A man owned a large comb production business. As he approached old age, he wanted the smartest of his three sons to take over the business. So one day, he summoned his three sons and gave each one a thousand combs, instructing them to sell them at the Buddhist ashrams which he suggested. Upon arriving at their respective ashrams, they were surprised to find that all the inmates of the Ashrams had shaved heads.

Despite the unexpected challenge, they endeavoured to sell the combs, and returned on a specified day to report their progress to their father. The eldest son stated, “I managed to sell ten combs.” When asked how, he replied, “I appealed to the monks’ kindness, asking for assistance in winning the competition.” The second son said, “I sold twenty combs by highlighting their usefulness for scratching their back.” Finally, the third son said he sold all one thousand combs. When questioned about his success, he explained, “I carved the profound sayings of Lord Buddha onto the combs and offered them to visitors, encouraging them to contemplate these words while combing.”

Often, people limit the utility of an object to its original intent. However, with one’s imagination and creativity, one can transcend such constraints and discover the optimal use for everything life offers. The challenge lies in recognizing opportunities and taking advantage of them instead of focusing on limitations. Today the world is frantically looking for smart people. Steve Jobs while recruiting people for his company had said, “It doesn’t make sense to hire smart people and then tell them what to do; we hire smart people so that they can tell us what to do.”

As you embark on this new academic year, one must not forget that like those combs, each student is blessed with numerous gifts — time, talents, teachers, text-books, opportunities and friendships — and is called to optimize one’s potential. In their educational journey, students are not mere recipients of knowledge but are the architects of their future. While parents and teachers offer support, each student is expected to craft their path, utilizing all one’s available resources for a bright future. Schools serve as fertile grounds where students can seize opportunities to discover and sow seeds of their potential, and nurture talents. Every student needs to understand the significance of maximizing time, talents, guidance from teachers, and friendships.

Entering this new school year, The Teenager Today has articles this month to guide you in choosing friends wisely, navigating social media, maintaining a healthy diet, and inspiring you with stories of individuals like Gukesh Dommaraju and Kailash Satyarthi.

The Teenager Today wishes you all a successful academic year!

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All around the world Christians whether young or old, await excitedly for this time of the year — Christmas, the birthday of Jesus Christ. It is a time of giving gifts because Christians consider Him as the greatest gift they have ever received. It is also a time of celebrations, sumptuous food and exchanging of gifts. Christmas is a time of grandeur, and not to forget good old Santa Claus in his magnificent sleigh carrying an enormous bag of fantastic gifts! But is Christmas only about this? Isn’t there something deeper and meaningful to this season? The answer is yes, there is.

Besides material gifts, Christmas is a time for sharing some extraordinary gifts — the gifts of Charity, Hope, Love, Kindness, Happiness and Peace. These gifts are within our hearts; we need to bring them out and share them. Sharing is caring, and our small intangible gifts could touch the lives of many people at this special time of the year. Sharing our extraordinary gifts is not limited to just a group of people. Neither the givers nor the receivers of these gifts are limited by their age, race, class or culture. These gifts are meant for everyone, to be wholeheartedly and freely given.

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Raksha Bandhan — the festival of love, bonding, togetherness. A special vow between siblings to be with each other during every phase of life that includes sharing, caring and growing up together. Who know us better than our own siblings?

Every Raksha Bandhan, my teenaged son asks me: “Mom, what gift do I give my sister when she ties a rakhi for me?” And the same question is asked by my daughter.

Being a woman entrepreneur, corporate gift manufacturer and someone who has been in the business of gifting since the past 27 years, this was a challenge we faced every day for every occasion. That gave birth to our venture MODO GREEN that stands for trendy, fashionable and, at the same time, green. It helped us solve the question of what do we gift our loved ones on various occasions — unique gifts that add value not only to our loved ones’ lives but also to our environment. 

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Christmas is a fact of life, and history records this eponymous event of the Christian era which commenced a little more than 2000 years ago in a stable in Bethlehem. It is also recorded that Christmas was first celebrated in 354 A.D., over 300 years after the birth of Christ. Then the Church decided that December 25 should be celebrated as the official Birthday of Christ. It was also hoped people would forget their old customs. But they didn’t entirely.

One of these was gift-giving, which is actually a borrowed tradition believed to be older than Christmas itself, and goes back to the New Stone Age when food was exchanged between farmers at mid-winter. There was a practice of giving presents during the last week of the year. The Egyptians exchanged gifts on a day which they celebrated as a special feast, but the gifts were of one kind and all gave and received the same kind of present. This practice was considered as a form of social bonding. However, times have changed and today, the reality differs from what it ostensibly proclaimed.

In fact, one is today inclined to wonder if there is any room left in our pretentious state for the real Christmas festival. This view is prompted by the prevalent governance gap that those in power are simply unable to bridge. There is no question of a “new” India that the state can claim to be aiming for. It is still the very same India we always knew.

Against this background there is a mood of pessimism which tempts us to look upon the festivities of the season as mere relics of a shattered ideal. True as that may be, it is our duty to collect the relics and preserve them with reverent care, for the ideal of peace, goodwill, harmony and tolerance are the best that we can pursue. We are not yet done with these and like everything else in the world these ideals do not stand in isolation. There will always be a Christmas to air these virtues.

One of the foundations of these virtues is brotherliness. Therefore, we must strive to bring together people of different creeds, classes and cultures to realise that they are all members of the same human family, that the good of all is contained in the good of each, and that if one is weak then all are weak. Such a move would ensure fewer breaches of peace. Greed and selfishness rend asunder the bonds of brotherhood, and no amount of idealism should blind us to the terrible facts of undisciplined human nature.

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“No one has ever become poor by giving.”
― Anne Frank

Do we give gifts just because we are obligated to do so? Or do we do so because we respect and appreciate the receiver? These are questions we should ask ourselves before gifting.

When we gift someone, we should think of what the person would like to receive and his or her tastes. Just palming off something we do not like would not be appreciated by the recipient. We should remember that thoughtful gifting gives out positive energies.

The simplest material gift is cash or cheque. This saves our time and we also do not gift something the recipient would not like to have. Gifting a cheque to newlyweds so that they can spend the money as per their requirements makes sense. But in order to personalize this gift, we could use a pretty envelope and card.

Handmade gifts are always appreciated. If you have a flair for painting, paint on a T-shirt and gift it to your friend. If you are a good cook, bake a cake for her or him.

Gifting, even though we will not get any return gift, has its own rewards. For instance, at festival time, gift a box of sweets to an orphanage nearby and see the joy on the faces of the little tots. You could, along with your friends, organize a party for these kids with fun games and goodies.

But there are also non-material gifts. There was once a barely literate widow who brought up her son by working hard in other people’s homes in order to give him a good education and put nutritious food on the table. She always insisted that they share a meal together. When the boy started working, he started forgetting to spend time with his mother. He started chilling with his friends. After all in a big city there is always something to do — playing video games, going for movies, and just whiling away time. He felt ashamed of his mother, the pokey room they lived in, her calloused hands and never brought his pals home. He bought his mother a fancy watch for Christmas. He was sure that she would be delighted. Imagine his surprise when she turned to him with tears in her eyes and said, “Thank you for your lovely gift my son. I know it came from your heart. But day after day I long for you to come home so that we can eat together. What I would have appreciated more was your time.”

“Remember how you loved me once, my son? You would come home and help me with the household work. You said that once you started earning, you didn’t want me to work in other people’s homes any more. And you kept your word. I am happy that you are enjoying your work and that you have time to spend with your friends. Yet it would be nice if we could once again chat like we did before.”

In our world today, we think that a gift can compensate for spending time with a near and dear one. Love displayed through material goods is shallow.

Another way to show that we love someone is by giving that person a patient ear. We may have an old grandmother or elderly uncle living with us. It’s no laughing matter for four generations to live together in a pokey apartment. The elderly tend to be repetitive, recounting the same story over and over again. So we try to escape. We may even do some charitable work such as helping in literacy classes. That is truly commendable but charity begins at home. We must make time to listen to long stories at least once in a while, to hear a about grandmother’s illnesses. The elderly are lonely, even when surrounded by family. They need our empathy. Trust me. You will be rewarded when you see the broad smile on grandma’s face because you spared some time for her.

Another such gift is that of knowledge. For instance, a student who is good in Maths could spend some time coaching his classmates who are weak in the subject.

I conclude with the words of Eleanor Roosevelt: “Since you get more joy out of giving joy to others, you should put a good deal of thought into the happiness that you are able to give.”

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Pocket experiences are special discoveries waiting to be revealed on an early morning walk as the sun is beginning to rise. You can feel the exhilaration of life as you hear the singing birds. You may smell freshly cut grass or stop to look deep inside an open flower to discover the multitude of colours and textures that make up a single flower petal. You may witness a beautiful dragonfly with its transparent wings, gracefully flitting from one perch to another. The sky is the most fantastic show on earth and is given freely to each one of us.

Why do we always overlook the bounties of nature in our daily lives? Why do we always get the time to appreciate the breathtaking sights of the sky and the sea only on a holiday? Nature is a part of us and we are a part of nature. So from now on, pause for a moment, come out into your garden or balcony at night and look at the moon. Or if you are stuck in a traffic jam search around for a beautiful butterfly or a dragonfly. Collect these in your remembrance pocket and empty its contents at the day’s end. You will unearth a special treasure that you discovered and is yours to keep.

Appreciate all the good things that have happened and take time to let your imagination wonder with the joy of each discovery. Take time to look around at the beauty and peace nature can offer.

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