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Hundreds initiated into the world of letters at Thunchanparambu

Staff Reporter

The home of Thunchathu Ezhuthachan turns into a pilgrim centre

INTO A NEW WORLD: Jnanpith laureate M.T. Vasudevan Nair initiating a child into the world of letters at Thunchanparambu on Wednesday.

TIRUR: Nearly 5,000 children were initiated into the world of letters at the Vidyarambham ceremony held at Thunchanparambu, the home of Malayalam language's father Thunjathu Ezhuthachan, here on Wednesday.

The `ezhuthiniruthu,' conducted by a host of literary figures and traditional `gurus' under the leadership of Jnanpith laureate M.T. Vasudevan Nair, marked the culmination of a five-day Vidyarambham festival at Thunchanparambu.

People from distant places, including Bangalore, made it to Thunchanparambu. Long queues had been formed outside the Saraswati and Krishnasila mandapams at Thunchanparambu much before the function started at 4.15 a.m.

Catching pre-dawn buses, trains and cabs, parents brought their children to Thunchanparambu to have them script Harisree Ganapathaye Namah on rice.

All roads led to Thunchanparambu from morning. By 10 a.m., crowds packed the road to Thunchanparambu, often causing brief spells of traffic blocks.

Literary personalities conducted Vidyarambham at the Saraswati Mandapam and traditional gurus held the show at the Krishnasila Mandapam. People had the freedom to choose between the two as there was no registration for the function.

Apart from Mr. Vasudevan Nair, the writers who offered Harisree to children included Alankode Leelakrishnan, Manamboor Rajanbabu, Viju Nayarangadi, Sreekumari Ramachandran, Kanesh Poonoor, Isaac Eapen, K.P. Ramanunni, K.S. Venkitachalam, Ram Mohan and Anand Kavalam.

Dozens of poets, young and old, took part in a `poets' vidyarambham' ceremony held as part of the festival. All of them presented their poems to a large audience.

The flow of parents continued even after the ceremony closed by 12.30 p.m.

Steals the show

All eyes were on P.N. Shanavas and his wife Priya from Bangalore when they approached M.T. Vasudevan Nair with their two-and-a-half-year-old son Ishan at Thunchanparambu on Wednesday morning.

The couple said it was a dream-come-true for them to have Mr. Vasudevan Nair initiate their child into the world of letters. "So much was the influence of MT on us that I could never imagine of anyone else doing it for my child," Mr. Shanavas told The Hindu .

Hailing from Kozhikode, Mr. Shanavas is now settled in Bangalore, where he and Priya do business. With their two children, the family flew down from Bangalore on Tuesday evening for Vidyarambham. They left soon after the ceremony.

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