“I saw a yellow bird sitting atop a tamarind tree in the courtyard of the neighbouring house...” wrote Arshik PM, a lower primary student, in his diary some time ago. A native of Kozhikode, he also drew a tree and a bird with crayons below his diary entry. Like Arshik, first grade students in government schools across Kerala have been maintaining diaries as instructed by their teachers, recollecting their fond memories.

These diary entries are now set to be published as a book. The General Education Department has compiled select diary entries from students as part of its “collective diary writing” initiative included in the academic syllabus. CM Pinarayi Vijayan is scheduled to release the book, which will feature children’s hand-written diary entries, on April 23 here, General Education Department sources said.