Sisimpur
সিসিমপুর
Genre
Starring
  • Munna Ghosh
  • Kabyakatha Proteeti
  • Liton Das
  • Twinkle Chowdhury
Opening theme"Cholche Gari Sisimpure"[1]
Country of originBangladesh
Original languageBengali
No. of seasons15
No. of episodes(list of episodes)
Production
Production company
Original release
Network
ReleaseApril 2005 (2005-04) –
present
Related
Sesame Street
Sisimpur characters Tuktuki, Ikri Mikri, and Shiku.

Sisimpur (Bengali: সিসিমপুর) is the Bangladeshi co-production of the American children's television series Sesame Street.[2] The show premiered in April 2005 on Bangladesh Television.[2][3][4] The series is co-produced by Bangladesh-based Nayantara Communications and Sesame Workshop.[5]

It was Bangladesh's first children's educational program and was expected to be seen by 4 million children in its first two years.

Production

Production on the show began in 2003, with the show debuting in April 2005.[6]

Local production designers localized the backdrop for the show by building a set centering on a rural street with a banyan tree and tea and sweet shops.[7][8] The creation of Sisimpur was described in detail in the 2006 documentary The World According to Sesame Street.

USAID committed US$7 million in funding for the show over its first three years.[4] USAID funding for the show has continued as of 2022.[9]

Messaging

Content for the series was created in collaboration with local educators.[4]

The series promotes values like self-respect, empathy, and cooperation, and subjects such as girls' education, nutrition, hygiene, safety, and cultural traditions and diversity.[4]

Since 2015 the series has broadcast a holiday episode during Eid.[10]

The fourteenth season focused on empathy as its theme.[11] The fifteenth season included the show's first mentions of autism, through the introduction of new muppet Julia, and some segments with sign language.[12][13]

Characters

Muppet characters include:

  • Grover[11]
  • Halum is a Bengal tiger who loves fish, fruits, and vegetables.[2][14] Halum was designed by Ed Christie, built by Rollie Krewson, and voiced by Ashraful Ashish.
  • Ikri Mikri is a small 3-year-old blue monster.[2][4] Within the character's imagination are three marionettes named Bhutto, Gaanwalla, and Hatim, who act out Bangladeshi folk tales.[14] Ikri Mikri was designed by Ed Christie and built by Ann Marie Holdgruen. This character was voiced by Quazi Nawshaba Ahmed and later Kabyakatha Proteeti.
  • Julia is a four-year-old autistic girl, who loves her doll and drawing.[13]
  • Shiku is a small and curious 5-year-old jackal.[2][14] Shiku was designed by Ed Christie, built by Victoria Ellis, and voiced by Shuvangkar Das Shuvo.
  • Tuktuki is an inquisitive 5-year-old girl who loves school and cricket.[2][4] Tuktuki was designed by Ed Christie and built by Ann Marie Holdgruen. This character was voiced by Sayma Karim with Parvin Paru often assisting.
  • Manik-Ratan: A pair of two sheep. Together they are addressed as Manik-Ratan.
  • Raya[11]

The show has no full-body puppet character and, thus, no equivalent to Big Bird.

Human characters include:

  • Lal Mia: postman; the actor later died, and the character died within the show, a la Mr. Hooper.
  • Mukul Moira: university graduate and a nursery owner (played by Chanchal Chowdhury).
  • Sumona Moira: local school teacher. (played by Runa Khan)
  • Guni Moira:[12] sweet shop owner (played by Syed Dulal)
  • Asha Moira:[12] Guni's wife and the local librarian
  • Polash Moira: Guni and Asha's son.
  • Bahadur: postman (played by Shahadat Hossain).
  • Nanu: tells stories to Ikri Mikri.

Episodes

The first season of the series featured 26 episodes, and a second season of 36 episodes was in production by 9 February 2001.[15] A third season went into production in April 2007.[16] As of 2022, the show had fourteen seasons, with the fifteenth season of 26 episodes premiering in February 2023.[9][12][17]

The series airs four times a week on Bangladesh Television (BTV). The program airs on BTV at 9:05 am on Friday, with repeats on Saturday at 2:15 pm, Wednesday and Thursday at 5:05 pm.[18] Sisimpur started airing on children's channel Duronto TV on July 14, 2019.[19] Starting in 2020 the series also aired on Maasranga Television.[20]

In October 2022 it was confirmed that Sisimpur would continue to air on Bangladesh Television for the next five years, and in January 2023 Duronto TV also received airing rights for the next four years.[21][22]

Reception and impact

Within seven months of its premiere, 75% of households with a television were watching the series.[14] The program is popular not only among its 3-6 demographic, but also among older children.[14]

A 2005 study found that children who watched the program showed better vocabulary, counting skills, cognitive skills, life skills, and cultural knowledge compared to children who didn't.[5]

A 2009 study found that teachers who watched the program were more likely to understand children as learning through play, and parents who watched the program tended to view children as persons who were central to a better future and who were deserving of attention and respect. Some parents attempted to include Sisimpur lessons into their own parenting styles, while others appreciated seeing values they already held being portrayed on-screen in ways that were accessible to children. Parents also reported that children seemed to absorb lessons more readily from the show than from parental instruction.[4]

Other media

In 2017 Sisimpur collaborated with the AO Foundation to produce some segments and a public service announcement about safety and accident prevention.[23] In 2018 a version of the show was created for radio broadcast, focusing on financial literacy for children and families.[24]

In November 2022 it was announced that ten popular Sisimpur books would be published in Braille editions.[25]

In December 2022 the show partnered with UNESCO to promote World Heritage Sites in Bangladesh.[26] This would come in the form of a video documentary primarily focusing on the Mosque City of Bagerhat, Sundarbans, and Somapura Mahavihara.[27]

Accolades

  • 2022: 14th International Kidscreen Awards for Best Mixed Media Series[28]

References

  1. ↑ শিশু প্রহরে চলছে গাড়ি সিসিমপুরে. BanglaNews24 (in Bengali). 11 February 2017. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Sisimpur | Sesame Workshop". www.sesameworkshop.org. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
  3. ↑ "Sisimpur returns with season 12 on Duronto TV". Dhaka Tribune. 20 January 2020. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Kibria, Nazli; Jain, Sonali (1 January 2009). "Cultural Impacts of Sisimpur, Sesame Street, in Rural Bangladesh: Views of Family Members and Teachers". Journal of Comparative Family Studies. 40 (1): 57–75. doi:10.3138/jcfs.40.1.57. ISSN 0047-2328.
  5. 1 2 "Educational Impact of Sisimpur: The Results of an Experimental Study of Children's Learning". The Communication Initiative Network. 1 June 2005. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
  6. ↑ "The Sanctuary of Sisimpur | MOHAMMAD SHAH ALAM, Executive Director of Sesame Workshop Bangladesh". ICE Business Times. 17 October 2021. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
  7. ↑ "Independent Lens . THE WORLD ACCORDING TO SESAME STREET . On the Set". PBS. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  8. ↑ Lepore, Jill (4 May 2020). "How We Got to Sesame Street". The New Yorker. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  9. 1 2 "Sisimpur steps into 18th year | Daily Sun |". daily sun. 16 April 2022. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
  10. ↑ "Ikri and Halum joining Eid special Sisimpur from home". Dhaka Tribune. 19 May 2020. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
  11. 1 2 3 "Sisimpur Returns for 14th Season". The Business Standard. 11 October 2021. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
  12. 1 2 3 4 "Filming of 15th season of Sisimpur begins". The New Nation. 15 June 2022. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
  13. 1 2 "'Sisimpur' introduces differently-abled character to the gang". The Daily Star. 10 January 2023. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 Lee, June H (2007). "The educational and cultural impact of Sisimpur" (PDF). BR Online: 51–53.
  15. ↑ USAID Bangladesh in Focus: USAID Introduces Sesame Street Television Program in Bangladesh Archived 2006-06-19 at the Wayback Machine
  16. ↑ Bangladeshi Sesame Street Producing 5th Season
  17. ↑ "Sisimpur screens exclusive premiere of 15th season". The Daily Star. 30 January 2023. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
  18. ↑ "[TV Watch :Sisimpur on BTV]", The New Nation (Bangladesh), June 14, 2008.
  19. ↑ "Sisimpur to air on Duranata TV". New Age. 11 July 2019. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  20. ↑ "'Sisimpur' now on Maasranga Television". Dhaka Tribune. 29 August 2020. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
  21. ↑ "'Sisimpur' to run for 5 more years". The Business Post. 5 October 2022. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
  22. ↑ "'Sisimpur' to run for another 4 years on Duronto TV". bangladeshpost.net. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
  23. ↑ "Play Safe with Sisimpur". www.aofoundation.org. 3 September 2018. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
  24. ↑ "Sisimpur comes to radio". The Daily Star. 17 March 2018. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
  25. ↑ "'Sisimpur' brings surprise for visually impaired children". www.kalerkantho.com. 7 November 2022. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
  26. ↑ "UNESCO established new partnership with Sisimpur Bangladesh to promote World Heritage sites of Bangladesh". UNESCO. 14 December 2022. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
  27. ↑ "Three UNESCO heritage sites of Bangladesh to be highlighted by 'Sisimpur'". The Daily Star. 6 December 2022. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
  28. ↑ "'Sisimpur' wins International Kidscreen Awards". Dhaka Tribune. 20 July 2022. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
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