The institute makes educational films for primary schoolchildren and primary school teachers. But hold on - the emphasis of the `need-based educational clips' is on making learning a pleasure. Balchitravani does not believe in serving up the perfect Doordarshan-style lullaby, but a lively blend of all the ingredients which will hold the child's restless interest.

Children between five to eight and nine to 11, in both urban and rural areas, form the target group. ``The topics for telecast are chosen so that they can be easily understood in the `visual mode.' They are also related to the child's school curriculum,'' says Bipinchandra Chougule, a producer at the studios.

``Most children find concepts in mathematics and science difficult to comprehend,'' says Manjiri Prabhu, another producer, ``and making them understand these involves simplifying complicated concepts, which requires a lot of imagination and technological jugglery.''

Hence, simple narration, animation, visuals plus the participation of children themselves are solicited for maximum effective communication. ``Those who participate in the programmes are natural actors from different schools in Pune, some of whom have literally grown up with us. They feature in more than one programme playing different roles,'' says Prabhu.

The films attempt to develop the personality of the child. Topics vary from the field of mathematics, science, history and geography. Nursery rhymes, songs, drama, puppets, quiz and different innovate concepts are linked together to produce very entertaining and educative programmes of 30 minutes each.

A perfect example would be a film clip on wildlife made by the centre a while ago. ``The Flying Wonder traced the silkworm from its tiny egg stage till it became a caterpillar and finally a butterfly. Another film on the hydrosphere introduced the different forms of water on earth to the children by the `promo-key' technique. An anchor-person stands in front while vistas of the different hydro-formations on earth move into focus in the background,'' explains Chougule.

Video gimmicks, interesting scripts and unusual animation tricks find their way into the programmes, to make them entertaining while they educate. The focus is on easy, almost unconscious learning, doing away with heavy text-books and the rote method of memorising facts without identifying them.

Balchitravani's high-impact films have won several awards at national and international film fests. It is a mini-Doordarshan which boasts of not only the latest and upgraded facilities but also a cohesive unit of producers, editors, script-writers, engineers, administrators, cameramen and recordists.

The staff at Balchitravani believes in teamwork to produce some very interesting clips. It is mandatory for each of the 11 producers to make two programmes per month. And that means hectic work, including imaginative visualisation, script-writing, taking rehearsals with children, video recordings or shooting at outdoor locations. The latest video facilities and two Betacam editing suites for special effects are employed for making the films.

All Balchitravani programmes are beamed at state level from Doordarshan, Mumbai from 10.30 to 11 am, Monday through Friday. A majority of schools, especially the ones in rural areas, have judiciously installed TV sets, and use them extensively for classroom teaching.