Kerala:
Thousands of children in Kerala today performed 'Vidyarambham'. The ritual on 'Vijayadasami' at the end of the Navaratri festival, marks their formal entry into the world of letters.
Cutting across caste, religious and class barriers, children in the age group of three to five turned up with their parents at temples and cultural centres to make their first step to the portal of letters.
Writers, teachers, scientists and artists helped the children scribble their first letters with their fingers on rice-filled platters after invoking Saraswati, the Goddess of art and learning.
Some children wrote their initial letters in sand at the memorial of Thunchath Ezhuthachan, a medieval poet revered as father of Malayalam literature, "This is a great and unique festival of learning. The ceremony opens up the universe of knowledge before children," said writer Alamkode Leelakrishnan.
Leading newspapers, academies and libraries also made arrangements for the ritual.