Vijayadasami: Thousands of Children initiated into Learning through Art
THE HINDU
INDIA - Thousands of children in Kerala entered the world of learning by scribbling their first letters on Vijayadasami day on Thursday, marking the culmination of the Navaratri festival. Early on Thursday morning, children, mostly aged two to three, along with their parents, gathered at temples, schools, libraries, cultural centres and media houses to go through “Ezhuthiniruthu” ritual of writing their initial letters, invoking blessings of Saraswati, Goddess of Learning and Art. Transcending religious barriers, Christian and Muslim children also underwent the ritual in many parts of the state. The auspicious occasion has for centuries been observed by Keralites as “Vidyarambham”, the beginning of learning. In some churches, priests made the children write a couple of lines of verses from the Bible. Essentially a Hindu custom, the increasing response to “Vidyarambham” from people from other faiths is seen as a sign of the cultural vibrancy of a society that gives great importance to the education of its children and considers human resources as its biggest asset. [link]
INDIA - Thousands of children in Kerala entered the world of learning by scribbling their first letters on Vijayadasami day on Thursday, marking the culmination of the Navaratri festival. Early on Thursday morning, children, mostly aged two to three, along with their parents, gathered at temples, schools, libraries, cultural centres and media houses to go through “Ezhuthiniruthu” ritual of writing their initial letters, invoking blessings of Saraswati, Goddess of Learning and Art. Transcending religious barriers, Christian and Muslim children also underwent the ritual in many parts of the state. The auspicious occasion has for centuries been observed by Keralites as “Vidyarambham”, the beginning of learning. In some churches, priests made the children write a couple of lines of verses from the Bible. Essentially a Hindu custom, the increasing response to “Vidyarambham” from people from other faiths is seen as a sign of the cultural vibrancy of a society that gives great importance to the education of its children and considers human resources as its biggest asset. [link]
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