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The needlework was completed and different types of designs were made in it. I had learnt how to add, multiply and divide the numbers. I realised that the Earth is round, not flat. The maps and the globe were familiar to me. I knew the names of the 9 planets ( at that time, there were 9 planets ). I knew more about India and its natural boundaries. In the east, the Bay of Bengal, in the west, the Arabian Sea, in the north, the Himalayas & in the south, the Great Indian Ocean. The Britishers left the country on 15th August,1947. Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru became familiar to me. Rabindranath Tagore, who received Nobel Prize for Literature and his childhood, attracted me very much. I don't remember whether I had learnt about the revolutionaries who took part in the Independence struggle or not. I had studied the names of 12 months by heart. I also studied the names of Malayalam era - Chingam, Kanni, Thulam, Vrishchikam, Dhanu, Makaram, Kumbham, Meenam, Medam, Edavam, Midhunam & Karkadakam.
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The end of the IVth Std was approaching. Cousin Maji didn't show any enmity towards me. Akkamma Sir and Elizabeth Sir ( we addressed ladies & gents teachers as 'Sir' ) would walk with our group upto the Kadayiruppu junction because their houses were nearby that place. Elizabeth Sir's house was before the junction and Akkamma Sir's house was after the junction, on the road to Pancode. During those days I wondered why we were not taught English ! At last, Sukumaran Sir one day told us to learn English alphabets. He recited the alphabets in a special tune. We repeated it many times. That much - there ended the study of English language in the IVth Std. I held the English textbook and looked through the small sentences, in vain. I was a little disappointed but I thought, "I can learn it when I reach the Vth Std".
In the Lower Primary School, I had learnt many things. Malayalam - my mother tongue - thoroughly, how to write, read and speak. Every student who followed Kerala State Syllabus ( there were other syllabuses also ) would learn poems by the main poets of Malayalam literature. The ancient triumvirate poets ( Pracheena kavithrayam) were Thunchathu Ezhuthachan, Cherusseri and Kunchan Nambiar. The modern triumvirate poets ( Adhunika kavithrayam ) were Kumaran Asan ( 1873 - 1924 ), Vallathol Narayana Menon ( 1878 - 1958 ) & Ulloor S Parameswara Iyer (1877 - 1949 ). The main works of Thunchathu Ezhuthachan were Adhyatma Ramayanam ( Spiritual Ramayanam ) & Sri Mahabharatam. Cherusseri's main work was Krishna Gatha ( Song of Krishna ). Kunchan Nambiar's main contribution was Tullal ( a type of traditional dance form ). Satire and humour were the peculiarities of his poems. The Tullal poems also had the background of the Puranas.
The two Classics of India are the Ramayana by Valmiki & the Mahabharatha by Vyasa, both written in Sanskrit. I got a picture of Seetha ( a character in Ramayana ) growing in King Janaka's ( Seetha's father) palace in the Treta Yuga and young Krishna ( from Mahabharata), who stole butter and the darling of the cowherdess in the Dwapar Yuga, from the previously mentioned poet's works. There were one or two poems in each Std, from among these poets. Then there were other poems related to butterflies, nature etc. The needlework was completed and different types of designs were made in it. I had learnt how to add, multiply and divide the numbers. I realised that the Earth is round, not flat. The maps and the globe were familiar to me. I knew the names of the 9 planets ( at that time, there were 9 planets ). I knew more about India and its natural boundaries. In the east, the Bay of Bengal, in the west, the Arabian Sea, in the north, the Himalayas & in the south, the Great Indian Ocean. The Britishers left the country on 15th August,1947. Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru became familiar to me. Rabindranath Tagore, who received Nobel Prize for Literature and his childhood, attracted me very much. I don't remember whether I had learnt about the revolutionaries who took part in the Independence struggle or not. I had studied the names of 12 months by heart. I also studied the names of Malayalam era - Chingam, Kanni, Thulam, Vrishchikam, Dhanu, Makaram, Kumbham, Meenam, Medam, Edavam, Midhunam & Karkadakam.
