2006 on Cartoon Network and Pogo, the TV channels.
The serial is expected to be aired on Doordarshan also for mass reach.
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Laura debuts on Indian telly
Vaihayasi P in New Delhi | March 02, 2006 16:21 IST
She was very friendly. Great fun. It was just like the visit of a friend," says Niret Alva, president, Miditech Pvt Ltd, of his meeting with US First Lady Laura Bush on the sets of the Indian version of Sesame Street, Galli Galli Sim Sim in New Delhi on Thursday.
After the American first couple's visit to Rajghat, the American President set out for Hyderabad House for his meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Laura Bush struck it out on her own and headed across Delhi to Noida to tape a segment of Galli Galli Sim Sim, which is being produced by Miditech in conjunction with Turner Cartoon Network.
In the segment, which was filmed on Thursday, the children are told to welcome a special guest who is Laura Bush.
She spent an hour on the elaborate and very colourful Indian sets of the popular American television show for children, meeting four of the main characters (Chamki, Bhoombah, Achoo, Googli), the children participating on the show as well as the technical crew and doing the shoot.
Says Alva, "Laura Bush and (Children's Film Socierty Chairman) Nafisa Ali taught the kids to count from one to five on this segment. The episode was in Hindi but Laura Bush, of course, spoke in English. She talks very well because she has a background in education."
The visit came about because of Laura Bush's involvement with the Sesame Workshop in the US. "And then she had a very good experience on the Egyptian sets of Sesame Street (in Cairo on her visit to Egypt in 2005). When they knew Mrs Bush was going to be here the Sesame Workshop invited her on the Indian sets. And she was very happy to come to our sets. There was huge attention to details in the organisation of her visit. And fantastic security arrangements," says Alva.
Galli Galli Sim Sim focuses on a typical Indian street scene with the four Indian-style Muppets. According to Alva, Laura Bush was very enthusiastic in her participation in the market scene and enjoyed that part immensely. She was accompanied by her personal staff and White House photographers for this visit which began a little after 10 in the morning.
Niret Alva has come a long way, hasn't he? I remember when his brother and he used to make some excellent independent documentaries on nature and the like (when they were kids).
No matter where she goes she handles herself like a lady. She is the best thing George Bush has going for him.
It isnt hard to tell when people are real, and Laura Bush is real.
Really loved Sesame street while growing up in the 80s. Thankfully got off before Elmo came along. Sesame Street was definitely a good learning program not a brain-numbing idiocy like Teletubbies....
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