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NT Bureau
Chennai, Dec 23:
 

'Crazy' Mohan speaking at the Kids Talk essay contest function in Chennai yesterday. News Today Editor T R Jawahar and Associate Editor of Maalaisudar M Subramaniam are also present.

        An enthusiastic display of emotions and joy by children at an award ceremony for a kids contest organised by the Talk Media Publications showed that given the right encouragement, the young ones have the ability to surprise all with their hidden talent.

        Fun, frolic and pun flowed spontaneously at P S Higher Secondary School yesterday and dramatist 'Crazy' Mohan as chief guest was the perfect foil to the gala function. Through his wit and humorous talk, he was able to cast a spell on the wide-eyed children and their parents. The award function was held to give away prizes to the winners of kid's Essay Contest organised in all the eleven Talk editions covering almost the entire city and suburbs.

        Mohan, a playwright with a unique blend of humour and satire in his scripts, was in many ways the right choice to honour the young children who themselves had exhibited writing skills with a maturity that belied their age. In that sense, Mohan was an inspiration to keep them interested in writing more with flair and finesse.

        As his wont, Mohan tickled the funny bone of the audience with hilarious anecdotes and interesting tidbits from his student days. Heaping all praise on the creative kids, Mohan urged the kids, in his own witty way, to develop the habit of reading and develop an affinity towards humour.

        Pointing out that humour was an integral part of life, the playwright said 'all philosophers are humorous and vice versa. To develop that talent, you have to read more and more.'

        Expressing concern over the decrease in reading habit among the young ones, Mohan said parents and elders should encourage children to read so as to make them knowledgeable and responsible citizens. 'Students should desist from watching TV as many of the mega serials are portraying in-house relationships in a bad light,' he pointed out. Stating it was his grandparents who inculcated the reading and writing habits in him, Mohan dwelt on the advantages of living in a joint family in today's fast changing lifestyle.

        He also recalled the encouragement given to him when he was a budding writer by T R Ramaswami (popularly known as TRR, he is the father of Talk Media publications and News Today Editor T R Jawahar). 'He was a humble and noble soul,' Mohan said of TRR who gave big publicity to his (Mohan's) writings at a time when social comedy was unheard of. It may be recalled that Mohan was a regular writer in the publication Ali Baba that was run by TRR. Appreciating Talk Media for organising such a grand contest, Mohan congratulated Kids Talk for completing one year successfully.

        'At the time when the media is concentrating on sensational issues, I am happy to note that Talk Media is trying something different and creative,' he lauded. In his speech, Jawahar spoke about the purpose and philosophy behind the running of Talk Media publications and the conduct of such contests.

        He also elaborated in detail the methodology behind the evaluation of the winners in the contest. 'Writing skills, conciseness, presentation, style and overall impression are some of the criteria on which the essays were judged,' he explained.

        'Being in the job of purveying the written word, we understood full well the difficulty in assessing the intrinsic value of any work of art and heart. It is a nuanced task that calls of caution and consideration. We were pretty much prepared on this count as we had set out with broad benchmarks and reasonable reference points,' he said.