Shobha has a Masters degree in Special Education from the Eastern Michigan University, with a specialisation in teaching the visually impaired.
Her qualifications, combined with her desire to do something for those children, helped.
"I wanted a good 'read' for the visually impaired," she says. "What blind children were getting were stories that volunteers read out to them. These were not full-fledged story-telling experiences. Which is why we also had them in mind when we thought of the first series."
She started by reading the Panchatantra and Jataka tales, before deciding which stories to choose for the series.
They thought (actor) Naseeruddin Shah would be the perfect voice, thanks to his colourful background in theatre. Shobha got hold of Shah's address and wrote him a letter. He promptly replied, asking for a meeting when they were in Mumbai.
"We met," says Shobha. "He said the concept was very exciting and that he would love to do it. He refused to even talk about money."
Shobha admits they are eternally grateful to Shah for agreeing to lend his voice to the first series.
"It is easy to agree to do something after a product is successful. But when it is completely new, you are taking an enormous risk, which is what Naseer did. Maybe because he liked the idea, or sensed our passion. He understood we were not there to make a quick buck. We were there because we loved what we were doing."
Shobha has a Masters degree in Special Education from the Eastern Michigan University, with a specialisation in teaching the visually impaired.