Retired teacher and politician Kadameri Balakrishnan, 74, feels good writing for children. Leading a retired life, he is about to publish Bala Ramayanam, the complete story of Rama for children.
Balakrishnan master says that Rama in my Bala Ramayanam represents an exemplary model for the leaders of present day society. He was a king who accomplished several great tasks for the benefit of his people.
Balakrishnan master has not forgotten to add elements to evoke enthusiasm in children. My stint as a teacher in upper primary classes helped me understand the interests of children. Hence, it is my favourite job, he says.
As many as 520 slokas in the Bala Ramayanam were written in Anishtippu meter (vritham). “I first write in my mind and then on paper,” he says. Writer Alankode Leelakrishnan has penned a comprehensive study on the book, for which Akkitham has written a foreword.
“From my childhood itself, I loved reading the Ramayana in the Malayalam month of Karkidakam. When I joined as a teacher at Thiruvallur Shantiniketan High School, I used to share great principles of epic characters. Encouragement from my friends made me complete the half-way-stopped Bala Ramayanam of Kumaranasan. But when writer O N V Kurup came to know about my venture, he suggested to me to write from the beginning,” he says.
“I completed ‘Balakaandam,’ ‘Ayodhya Kaandam’ and ‘Aaranya Kaandam,’ the first three kaandas of Ramayana, within 22 days. I took around 30 days to complete the rest of the three kandas like ‘Kishkindha Kaandam,’ ‘Sundara Kaandam’ and ‘Yudha kaandam‘,” adds the master. He thanks his friends Nanu Kurup, Kadathanad Narayanan and Aroor Padmanabhan for encouraging him and giving feedbacks on his write-up. Balakrishnan master has already published two books for children. Nilatheeram, published around 10 years ago, is a compilation of 30 poems, while Chandana Mani, released in 2005, carries 32 children’s poems. O N V Kurup wrote the foreword to his first work.
Balakrishnan master is not for the over-use of English words in Malayalam poems. “Poems should be simple and rhythmic,” he says. On the significance of Bala Ramayana, he says the present generation does not know the value of relationship. “To make them aware of the need to be honest and trustworthy, we writers have to present such characters before them,” says the master who stays at his home in Kadameri near Vadakara in Kozhikode district.
Of the double verses, he likes the dialogue between Sumithra and Laxmanan. He also plans to bring out another compilation of poems. Asked whether he had attempted stories, he says, “I am interested in reading stories, but I have never tried writing them.” Apart from writing poems he has a special interest in travelling. “Visiting places gives me a wonderful opportunity to acquaint myself with people,” he says. Balakrishnan master is a member of the executive committee of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee.
