Basheer’s characters come alive on his death anniv

Thiruvananthapuram: Commemorating the 27th death anniversary of legendary writer Vaikom Muhammad Basheer, some of his interesting characters were brought to life by students of Government LP School, Kilimanoor.
This is the fourth consecutive year that the school students have recreated Basheer’s characters. Interestingly, this is not just a simple recreation rather, all his characters have been adapted to the contemporary scenario.
Due to the pandemic, this year, teachers visited the house of students to prepare them for the programme. Every year as part of the activities of Vidyarangam Kala Sahithya Vedi, a club aiming at fostering the innate literary and artistic pursuits of the students, the teachers ensure that the veteran writer’s death anniversary is observed.
This time, Beypore Sultan’s short novel ‘Ntuppuppakkoranendarnnu’ was adapted to suit the theme, freedom for women. The script for the video adaptation, ‘Velichathinu Enthoru Velicham’ was prepared by Vidyarangam Kala Sahithya Vedi teacher in charge, MC Abhilash. “The rising atrocities against women in our state prompted me to choose a theme dealing with women’s freedom. I am extremely glad that students and parents were able to grasp the significance of the theme in the contemporary society,” said Abhilash.
With such adaptations, the students are acquainted with almost all characters of Basheer, who presented loftier thoughts in a simple language. Using WhatsApp, teachers narrated Basheer’s stories to students so that they would know the minute details of the character that they would portray.