Final day in Chennai - With Dr. Sundaradevan, IAS, Commissioner of Revenue Administration (CRA), the topmost official of the government in charge of all the revenue departments and District Collectors of the entire State
With Dr. Ramanan, Director, Area Cyclone Warning Centre, Indian Meteorological Department
Outside Ezhilagam, after meeting the top brass of the government on his last day in India
Our little fellow (well, not actually little!) is finally home! After a month-long adventure in India, Dinesh returned home safe and sound a couple of days ago. His escapades took him on a life-altering experience learning about disaster management in the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), one that was valuable, informative, enlightening, touching, and heart wrenching by turns! In the whole cosmic scheme of events, everything fell into place beautifully for the kid and made it all happen for him. The higher ups who granted a mere 14 year old permission in the first place to participate in such a prestigious project as this, the top brass of the government who never for a moment patronized him but motivated him and encouraged him on his mission, the mentors who organized and managed every single detail of his trip, the chaperones who took care of him and guided him along, the family members who lavished their attention on him the entire month, the friends who doted on him - every single person was inextricably tied to Dinesh and touched his life in some unfathomable way that is too hard for me to explain. I am truly humbled, gratified, and speechless at how things panned out, and am not sure if I should call it providential, coincidental, or just our good karma acting out!
The trip to India was a wonderful way for the kid to learn about his roots and get reacquainted with his homeland. Having lived a life of comfort and privilege, he has been able to understand that there is another side to life after all, and when mankind is hit by the ferocity of natural disasters, the agony and suffering is exacerbated to unthinkable levels. Dinesh has brought with him memories and experiences of a lifetime, some of them haunting enough to remind him that there is so much more to be done for those afflicted by disasters. Everybody he has met and each one's sordid tale of woe has revealed to him that despite all the relief, recovery, and rehabilitation efforts, each story is a human tragedy brought on by disasters of gargantuan proportions. So much more needs to be done, and in the words of Robert Frost, we have promises to keep, and miles to go before we sleep, and miles to go before we sleep!!!
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