Thousands of kids enter world of letters

Thousands of tiny tots in Kerala were initiated into the world of letters at the traditional Vidyarambham function on Thursday, Vijaya Dasami which marked the culmination of the Navaratri festival. Vidyarambham (start of education) was held at various Hindu temples, cultural centres, media houses, libraries and even Christian churches.

At Hindu temples and traditional Hindu centres of learning, Gurus made tiny tots write the first letters, “Hari Shree Ganapathaye Nama”, in rice and sand after they inscribed the same letters on the children’s tongues with golden pens or rings.

The biggest crowds of young kids and their parents were seen at Thiruvullakkavu temple in Thrissur, Panachikkadu Saraswati temple in Kottayam, Thunchan Parambu, memorial for Thunchath Ezhuthachchan, revered as the father of Malayalam language, at Tirur, Malappuram.

Thousands of Malayalees visited the Sree Mukambika Temple at Kollur, southern Karnataka, which Hindus revered as the most auspicious place for initiating children into the world of letters. The ceremony at the Kollur temple started in the wee hours of Thursday owing to the long queues of children waiting for entry into the world of knowledge.

The star attraction at the Kollur temple for this Vidyarambham was playback singer KJ Yesudas, who had reached there to be the Guru of his own granddaughter. Also seen at Kollur was young Malayalam film star Naren, whose daughter too was initiated into the world of letters by Yesudas.

Early Thursday morning, children, mostly aged two to three, along with their parents, gathered at temples, schools, libraries, cultural centres and media houses to go through the Vidyarambham function (also called Ezhuthiniruthu) of writing their initial letters, invoking blessings of Goddess Saraswati.

In Thiruvananthapuram, the ceremony was held at places like Pazhavangadi Ganapati temple, Attukal Devi temple, Sree Padmanabha Swamy temple, and several cultural institutions and publishing houses.

Other important places where Vidyarambham was held were Dakshina Mukambika temple and Chottanikara Devi temple in Ernakulam district, Ezhukone Mukambika temple in Kollam, Kalakathu Bhavanam, the house of Kunchan Nambiar, poet and father of performing art form Thullal, at Killikkurissi Mangalam, Palakkad, etc.

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