How best to make the new generation aware of their roots? Organisers of the ‘Bhashapadhanakkalari’, the nine-day camp to familiarise children with their mother tongue and culture, chose a novel way to do that: by presenting them with paddy stalks.
Renowned filmmaker Adoor Gopalakrishnan handed over to each child a paddy stalk before he formally inaugurated the camp, organised jointly by Malayalam Pallikkoodam and the State Institute of Languages, at the Government Model Lower Primary School, Thycaud, in the city on Tuesday.
As the ace film-maker spoke, they sat there feeling the hairy blades and mildly waving the stalks as they sat listening to him.
“Malayalam is fused into our souls. It has been found that one learns the best through one’s mother tongue, which can also become the basis of learning other languages. We should never forget our motherland and mother tongue. Culture, if taught in childhood, becomes a part of one’s personality,” he said.
He also rued the loss of greenery and water in the State. “We are being unjust to Mother Earth. We misuse her resources. The land once abundant in rivers, streams and lakes, now faces water scarcity. Now we have to import food and water from other regions,” he pointed out.
The workshop, being guided by poet V. Madhusoodanan Nair, would feature various programmes, including a book exhibition and a one-day ‘Grama Yatra’ to Neyyar with the poet.
“We have been organising such workshops every summer to bring Malayalam language and culture closer to our children with stories, activities and performances,” said the organisers about the workshop, which would conclude on May 10.
