By IANS,
Thiruvananthapuram : Thousands of tiny tots in Kerala celebrated Vijayadashami by writing their first letter with the help of academics, litterateurs, teachers and politicians Monday.
On this day, invited luminaries hold the hands of tiny tots and help them write letters of the Malayalam alphabet on a plate of rice and at some places on sand.
The ceremony is called Vidyarambham. It takes place across the length and breadth of the state at temples, institutions, clubs, media houses and in churches as well.
While Hindus write ‘hari sree Ganapathaye namaha’ in praise of Lord Ganesha, Christians write ‘sree Yesu mishihaye’, hailing Jesus Christ.
Then using a gold ring, a Malayalam word is written on the child’s tongue by those who hold the hand of the tiny tots.
Despite the heavy rain, crowds had gathered since the morning. The maximum crowd was witnessed at Thunchan Paramabu, about 350 km from here.
“We arrived at 5 a.m and by that time itself there was a huge crowd. We waited patiently and we opted for the traditional way to initiate my daughter into the world of learning when we used the services of the ‘ezhthu asan’,” said a pleased father.
At Thunchan Paramabu, it is reported that there were more than 5,000 tiny tots who got their first ‘lesson’.
Among the temples which witness the maximum crowds is the Saraswathy temple, situated in Panachikkadu in Kottayam district.
This temple is also known as the Dakshina Mookambika Temple and despite the rain, the crowd of anxious parents waited patiently by taking tokens to initiatite their children into the world of learning where 50 ‘ezhthu asan’s’ were deployed for this.
In the state capital, all Saraswathi temples witnessed a huge rush.
P.G. Jose, parish vicar of the St. George Orthodox Church here, led the function at the church premises.
“There were 30 kids who had come to the church. The assistant vicar and myself initiated these kids into the world of learning. The kids included Hindus and the common words we wrote were Jesus, mother and God,” Jose told IANS.