Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

A memorable gift

Jins K. Benny

Jins K. Benny describes the thrashing he received from his father on his sixth birthday as the most `memorable gift' in his life.

But not without a reason. It was the last birthday Jins celebrated with his father, a carpenter, before he died.

"I received some severe beating from papa for accompanying my cousin to buy the birthday cake against his wishes," recalls Jins, a Plus Two student at St. Joseph's Higher Secondary School in the city. "Even now I miss him very much," says Jins struggling to control his emotions. The fond memories of his brief relationship with his `dearest papa' now form part of `Pranamam,' a compilation of Malayalam poems, which Jins has written in the last four years. Titled `Piranal Sammanam' (Birthday Gift), the poem along with 14 other titles, was released at the school on Friday.

A native of Pulppalli in Wayanad, Jins currently pursues his studies from an orphanage in Kannammoola, as his mother too left him following her re-marriage.

Jins says it was unexpectedly that he discovered the poetic flair in him. "While studying in class VIII our Hindi sir told us to write a patriotic song. I wrote a poem named `Bharatam' and showed it to him. He was very impressed and showed it to our Malayalam teacher, who got it published in Kerala Kaumudi." Since then Jins became an active participant of the school's literary forum and started contributing poems and short stories for children's publications, school and class magazines on a regular basis.

He has written 30 poems and five short stories till date. "I always received encouragement from my teachers and classmates for my efforts."

Jins describes himself as a person with "extreme emotions" as he can become "too happy"' and "too depressed." "The uncle [care-taker] in my orphanage often advices me to control my feelings," says Jins. "I write poems when I feel very sad and listen to songs when I feel elated."

All the 15 poems in `Pranamam' are accompanied by illustrations by the drawing instructor of the school. George Onakkoor has written the preface for the book.

Sangeeth Kurian

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