Shafeeq, the child victim of torture by his father and stepmother, was initiated into the world of letters by poet Chemmanam Chacko at a simple function at the
Al-Ashar Hospital in Thodupuzha on the first day of the Malayalam calendar Chingam 1, on Sunday.
He was helped to write the first Malayalam letter and pronounce it by poet Chemmanam Chacko. Shafeeq, who is yet to recover fully, pronounced the word by syllable in the presence of his stepmother Ragini and Child Welfare Committee chairman P.G. Gopalakrshnan. He was seated on the lap of K.M. Mijas, managing director of the hospital which has taken him into foster care.
Shafeeq was clad in ‘mundu’ and a shawl. The occasion was also the beginning of his spiritual education by Muhammed Salih Anvar, Imam of Perumpillichira Juma Masjid. The poet also handed over to Shafeeq a copy of ‘Nettipattom’, a compilation of poems written by him for children. He also rendered a poem written for Shafeeq.
Shafeeq was admitted to a hospital here nearly two years back with serious injuries, including brain damage, after he was physically tortured. Since then he was under the care of Ragini with the Child Welfare Committee overseeing the rehabilitation.
The State government had given him special treatment at the Christian Medical Hospital in Vellore before he was given into foster care by the Al-Ashar Hospital. Shafeeq will be given preliminary lessons in reading the Malayalam letters, said the poet.
