Click to play videoThough most of north India sees several celebrations of Lord Ram's defeat of Ravan on the occasion of Dusshehra, Kerala uses the auspicious day to bring forth its children into the world of knowledge.
The Thiruvullakaavu temple in central Kerela's Thrissur district draws parents from across the state, along with their children for the auspicious Vidyarambham ceremony. This occasion marks the formal initiation of children, aged between three to five years, into the world of learning.
One of the masters, T V Madhavan says, "Vijayadashami day is an auspicious occasion for a beginning. In Thiruvullakaavu, more than a thousand children were initiated into the world of letters today."
The ritual involves writing Hari Shri Ganapathaye Namaha - an invocation to Lord Ganpathi - on each child's tongue, with a golden ring. The child is then made to write the same in a bed of raw rice or sand.
According to legend, Saraswati, the goddess of learning is unified with the temple's presiding deity on this day.
A child, R Gopika, who underwent the ceremony, said, "I could write A-B-C-D! They wrote Mahaganapathi on my tongue."
The day's significance is not restricted to Hindus, for sundry educational institutions - irrespective of religion - organise the Vidyarambham rituals, with literatteurs, cultural leaders and priests heading the ceremony.
Since morning, people have thronged to the temple to participate in the ceremony. But though the day is of great importance for parents, many children clearly did not hold the same view and cried loudly while they remained in the temple.
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