THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: While the mother tongue was once described by poet Vallathol Narayana Menon as a person’s ‘birth mother’, today science has proven its worth through its research on mother tongue-based education, said Transport Minister C P John.
“If our children are willing to pay exorbitant fees to study foreign languages such as German and Spanish, I think there is nothing wrong in them learning Malayalam either. All schools in the state should consider teaching Malayalam to students. Our students do not have any difficulty in learning a new language,” he said, after inaugurating the ‘Keram Keralam coconut food and product exhibition’ organised by Malayalam Pallikkoodam at the Thycaud Government
UP School on Sunday. The 70th Keralam Piravi Day celebrations of Pallikkoodam were inaugurated by Cultural Affairs Minister P C Vishnunadh by drawing a coconut tree and writing ‘Ente Keralam’ on a cloth canvas. “We might think that today’s children have the best facilities, but they do not have the advantage of walking through paddy fields on the way to school,” he said, recalling his childhood days.
Expo sparks curiosity
‘Kids, who will help our minister with the leaf spectacles?” The question by school teacher Jessy grabbed the attention of many students at the exhibition organised on the sidelines of the event. And, suddenly, one of them grabbed a pair of spectacles made of coconut leaf and positioned it on the nose of minister John.
From mats made of coconut leaves and sweets made from tender coconut, the exhibition showcased how the tree after which Keralam is named is an endless source of wonders.
“Today, because of this exhibition, our children came across over 100 Malayalam words, which are either part of the coconut tree or products made from it,” said Jessy Narayanan, who led the programme.