Written by Jerlin Johnson Biju   

2011 has left us for another world, a world we know not of. And while 2012 held its hands open welcoming us in, I was a bit reluctant to leave 2011 & run to 2012, but nevertheless, something made me do it. As I stepped foot into 2012, I didn't really feel the difference of a new year, as I usually did. Nothing changed that much, except for the fact that I spent my new years somewhere else other than Dubai, for the very first time. Maybe that small change that took place was indeed a really big one that it drowned all the other changes that must have taken place following the 1st of January, 2012! 14 years of wishing new years to dear and near in the sands of Arabia. And this time it was totally different, I spent it in a place where they played "Why This Kolaveri" on the streets when the clock struck 12. You must have guessed by now where it was. Yes, Tamil Nadu...the same Tamil Nadu that is busy duelling with 'God's Own Country' in water matter. That reminded me of an incident which took place this December while I was there. Me and my brother were in the usual state of 'feeling bored' and so decided to explore the streets of Salem. Ended up in a bookshop, electronics store and to top it all, we had dinner from Dominos, the only food of its kind in that place. When we placed our order, we asked them for a bottle of water instead of coke as the flu season had set in over there. They told us to be seated while we waited for our order. When it finally came, they didn't bring a bottle of water. When asked, they mentioned that they don't provide water any more. We had to settle with no drinks. After we were done with our meal, we went to the wash room to wash our hands. Little did we know that this Mullaperiyar Dam thing was so serious that there was no water in the wash room to wash our hands with. Until then, this issue didn't seem that important to me, until this incident. It opened my eyes to see that Tamil Nadu did suffer from the problem of water. Okay, not really, that didn't open my eyes or anything. Rather, I find it quite funny that this incident took place when such an issue was going on. We left, it was just another evening.......