Kerala - Thrissur   

Restoring their faith in life

K. Santhosh

WORLD OF WORDS: Inmates of Government Juvenile Homes across the State take part in a five-day literary workshop that began in Thrissur on Saturday. Photo: K. K. Najeeb

Thrissur: When Huckleberry Finn realises the true nature of human beings beneath the polite exterior of society, he says, "Human beings can be awful cruel to one another."

Fifty inmates of Government Juvenile Homes across the State, who took part in a literary workshop organised by the Social Welfare Department here on Saturday, would agree with Mark Twain's observation.

"These children are not delinquents. They have gone through unendurable situations, have no one to look after them and, hence, been admitted to juvenile homes. Painful memories of physical and sexual abuse, deprived childhood, violence and hunger crowd in on these young minds. Such disturbing experiences give rise to crime. Society has a huge responsibility to heal the wounds of these children and restore their faith in life," says K.G. Sreedevi, Superintendent of the Government Juvenile Home here.

The boys and girls will present their poems, short stories and plays during the five-day workshop. "It feels good to share our experiences," says V. Vimal Thomas, who plans to write a play on life in juvenile homes.

Talk to the children and you find they are voracious readers. They talk animatedly about their favourite authors, including Arthur Conan Doyle, Kumaran Asan, Vaikom Mohammed Basheer, O.N.V. Kurup, Kunjunni and M.T. Vasudevan Nair.

"We make best use of the libraries in juvenile homes," says V. P. Amarnath. He took part in the National Leadership Camp, held in Jaipur last year.

"These children are from different parts of the country. Some of them have landed in Kerala in unusual situations. They are Marathis, Kannadigas, Tamilians, Biharis and Punjabis by origin. But all of them know Malayalam," says Ms. Sreedevi.

In most cases, the literary works of children are autobiographical. Sample these titles, Visappu (Hunger) and Hridayamenna Dushtan (Brute that is heart).

A short story penned by Vimal Thomas portrays an orphan talking to the moon and stars. Ask M. . Radheep why he gave the title, Mathru Sneham, to the short story he wrote, and he replies, "I have no mother."

Another boy speaks about his favourite scenes and dialogue in Victor Hugo's Les Miserables.

The scene depicts Jean Valjean, who becomes a thief by force of circumstance and later reforms his ways, and Fantine, who has been ruthlessly dismissed from the factory she worked in when the authorities discovered she had an illegitimate daughter, Cosette. To look after Cosette, Fantine had to be a sex-worker. "Cosette has no father," Fantine says on her deathbed. "She has the Lord," Valjean responds. "He is her Father and you are his creation. In his eyes, you have never been anything but an innocent and beautiful woman."

After Fantine's death, Valjean fulfills the role of Cosette's father. Later, as a young woman, Cosette describes Valjean in elegant terms, "My father is a very good man. I grew up in his love," she says. "His love was my home."

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