Almost a month ago I sent off a small essay to Classmate Ideas For India, a competition that asked the youth of the country to present their ideas for a better India of tomorrow. It started as a plain writing exercise and then turned into a deep longing to be the winner.
To give you a better idea, here's what I sent-
LOCK INTERLOCK
-Samyukta Shastri
The first piece of infrastructure that catches the eye when one enters a new place is its roads. Sadly, the condition of the roads in this country is not that pleasing.
I suggest the use of interlocking tiles to build roads instead of tar. This has a number of advantages.
The gap between these kinds of tiles allows the seepage of water into the ground rather than simply evaporating or logging and thus helps the water table increase.
One of the favourite hobbies of our municipal corporations is to build roads and then dig them up to fiddle with the cables underneath- and we are ditched! However, this jaggedness is ruled out if tiles are used. Tiles can be removed and replaced for minimal wastage and the unevenness is resolved.
Since these are made of cement, they are strong and have a longer life span as compared to tarred roads. Interlocking tiles don’t wear off easily and thus needn’t be replaced frequently. The use of these tiles saves us a bit more of our natural resources.
Though more expensive than tar, interlocking tiles are a onetime expenditure. The laying of tiles is easy and also has the potential to provide employment to a large section of the unemployed society.
Lastly, these kind of roads will provide a better aesthetic quality and green trees paved alongside will further add to their splendour.
There are enough of rewards of swapping tar for interlocking tiles and it is most practical and sustainable.
Obviously I had been excited by the prospect of ever winning and kept thinking of it over and over again.
True as it is, thought carries mass, and also attracts the circumstances that help it materialize. The same happened yet again when I received a call yesterday saying that I was selected for the second round! This fact still didn't move me but when I got a confirmatory e-mail a few hours ago, I felt stunned. In fact I still am really numb.
Thoughts seem to have just vanished and I cant do much, only sit and stare at the print out.
They want me to travel to Mumbai and give a presentation... in just another 10 days!
Butterflies are flying all over my stomach and even the teddy form the old wardrobe is not large enough to cuddle away my nervousness!
I have been in dramas before, anchored various times before a crowd as large as5000 people and have no stage fright what so ever; yet why do I feel that crawl in my gut? (OMG! Is that a new phrase I just coined?!)( Maybe being nervous does wonders sometimes.)
All now right now is that I am going to school tomorrow and catching hold of my Computer Science and Engineering Drawing teachers to help me make my presentation.
At this rate I'll go on writing forever!
DON"T BE OVERWHELMED!!!
I shall describe the second round in the next month's post.
...But just to boast about myself: ONLY 500 out of 60000+ entries from all over India were chosen!
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