Kottayam: On the auspicious day of Vijayadashami, Malayala Manorama is leading little ones into the world of knowledge through Vidyarambham ceremonies being held at its various centres on Thursday. Vidyarambham ceremonies began at Manorama units around 6.30 am. Distinguished personalities from social, cultural, and literary fields guided the children in writing their first letters.

The Vidyarambham ceremonies will take place at 11 units across Kerala, and also in cities outside the state, such as Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Chennai, as well as in Dubai. Gifts will be given to the children taking part in the ceremony. Personalised certificates with photos will also be presented to them.

Eminent gurus lead Manorama's Vidyarambham
Kottayam 
Samaveda scholar and former chief priest of Guruvayur Temple Dr Thottam Sivakaran Namboothiri, former member of the National Commission for Minority Education and former Vice-Chancellor of MG University Dr Cyriac Thomas, first Vice-Chancellor of Sree Narayana Guru Open University and Deputy Vice-Chancellor at Oman's National University of Science and Technology Dr PM Mubarak Pasha, Olympian MD Valsamma, former MG University Vice-Chancellor Dr Babu Sebastian, noted cardiac surgeon and Superintendent of Kottayam Medical College Dr TK Jayakumar.

Thiruvananthapuram
Filmmaker Adoor Gopalakrishnan, writer George Onakkoor, playwright and director Surya Krishnamoorthi, former DGP Jacob Punnoose, Special Secretary of the Social Justice and Local Self-Government Departments Adeel Abdullah.

Kollam 
Renowned Tantric scholar and temple chief Neelamana Vr Namboothiri, prominent scientist and former director of the National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology (CSIR) Dr A Ajayaghosh, educationist and social service figure Prof. POJ Lebba, renowned novelist and retired head of the Hindi Department at DB College, Sasthamkotta, MD Rathnamma, Chairman of the Kerala State Cultural Welfare Board Madhu Pal.

Pathanamthitta
Former Pro-Vice-Chancellor of Sree Sankaracharya Sanskrit University and writer Dr KS Ravikumar, film director Blessy, District Collector S Premkrishnan, Principal of Kottayam Medical College Dr Varghese Punnoose, Director of the Centre for Canadian Studies, University of Kerala, Dr B Hariharan.

Alappuzha
Former RAW chief and Kerala DGP PK Hormis Tharakan, lyricist Vayalar Sarath Chandra Varma, Additional Chief Executive Officer of KIIFB and former Government Secretary Mini Antony, Principal of Alappuzha Medical College Dr B Padmakumar, playback singer Sudeep Kumar.

Kochi
Former Indian Ambassador to the Netherlands and writer Venu Rajamony, former Director General of the National Academy of Customs, Indirect Taxes & Narcotics, international cricket umpire, and writer Dr KN Raghavan, Intelligence ADGP P Vijayan, renowned paediatrician Dr S Sachidananda Kamath, musician Dr Srivatsan J Menon, Bhagavathacharyan Venmani Krishnan Namboothirippad, former Kerala Women's Commission member Prof Monamma Kokkad, noted children’s author Sippy Pallippuram.

Thrissur
Chenda maestro Peruvanam Kuttan Marar, District Collector Arjun Pandian, astrology scholar Kanippayyur Narayanan Namboothiri.

Palakkad
Thayambaka exponent Kallur Ramankutty Marar, literary critic Asha Menon, chief physician and managing trustee of the Trikkangode GPL Trust Dr KG Ravindran, retired Director of the State Higher Secondary Board Dr CP Chithra, writer TK Sankaranarayanan, and former LIC Managing Director TC Sushil Kumar.

Malappuram
Additional Chief Physician and trustee of Kottakkal Arya Vaidya Sala Dr K Muraleedharan, former Head of the Folklore Studies Department at Calicut University Dr EK Govinda Varma Raja, Chief Priest of Thirunavaya Navamukunda Temple Srihari Girish Namboothiri.

Kozhikode
Mayor Dr Beena Philip, writers Kalpetta Narayanan and NP Hafiz Mohammed, former ISRO Director and scientist EK Kutty.

Kannur
Malayalam writers T Padmanabhan, M Mukundan, and CV Balakrishnan.

Bengaluru
Kendra Sahitya Akademi Award-winning author Anitha Nair and former Deccan Herald associate editor A V S Namboothiri.

Chennai
Singer Sujatha and her husband, paediatrician Dr Krishnamohan

Delhi
Dr Meenakshi Gopinath, a prominent figure in the fields of education and culture. 

Mumbai
Maharashtra Additional Director General of Police Aswathy Dorje, and renowned cardiologist Dr James Thomas.