Keep company of books, writer Zacharia tells Indian school students in Oman

Muscat: Spend time with books as it will widen your horizon, and make you good human beings, students of Indian School Salalah were advised by a noted Malayalam writer.
Gently reminding the students of the crucial role that text books play in one’s life, famous Malayalam writer and social critic Zacahria said, “Still, I am weary of giving advices.”
It was a wonderful experience for the students to meet the author who they knew only through his works. It was visible on the faces of class 9 and 10 students when Zacharia came to spend time with them in a 90-minute interactive session organised by the school’s Malayalam Department on February 14.
While Rishika Aneesh of class 10 welcomed the guest, Hridith Sudhev, another class 10 student, introduced the author.
The session started with a welcome song penned by the Malayalam teacher Saji Chandrodayam and rendered by the students who paid rich tribute to the famous poet O.N.V Kuruppu, who passed away the previous day.
“Step into the world of books to open your eyes wide to the wonders of the world”, said the author at the outset. Taking examples from his own life, he said that it was his passion for reading that brought him from Urulikkunnam, a remote village in Kerala born, to the world of words.
“I know you are up to your nose with advice from different quarters,” he said, drawing loud applause from the students.
During the session that followed, he fielded many question from the students. “The students who sit in front of me are, in my opinion, one of the best ones so you can surely sweat a lot to reap the fruits of success” he replied when asked to express his first impression for the students there.
Principal, T. R. Brown and the convener of School Management Committee, Suresh Babu jointly handed over a memento to the guest as a token of gratitude. Vinay Kumar, member SMC, Sanathanan and C.P. Surendran, coordinators of the cultural fiesta ‘Aksharotsavam’, Omana Mathews, vice-principal, Srinivasan, assistant vice principal, department heads, teachers and non-teaching staff also attended.
Deva Narayanan and Deva Priya moderated the session while Akhila Suresh delivered the vote of thanks.