THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: "The day will dawn and sun will rise radiant". Finance Minister Thomas Isaac got on to the show reciting this poem of K Sneha, a Class VII student of Kuzhalmannam GHSS.
Crunching the budget numbers at a time when the economy is still in wilderness, the minister could've easily assumed how the image of a fresh dawn could act as a moral lodestar. Though Isaac is not new to using the children's creativity in his budget speeches, this time he decided to exclusively lean on them shunning senior names.
Selected stanzas of 14 poems penned by students to beat Covid blues were neatly incorporated into the speech by Isaac. These poems were written under 'Aksharavriksham' project of the Education Department when the children were stuck at homes during the lockdown period.
As Sneha wrote about hopes of a new dawn and bloom of merciful flowers, R S Karthika of Madavoor NSS HSS reminded the resolve of the people battling the bad times. Isaac quoted K H Alakananda of Kaniyabetta GHSS, Wayanad, saying that the battle that we all fought was not for nothing. "When you announced a world war from inside a protein membrane, You were also teaching us how not to be defeated."
Kaniha, a Class IX student of Ayyan Koyickal GHSS, Thevalakkara, appreciated the government for standing with the people during the crisis. There were also words on the plight of the people who were ravaged by job loss as written by Navalu Rahman of Government Technical School, Thottada, whose poem ended " At home — jobless, wageless".
The poem of Heyz S Jackson of St Joseph's HSS, Thiruvananthapuram, came in handy for Isaac while mentioning the "discrimination by the Centre". Mentioning the delay of GST compensation, the reduction in state's tax share and action against KIIFB, he used Heyz's words that had a streak of passion to it. "We who saw many depths, We who writhed in many vortices, We who were consumed by many fires, We are born to rise again, We wouldn't lose even in death."
When it came to women empowerment, he relied on Arundhathi Jayakumar of Rajiv Gandhi Memorial HSS, Mokeri, who wrote about the travails of the women. Isaac wrapped his speech with a poem of K P Amal of GTHS at Kannampady, a remote tribal settlement in Idukki Wildlife Sanctuary, which encapsulated the earnest wish for a bright tomorrow -- the essence of his budget. "Oh let my dreams, Gently grow wings! And therein blow the conch, The morning clarion, Of a radiant new age."
Paintings of students become budget covers
T'Puram: The English version of the budget speech had the painting of Sree Nandhana B, a Calass XII student of GHSS, Kudayathur, Idukki, as front cover. The painting of Jahan Joby, a Class II student of Veda Vyasa Vidyalaya, Kozhikode, was used as the back cover. The paintings of Jeevan V, a Class I student of PALPS, Iriyanni in Kasaragod, were used as covers in the Malayalam version of the budget speech. The paintings were uploaded on Schoolwiki, the digital magazine of the Education Department.