Originally reported and written in April 2023, this story has been republished as part of our archival content.

It’s a usual Tuesday morning and Aarthi Chandrasekaran, a mother to twins is busy getting her day started. Amidst the countless chores that she has to see to in the wee hours of the morning, Aarthi has a tough task at hand — keeping her twins distracted as she gets breakfast ready!

Luckily for her, the twins have taken a fascination with the colourful clutch ball that she recently purchased from a sustainable toy brand, Shumee. “My twins love the colours,” she says, going on to add that the unique design of the ball makes it easy to grasp. “It’s their favourite toy by far.”

Aarthi is one of the many mothers who can heave a sigh of relief and take a break in the midst of a chaotic day. And making this possible is a sustainable and safe toy brand founded by a mother. Meeta Sharma Gupta launched Shumee in 2016 as an attempt towards helping kids develop their cognitive and motor skills while they played.

“None of this was planned,” says Meeta in conversation with The Better India, as she recounts her journey from the portals of Harvard University to Delhi where she launched the brand.

‘My quest for safe toys’

Post completing a BTech from IIT Delhi, Meeta went on to pursue her PhD at Harvard University. Though the now 45-year-old had a lucrative career awaiting her, she says she felt the need to move closer to family, and so in 2012, she returned to her hometown in........

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