Vidyarambham: The Labyrinth Within

Harishree Ganapataye Namaha! Vidyarambham begins! On this auspicious day of Vidyarambham, Malayalis honour this timeless tradition of invoking Goddess Saraswati's blessings. Worldwide, this day is honoured by Malayalis as a day of learning.

[Image: Pipop Kunachon on Pexels.com]

And so, Vidyarambham begins today!

[Watch on YouTube: All About Navaratri and Vidyarambham]

Let our young ones write and read as much as they can.

Support and encourage them in every way you can.

[Image: Yan Krukov on Pexels.com]

On Vidyaramabham, we celebrate the foundation of educational excellence and character formation.

As a mother, I used to sit down and make my toddler write 'Harishree Ganapataye Namah' in a plate of rice grains garnished with a hint of turmeric and kumkum. He used to wriggle out of my lap at times and sometimes, I would hold his tiny fingers in mine and still nudge him to write these words that didn't really mean anything to him at the time as he was still a toddler.

Over the years, I began to make him follow this tradition, with more consciousness every Vidyarambham - sometimes at home or at the temple nearby. As a mother, I believe that these timeless traditions invoke the blessings and kripa of Maa Saraswati. Her gaze and grace fills young minds as we teach our children to invoke the Divine Mother's blessings with sincerity.

As I revisit the imaginative, innocent teenage years through my son's poetry, I feel grateful to Maa Saraswati for blessing us with love for poetry and words. Truly, it is Her blessings and grace alone that my son writes the way he does.

Only parents with Bhakti in their hearts will understand what I am conveying here.

As my Guru often said, "Regard your heart as a radio receiver. Your concentration is the tuning device. You will experience the Divine when you tune your heart properly. This calls for firm, unwavering concentration."

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Ever wondered what poems make you smile? And what poems make you cry?

Written by Jyotiraditya Sanand, 'The Labyrinth Within' is a poetic exploration of the teenage years.

Where friendships, betrayals and deep hurt collide with one another.

Having penned these poems as a teenager, the young poet (confession: yes, he is my son!) bares his heart and shares what it means to grapple with this phase.

Every poem is a window into a teenager's tumultous experience of real life and high school campus memories and more.

Every word dives into the emotional turbulence and the choices that define a teenager's journey ahead into adulthood.

{Image: Tushar Mahajan on Unsplash.com]

Revisit the teenage years—playful, vibrant and laden with bittersweet memories of a lifetime which remain evergreen in our hearts.

Dive into the gateway of teen emotions—bold, fearless and raw.

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