Children’s festival at Seelamunai-Some Thoughts

Who said flying kites is an easy task? Certainly not, in my humble opinion.
To fly a kite you need to have patience ;
To fly a kite you need to have a stable mind;
To fly a kite you need to have friends;
To fly a kite you need to have strategies,
That’s why children are good at it!

These were the thoughts that wandered in my lonely mind when I was at Seelamunai witnessing the happy children from Seelmunai, Kumarapuram Karuvepamkerny and Navatkudah celebrating the Children’s festival organized by the Third Eye Local Knowledge and Skill Activists group.

In the days old, children were treated as children in our society and there
was a space for them to explore and experience the real world full of
richness and variety. Due to globalization and its shadows on our culture and
society our children are being treated as robots and rote- learning remote
controlled devices .Their daily mechanical duty includes going to school and
tuition, doing home work and attend computer classes ,and doing well in
exams to please their parents no matter whether they are school-going
children or undergraduates.

Children who experience post tsunami trauma have had a space to vomit
their bitter past and rebuild their inner strength through festivals like this.
I was thrilled and indeed surprised to see the enormous talent exhibited by
the children through their own songs and games .

The festival also brought the traditional games which nurtured the children
and used as a tool to develop their personality and perception to the surface
once again.

Flying kites is all about making social relationships and boosting the morals
of children to be self- reliant and sustainable .

Congratulations to the winds behind the wings (kites).

S.Sasitharan, Eastern University, Srilanka