I had a wonderful experience, the other day, at a programme organised by the Marwari Yuva Manch in Delhi. At the outset let me tell you, the programme was unique. They had assembled more than a hundred youngsters - all studying in class XI from different parts of the country for a three-day workshop with various subjects – all aimed at developing the individual – to make them prepared for the life to come.
I had the opportunity to take one session and my subject was Personality Development.
In my opening remarks I had clearly said that the session has to be interactive and the participants must ask questions and interrupt me whenever they feel like.
And against my expectations the questions were many. This is what I want to share with you all. I will not go in the details of what interacted after the questions were put but you must appreciate the curiosity and the anxiety of these youngsters.
While giving them tips on how their personality could be developed I had suggested that they should choose their friends with care. And as soon as I said this a number of hands rose from the audience. The questions that came up : “How do we do this?” “In the start they are good but later we find that they are selfish?” “Even if we do not agree to one of their ideas they feel that we are no more friends?” “How do we break friendship after realizing that they should not been our friends?” “Sometimes if we want to break friendship we are blackmailed?”
On a suggestion that they should avoid arguments and control their anger, once again many had queries. Some of the questions that came up : “Many times it is unavoidable, we have to argue?” “When I know he is wrong why should I accept his version.” “The other person just does not understand what I want to say?” “I get angry very fast, what should I do?”
Another question to me was, “do you believe in God?” “At home we are told that ghosts are not there as we have not seen them. Then how come God is there. We have not seen Him.”
I have shared all this with you just to let you know on what goes in the mind of a teenager today. And this is not uncommon in most of our youth, be they from any region, any class, any creed. For the parents and the elders it is a lesson to understand them properly.
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