Mid-May diary entry

Thank God I still find youngsters delightful and invigorating on the whole, after more than forty years with them. One little boy, who has barely attended six classes, made my day yesterday by whispering conspiratorially to me on his way out: 'Sir, your classes are very interesting!'

The second heat wave of the year was grilling us over the last week, but today there was a magnificent thundershower following a dust storm, nor'wester style, and it is now blessedly cool as I write, with a gentle breeze blowing. The pleasure never seems to pall...

I asked my readers a couple of questions in the last post, and I was waiting for a few answers. Sad that I haven't received any yet.

I think I have had to give up on my swimming sessions at last. They had been becoming increasingly infrequent over the last few years, and I now dislike the long lonely drives too much, given our bad roads and extremely unruly traffic, to keep going. One of my dearest wishes - a pool in my own neighbourhood - is never likely to be fulfilled. 

The ICSE results have come out once more, for the tenth time since my daughter passed. The less said about them the better, but I have given my freshest batch of ex students something to think about by drawing their attention to the post titled ICSE 2013 and us. I hope it will mean something to them and their juniors. Serious readers might also look up a book review titled Those who love, if only to find out what 'education' meant 200+ years ago, and reflect how far we have regressed. 

I have been watching how democracy has been working (or faltering...) in India and many other countries, and thinking for a long time about what we need to do to put it back on a strong footing with a future to look forward to. Perhaps I shall make a little essay out of it in the next post. Keep visiting.