At 22, Prisha Kunda is turning childhood memories of Indian mythology into soft toys, through her brand Mithro, helping a new generation discover India’s own superheroes
Present-day children in India are exposed to a steady diet of global superheroes and pop culture. Tales from the country’s vast repertoire, communicating values and principles, which many households once nurtured, are getting lost in the noise of modern content. To counter this trend, Mythro, a homegrown toy brand, is reimagining Indian mythology, reshaping age-old stories into something children can hold, play with and grow with.
The brand’s soft toys, featuring figures like Hanuman and Ganesha, are not just meant to be played with, but to be understood.
Behind Mythro is 22-year-old Prisha Kunda, who started the venture four years ago. What began as a simple attempt to “do something meaningful” alongside high school, soon evolved into a deeper exploration of storytelling, identity and values. “I grew up listening to stories told by my grandparents,” she says. That early fascination with mythology stayed with her. “The Ramayana, the Mahabharata—I see mythology almost like a blueprint for life. Even concepts like the yugas and Vishnu’s avatars reflect different phases of society and human behaviour. I wanted to present these stories in a way that today’s children can understand and connect with. The idea was to make storytelling more engaging and relatable.”
It was her interest in psychology that gave the idea direction. “Children learn a lot through observation,” she says. “If they’re naturally looking up to characters, I thought, why not give them ones that actually carry values?”
Mythro was her answer. But building it was far from straightforward. With no experience in the toy industry, Prisha spent months reaching out to manufacturers across India. “I spoke to over 70 factories before finding one willing to experiment,” she says. “Most people didn’t know how to approach something like this—it wasn’t a typical product.” What followed was nearly two years of prototyping and refining, figuring out how to strike a balance between being modern and being respectful.
Now a student of Management and Marketing with Psychology at the University of Sussex, UK, Prisha manages Mythro across continents, flying back to India every few months and coordinating remotely in between. Her brother Pratik, based in Hyderabad, supports operations on the ground.
What started as soft toys is gradually expanding into storytelling, with modern adaptations of mythological narratives aimed at today’s children. The response, she says, has been encouraging, with families looking to reconnect their children with their roots and celebrate our very own superheroes.
For Prisha, the goal isn’t scale alone. “If even one child learns something meaningful from a Mythro story or toy, I feel I’ve done my job,” she says.
In a world of fast-changing trends and fleeting attention, Mythro is a quiet reminder that some stories—and the values they carry—are meant to endure.
