For Maharashtra schoolchildren, now a lesson from Tirupur writer

COIMBATORE: Writer Kovai Sathasivam's short story is set in a village in Tamil Nadu, and it will now be taught to students in Maharashtra.
'Kummayam... kummayam...', from the ecologist-writer's best-seller 'Sillikodu', a collection of short stories, has been included in the Class VII Tamil textbook in Maharashtra.
Available on the Maharashtra State Bureau of Textbook Production and Curriculum Research website, Sathasivam says though the book was published five years ago, it continues to be among his more popular works.
A resident of Tirupur and a native of Coimbatore, Sathasivam says he was contacted by experts from the textbook committee in Maharashtra last year about adapting his story as a lesson.
"A mother talking to her baby while feeding it forms the crux of the story," says the 62-year-old author. "The mother talks about animals, birds and human beings through actions to keep the baby engaged while eating. The story ends with her putting the baby to sleep with a lullaby. It is also a way of teaching children about nature," says Sathasivam. "Today, most babies are fed using mobile phones as a distraction. This story in a way relives the days of yore," he says.
Sathasivam has written 14 books and made five documentaries on natural history, ecology and wildlife. Among his more famous books are 'Land of Insects', 'In the Beginning There Were Elephants' and 'Our Donkey is a Good Donkey'. One of his books on village birds is in its seventh edition. Sathasivam received the Nammalwar Award for Environmental Action of the Year 2019. Sathasivam says he stumbled on the word 'Kummayam', which forms the title, when he was doing research for a book. "The word has two meanings. Kummayam is the food made of varagu arisi (kodo millet) and avarai paruppu (bellar dal). It is also the hand-made wooden blender (mathai) used to mix curd or sambar."
In 2006, his story Paravaigal Palavidham was adapted as a lesson in the class VI textbook by the state government.