Famous Fridays : Rupa Parekh

Almost a month back, I received one of the sweetest gesture in my mail. It was a Flash Card set from Rupa - the owner of Jai Jai Hooray. She sent it out for D as a Diwali gift,  along with a handwritten note hoping that we enjoy exploring it. Today, I am sharing all about whats inside this bright and colorful box- here on the blog!

Flash cards is one of the most popular and playful means to introduce kids to any new words, concepts and images. I'm so glad that Rupa came up with the idea to design a set of cards that introduces all the Gods and Goddesses from the Hindu religion to our kids. 

 Each flash card has an animated drawing of the god in the front and a small description about them on the back. Such a great idea to get our kids to learn about Hindu mythology from an early age. Its been a month that D and me have been using the set and she can now point out the Gods correctly when I take their names.

When a mom is determined to teach her kids about her own culture, creativity flows and products like Jai Jai Hooray are born! I connected with Rupa to thank her for creating such a beautiful way of educating our kids and heres what she had to say about the brand. 

1) What prompted you to start Jai Jai Hooray?

The feeling of wanting to bottle up my mom! As a first-generation Indian American, I love my culture but always feel a little shaky on customs and traditions. When you have kids you want to be able to pass on your heritage and I just couldn't find tools that were beautifully simple. By the time we had our second child, I was ready to do something about it.


2) We love the flash card set and the building tower, any new products in the pipeline for Jai Jai Hooray?

Of course! We're working away now, mostly doing design research with our biggest fans but also people who haven't interacted with our brand at all. South Asians and non. We're looking forward to working on products for older kids as well.


3) As a mom what's your biggest challenge while you try to educate your kids about Indian culture?

Making it ever-present. We don't want our culture to be something they only think about once a month or on holidays. We do our best to incorporate words, ideas, places, foods, and people into everyday. 


4) Tell us about your favorite Indian festival, and how you celebrate it with your kids.

Well, I'm Gujarati so Navratri is a favorite. We love garba but I've always been inspired about the meaning of the festival. It's a celebration of female strength, power and motherhood. It inspired our latest creation the Goddess power Tower.


5) Being a mom is a 24/7 job. How do you strike the work life balance? 

I'm never really sure how to answer this question. It's usually a question we only ask women and moms, right? My life is my family, my work and my community. It always has been. But that's a personal choice. Am I balanced. Nope. Work in progress.


6)  Share a childhood memory with us that connects you to the Indian culture.

Falling in love with Mumbai with my parents as my guides. They left in their early twenties and each time they return it's as though time froze. We ride the trains, hop through the markets, crash weddings on Juhu beach and always visit the Churchgate area for a little calm. They taught me about humanity, heart and soaking in all the experiences we can on those trips. 

You can buy the flash card set here. Use promo code HOLIDAY10 for a 10 percent off the order.