Strike Seven

Hi again! So what's new today, you could ask. Well, it was pretty much the same routine, except that since I woke up a bit early - thanks in part to my son who wanted to play at 2 am - I went for my jog earlier than usual at the crack of first daylight. That gave me more time to run longer, covering an additional lap in the process. On my way to work today, I passed by a school next to where I reside which like many upstart schools in Delhi advertise the fact that they are air-conditioned. Who would have thought in our time that schools could be airconditoned - used as we were to fans and the mercies of the DESU in summer when power cuts and load sheddings happened randomly. Sure we used to perspire like pigs and it used to be real hot but we made it through. Today, when my wife demands an air-conditioner for the house for our toddler, I can only smile - how times have changed. Kids these days have access to not just the best of amenities but also luxuries. I may be wrong but kids from our time turned out to be tough and hardy, able to withstand life's hardships. These kids, used to all the comforts from such an early age, don't inspire much confidence and one has seen enough examples of them breaking down at the slightest hint of trouble. Recall the recent scare on an Indigo flight when the air hostesses - all 20 somethings - broke down when it was announced that the aircraft had some landing gear trouble! Imagine, it were the passengers on-board who consoled these young girls rather than the other way around. Today, hitting a child can get you behind bars - in our time smacking a thorny twig or a wooden scale on the knuckles or palms was standard punishment, apart from the resounding slaps on the cheeks or the twisting of ears by teachers. Today, psychologists say this can lead to mental and psychological deformities in a child - by that yardstick, my generation should be living in a lunatic outhouse! Don't get me wrong - I am not against betterment of living conditions, but air-conditioned schools?? Are we going to be a turning out a generation that's too soft, only good at geeky stuff? I am sure I don't want my son growing up in the lap of luxury - let him earn his spurs rather getting dole outs from his dad.