Thousands of children took their first step into the world of letters on ‘Vidyarambham’ day on Friday. Temples and other institutions across the district held special programmes to initiate children to the world of learning. About 3,000 children took part in the ‘Vidayarambham’ proceedings at the Dakshina Mookambika temple at North Paravur. Devotees began queuing up from 2 a.m. onwards to take part in the ceremony. The pujas and other ceremonies were led by Melsanthi D. Radhakrishnan.
From 5 a.m. onwards, 22 ‘gurus,’ scholars drawn from different fields, held children’s hands while helping them write ‘Harisree’ in Malayalam on platters filled with rice. The ceremony went on till 2 p.m. and crowds thronged the temple till late in the evening. About 150 police officers and 41 student police cadets were present in the temple and the surroundings to control the crowd and assist the devotees.
Similar scenes were also witnessed at the Chottanikkara Bhagavathy Temple. The ceremonies at the temple were led by Keezhshanthi E.P. Damodaran Nampoothiripad, Tantri Puliyannoor Subrahmanian Namboodiripad, and Melsanthi B.V. Ganeshan Embranthiri. Hundreds of others also observed ‘Vidyarambham’ by writing the ‘Harisree’ on the sand around the temple.
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A ‘Vidyarambham’ programme was organised by the Alumni of Maharaja’s College. Thousands of children took part in ceremonies held at religious, educational, and cultural institutions across the district.