A fun way to connect kids with the past

KOCHI: Children making mud pies, scrambling up the mango trees, splashing around in ponds... Such activities have become things of the past. Those born in the 60s and 70s will be able to relate to the activities. But for Generation X and Y, they are a part of the grandma’s tales (if they do live with their grandparents) or folklore.

To right this wrong, the Institute for Living Legendary Arts and Music (ILLAM) at Eroor began ‘Nattarivu’. Nattarivu, a summer camp launched in 2012, is a week-long activity-oriented programme, which, as ILLAM director and coordinator Sunil Kumar C R puts it, aims to connect the children of today with the things of the past. This year, the camp began on April 1.

“We at ILLAM are trying to spin a fine thread that will tie the kids with the past. The problem which is facing the present generation and will face future generations is they don’t know their roots. People might pooh-pooh the idea, but I feel that age-old customs and traditions have helped the generation I belong to live a grounded life. It has helped us face myriad problems head-on without losing cool,” says Sunil. “This is something the present generation lacks. Nattarivu is trying to imprint the goodness of the good-old days in the minds of the participants and hence, help them take on life as and how it comes,” he says.Everything at Nattarivu has a whiff of the past. Even the manner in which the camp was inaugurated was very traditional.

“The kids boiled milk in an earthen container on the traditional chulha. The milk was then used to make curd. The entire process of preparing curd was also done by the children. It was a novel experience for them,” Sunil says. Sunil says they don’t teach the children anything. “There is no curriculum here. The activities are the things we did as kids. Playing in the mud, climbing trees, diving into pools, singing folk songs accompanied by props made by the kids using commonly found items like coconut fronds, coming up with new games and observing nature were an inherent part of our childhood days. But the kids today are mollycoddled by their parents. Parents can’t think about their children romping around in the mud,” he says. “They are having a whale of a time here,” says Sunil adding the connection with the roots doesn’t stop with the activities.

“The food too is prepared and served traditionally. The novelty is that the children are the cooks. They are the ones who light the chulha in the presence of instructors, add the rice and tend the fire. The menu for the lunch is broken rice gruel, mango chutney (ground on a stone grinder) and pappadam. The food is served on a plate made out of areca nut frond,” he says.

Sunil’s wife, Sindhu Sunil, who is the chairperson of ILLAM, says, “Contrary to what the parents say, the children, once they arrive at the camp, metamorphose into totally different personalities. Unhindered by all the ‘Dos and Don’ts’, the kids not only relish the traditionally made food but also dive right into the activities to be one with nature. They get to see and live the way people of yesteryears did. We acquaint them with the traditional household implements like the ural and baskets used to store different things.”