Box of Dreams: Bengaluru teen’s writing kit sparks storytelling revolution among underprivileged children

Dozens of children gather around a 16-year-old girl with notebooks, flashcards, and eyes full of wonder. At the heart of this movement is CleverBox, a storytelling toolkit created by Vidhi Golchha, a student of The International School Bangalore (TISB), who is redefining access to creative expression for underserved children.

What began as a modest idea in 2021 has now grown into a patent-pending educational product, endorsed by youth innovation platforms, supported by NGOs, and available in bookstores across Bengaluru.

Rooted in the Freytag Pyramid — a narrative arc typically introduced only in elite classrooms — the kit simplifies storytelling into five stages using flashcards, worksheets, and even clay to mould characters. Designed to be tactile and visual, CleverBox allows even first-time learners to build and tell stories.

Priced at ₹699, the kits fund themselves. For every purchase, CleverBox is donated to children from low-income communities, who receive the product free through Vidhi’s workshops and NGO partnerships. Over 100 children have received free CleverBoxes, and that number is growing rapidly.

Golchha’s initiative has been endorsed by Rare Ones, a platform spotlighting young innovators, and her kits are available at leading bookstores like Blossom Book House and several boutique outlets across the city. She has also filed for a design patent, securing intellectual property rights over her product.

Every Sunday, Golchha holds creative writing workshops at Cubbon Park, a tradition that has become a community ritual. Children as young as ten arrive from LR Nagar and surrounding areas, excited to write stories.

“She makes them feel important—as if their words matter,” says Zeena Mani of Global Concerns India, one of five NGOs that Vidhi now actively collaborates with. “These kids now use metaphors and similes without even knowing those terms because they’ve learned by doing, not memorising.”

Beyond the workshops, Vidhi is preparing to launch 'Write It Out', a publication that will feature stories written by the children she mentors—giving them a platform to showcase their talent. “Some of them didn’t know how to write in English six months ago. Today, they’re crafting entire narratives. That’s the power of belief and the right tools,” she says.

To make CleverBox more inclusive, Golchha is translating the kit into Kannada, Bengali and Hindi, aiming to integrate it into government schools across Karnataka, West Bengal and Delhi, where English education often lacks creative resources.

Vidhi balances her initiative with a full academic schedule at TISB, weekly journaling, and participation in literature festivals. She recently presented a research paper on storytelling and empathy at IIT Gandhinagar’s Curiosity Conference, adding academic rigour to her work.

Vidhi's vision is bold: she wants CleverBox in every classroom, especially those where creative writing is still a luxury. “Storytelling is not just a skill,” she says. “It’s a right. It teaches empathy, builds confidence, and allows every child to say: My story matters.”

And thanks to CleverBox, those stories are being written loud and clear, in clay and ink, in flashcards and dreams.

To follow her work, visit @cleverbox.club on Instagram.