State Planning Commission: Report Submission

Dear friends,

I finally managed to finish my report on urban sanitation in Tamil Nadu. As a member of the steering committee on ‘urban water supply and sanitation’ for the Tamil Nadu State Planning Commission’s Twelfth Five Year Plan, I was not only expected to submit this paper but also defend my recommendations in front of the committee. The committee is headed by the Vice Chairman of the State Planning Commission, and also includes experts on water and sanitation from the government as well as the civil society. The committee meets a couple of times before the plan document is prepared for the next five years. The twelfth plan document for Tamil Nadu is supposed to be finalized by the end of January 2012 and tabled and discussed at the Centre in March.

All in all it was an exciting experience, and how I wish to give you a complete account of what happened within the four walls of the Planning Commission office when my paper was tabled. However, I am afraid you might want to go to sleep reading it. So sticking to only very important stuff: Read my report here. For further details, write to me! somyase@gmail.com

I want to take this opportunity to thank all my friends for their support and enthusiasm from the bottom of my heart. Wish you all a very happy 2012!

 

My Brother

Together, hand in hand, we took our first step,

Into this world, without fear we leapt,

My little brother, my world, my life, 

Loves all, from people to food to bikes

 

A time came when life asked us to part,

It made us to sit in our own respective carts, 

Hand in hand slowly became very rare, 

Little time did we have to even care or share

 

But in reality, little time was just an excuse,

Our relation became more of email and abuse,

Love was still there, but was slowly getting clogged,

Reasons many, we thought of, to fight and mock 

 

But the truth is I still quietly circle around him 

In this materialistic world, full of fancies and whim 

I believe  he has his secret problems and issues, 

About which I really have very few clues

 

All that remains are some memories and pictures, 

In my life, he still holds a permanent position and fixture

Not only in mine, but also my beloved parents’ world

With my big brother I still walk, but with a twist and a twirl 

Self Destruction

I woke up with a heavy head. Something had definitely gone terribly wrong last night. Yes, I can remember now…..

No time to clean the fridge or table

Can’t afford to lag behind the super able

I run haplessly from one end to the other

In spite of those lectures by dear mother

That it is high time to settle down she says

But why is that so hard for me to obey

Not like I have much to really give and take

But there are other things in my mind that cook and bake

I am not like the rest of the world I tell

To my friends and family that doesn’t seem to ring a bell

They continue to  treat me  like I am someone else

Nobody really asks what’s cooking inside my little shell

But to be honest I really don’t know

Whether to stay and where to go

Because I really haven’t had the freedom to think

So many wishes to fulfill, there’s no time to blink

Life goes on and I continue to run around

Without much direction and with conditions abound

I truly wish I could let me mind free

Without people hovering around like bumble bees

Bleaurgh.