"When you announced a world war
from inside a protein membrane,
You were also teaching us
How not to be defeated."
These lines from Wayanad girl K H Alakananda's Malayalam poem 'Mahamaari' found a place in the budget while Finance Minister Thomas Isaac mentioned the valiant spirit with which Kerala has been fighting COVID-19.
A Class X student of Kaniyampatta GHSS, Alakananda began writing poems two years ago. "I got first prize at the taluk level in poetry writing competition conducted by our local library. It boosted my confidence. This is the first time my poem is getting published, that too in the budget page. I am on cloud
nine," she said. The poem 'Mahamaari' was earlier found a place in the 'Aksharavriksham' digital magazine of the state General Education Department, which is a compilation of creative works of students during the lockdown period.
"I love Sugathakumari's poems the most. I want to become a writer or a journalist," she said. Hailing from Cheekkallur in Kaniyampatta, Alakananda is the daughter of Government Information and Public Relations district office staff N S Hariharan and Jyolsna.