THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Bengaluru-based Malayali IT engineers Soji Joseph and his wife Diya have a three-acre plantain farm in the former's hometown of Mukkam in Kozhikode. Whenever they return to their home in Bengaluru's Electronic City after visiting the farm every two weeks, they take bunches of ripe plantains with them. And Diya then makes 'puttu' everyday to finish off the perishable plantains.
But little did they know that their nine-year-old son, Jais Joseph Soji, hated the Malayali staple breakfast, so much so that he wrote in his exam answer sheet that it was the most hated food he ever had. The third grader's short essay titled 'Puttu breaks relationships' has since gone viral on social media.
Soji and Diya ensure that their organic produce is distributed among their neighbours after returning from their every visit to Mukkam and naturally 'puttu-pazham' combination would hit the breakfast table for a few weeks until the stock gets over. Jais, who studies at SFS Academy, Bengaluru, is a foodie who prefers to have 'appam' and stew, and chappati and chicken curry for breakfast. No wonder he hates this 'puttu-pazham', which is easy for Diya to make in a jiffy. Diya told TNIE that many a time, Jais makes a fuss when he sees it for breakfast.
"When he realises that I'm not going to budge, he eats it with a heavy heart and rushes to school. Since his answer sheet went viral, I have kept aside the 'puttu' maker for a few weeks. But Jais is not going to escape from 'puttu'. Among plantains too, he prefers 'robesta' and Mysore 'njalippoovan'," said Diya with a chuckle.
It was Jais' English teacher, Sheeba Richard, who posted the child's answer sheet on the school magazine which was shared by his father, Soji, on his Facebook account.
"Our school's policy is to nurture our students' potential. So, when I held the revision test for the third graders, Jais came up with an excellent short essay on the food he hated the most, 'puttu'. I liked the way he weaved his piece," said Sheeba, a Mangaluru native.
Ever since, he has become a sensation in his school. His elder sister, seventh grader Liz Maria Soji, and younger brother, Chris Joseph Soji, are happy. And actor Unni Mukundan shared the post on his Instagram account. Jais, who wishes to
become an astronaut in future, told TNIE that his friends have been pestering him for his autograph.
"When I saw the question, it came naturally to me to write about 'puttu'. I didn't realise that my answer would hog the limelight," said Jais.
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