Thunchan Paramba at Tirur, the home of Malayalam language’s patriarch Thunchathu Ramanujan Ezhuthachan, witnessed one of the largest Vidyarambhom turnouts in the State on Tuesday. As many as 3,431 little children were initiated into the world of letters at Thunchan Paramba.
Thunchan Paramba and its adjoining areas plunged into a festive mood as parents, siblings and relatives poured in large numbers from different places across the State to witness the children script Harishree .
There were also a few Keralites from metros outside the State. A large number of people had reached Tirur on the previous night.
The Ezhuthiniruthu began at 4.15 a.m. as people stood in long queues displaying a mood of great jubilation.
Moment of pride
“It was a moment of great pride and jubilation for every parent. The kids were cheerful; so were their parents,” said poet Manambur Rajanbabu, who was among the first batch of writers who started the Vidyarambhom.
Jnanpith laureate M.T. Vasudevan Nair attended the function, but his poor health did not permit him to initiate any child into the world of letters.
Mr. Nair used to lead the Ezhuthiniruthu at Thunchan Paramba in the previous years. Assembly Speaker P. Sreeramakrishnan led the Vidyarambhom function at Thunchan Paramba.
Alankode Leelakrishnan, Manambur Rajanbabu, P.K. Gopi, K. Sreekumar, K.X. Anto, Kanesh Poonoor, P.R. Nathan, Isaac Eapen, G.K. Rammohan, Radhamani Ayinkalam, Madhavan Purachery, Padmadas, and K.S. Venkitachalam were the writers who got the children script Harishree Ganapathaye Namah in rice.
The writers initiated the children into the world of letters at Saraswati Mandapam when the traditional acharyas did their job at the Krishnasila Mandapam.
Most writers donated the offerings they got from the parents to the Thunchan Memorial Trust.
Even when the Ezhuthiniruthu proceeded, the Thunchan Paramba witnessed a poets’ Vidyarambhom too.
Dozens of poets, big and small, dedicated one of their poems to Ezhuthachan in the vanguard of the Malayalam language.
Great poets such as Vailopilly, Akkitham, N.N. Kakkad and Kunhunni had presented poems in poets’ vidyarambham at Thunchan Paramba in their days.
Among the leading poets who took part in the poets’ Vidyarambhom on Tuesday were Alankode Leelakrishnan, Manambur Rajanbabu, P.K. Gopi, Padmadas and G.K. Rammohan. Appu Master presided over the function.
