KALPETTA: In a world where childhood is increasingly spent before screens, the children of Kodumayil Tharavadu in Wayanad find their stories in the soil, paddy fields and the company of their grandparents. For them, rain is not a reason to stay indoors, farming is not a distant activity and traditions are not merely stories from the past. They are part of everyday life.
Through their Instagram page, ‘Kodumayil Tharavadu’, these children are offering the world a glimpse of a life deeply rooted in nature and the customs of the Kurichiya community. What makes their story special is that they are not attempting to create an alternative lifestyle. They are simply sharing the life they have always known.
The idea came from Sanoosh K S, an undergraduate student and the eldest among the younger generation in the family.Interested in filmmaking, he began recording his daily experiences with his younger cousins at the ancestral home. What started as a learning exercise has now attracted millions of views within two months of the videos being posted in August.
“There is nothing extraordinary about our life here. It is simple and beautiful. I started recording videos because I have a passion for filmmaking. The videos show the world through the children’s eyes, capturing what we see and learn from our elders,”Sanoosh says.
With a large family living in and around the ancestral home, weekends bring everyone together at the tharavadu.Farming, family gatherings and traditional celebrations provide an endless stream of experiences to document. During cultivation, family members themselves undertake the work, with children and elders sharing the fields. “Our parents believe that the younger generation should participate in rituals and celebrations so that they can carry the traditions forward. Instead of giving children smartphones, they encourage us to go to the fields and experience nature,” Sanoosh says.
The family’s connection with nature extends beyond farming. At Kodumayil, traditional practices reflect an understanding of the natural cycle, where resources are used carefully and returned to the earth. Paddy yields rice for consumption and straw for roofing. When the thatched roofs are replaced, the old hay is used as fertiliser.
“Whatever we take from nature should return to it in one form or another. Our family is very close to nature and our videos show how much we value the soil and paddy,” he says.
An important part of this inheritance is the wisdom passed down by their elders, particularly their late granduncle Cheruvayal Raman, the renowned tribal farmer who devoted his life to preserving traditional agricultural practices and indigenous seeds.
Along with Raman, Sanoosh’s grandfather Kodumayil Koppi and Koppi’s elder brother Kodumayil Annan taught the children about cultivation, seeds and respect for their ancestry.
For the children, Raman was not just a celebrated custodian of traditional agricultural knowledge but a ‘grandfather’ with whom they shared precious moments in the fields. Videos of the children accompanying him and other elders have now become treasured records of a bond that connected generations through farming and a shared love for nature. His recent demise has left a void in the family, prompting the children to take a short break from posting videos. Sanoosh says they will return to share their lives, preserving memories of their granduncle and the traditions he helped sustain.
The ancestral home itself is a reminder of this heritage, with its mud walls and hay-thatched roofs. Sanoosh admits that he once wanted the houses rebuilt, unaware of their cultural significance. His perspective changed when he saw students and researchers visiting the tharavadu to learn about the community’s way of life.
“I wanted my younger cousins to understand the importance of our culture from an early age. Our videos are also an attempt to help viewers experience it,” he says. The page has since received messages from viewers expressing a desire to visit the tharavadu. The page includes Aradhya C S, Amisha C A, Devananda Babu, Sajith P K, Anirudh C A, Adwaith C S, Aswin B K, Sabinesh K S, Aswinth B K, Anuresh C S and Amaya C A, students from classes 3 to 12.