Raiganj, May 29: The craze for animation films among children has led to a private computer firm utilising the addiction in making them learn the letters.

AT Multimedia (India), a local software firm, has made an animation film out of Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar?s, Bornoparichay, which was released at a programme at Raiganj Institute Hall today. The district literacy wing has decided to use the CD in its child and adult education programmes.

?We have been working in the field of developing software for the past four years and now, we have decided to open a multi-media company,? said Anirban Sen Chowdhury, the director of the company. ?Most companies start with games, but we decided to begin in a different manner.?

The company conducted a survey at homes, which had children who were yet to join school. ?We found that while the children were reluctant to go through Bornoparichay and learn the letters, they were addicted to television, especially the cartoon shows. They knew every character by heart,? Sen Chowdhury said.

Following the survey, they hit upon the idea that if the primer is presented through an animation film, the children will have fun in learning.

The original art work of the book has been followed and a local artist has traced out the images and drawn them from different angles. After that, technicians used various multi-media software and animation modules to finish the work. ?We have cartoons of a python coming out of the forest on which, the first letter of the Bengali alphabet is superimposed,? he said. Python in Bengali is ajagar, which is spelt with the first letter of Bengali alphabet.

?We have appealed to various schools and institutions to use our CD,? the director said. ?The children will relate to the film, which is similar to the usual cartoon shows, and will learn fast.?

Agreeing that it was a novel idea, Dulal Sarkar, the chairman of the district primary school council, said they will see if they can use the CDs in primary schools.