Volume - 1                             Issue -2                     March 2025     

A STORY OF WEALTH AND WISDOM

Ahamed and Mohammed had been best friends since childhood. Growing up in a middle-class neighbourhood in Chennai, they watched their parents work tirelessly to make ends meet. Yet, their views on money were vastly different.

Ahamed was obsessed with wealth. He believed money was the key to happiness and security. From a young age, he devoured books on investments, stock markets, and business strategies. Always seeking ways to multiply his income, he was convinced that the more he had, the better his life would be.

Mohammed, on the other hand, had a more balanced approach. He saw money as a tool, not a goal. He saved diligently, invested wisely, but never let money consume his thoughts. To him, true happiness came from contentment, relationships, and personal growth rather than the relentless pursuit of financial success.

Their career paths reflected their philosophies. Ahamed took the high-risk, high-reward route—quitting stable jobs to start businesses, investing in volatile markets, and working tirelessly to stay ahead. His bank account grew rapidly, but so did his stress and anxiety. Every market fluctuation disturbed his peace of mind. He was always chasing the next big opportunity, never feeling satisfied.

Mohammed, however, chose a stable career. He lived within his means, invested conservatively, and never let financial worries dictate his happiness. He had enough to live comfortably, pursue hobbies, and spend quality time with family and friends. While Ahamed was consumed by the thrill of making money, Mohammed found joy in simple things like reading, traveling, and meaningful conversations.

One day, Ahamed invited Mohammed to his newly purchased penthouse, adorned with luxurious furniture and expensive artwork.

“Look at this, Mohammed! This is success!” he exclaimed. “All these years of hard work have finally paid off.”

Mohammed smiled and asked, “It’s impressive, Ahamed! But tell me, are you happy?”

Ahamed hesitated. “Happiness comes with more success. I still have bigger goals—a mansion, a luxury car, early retirement. There’s so much more to achieve.”

Mohammed nodded but said nothing. He understood that Ahamed was caught in the endless cycle of ‘more,’ where no amount of money was ever enough.

Then, the unexpected happened. A financial crisis struck, wiping out a large portion of Ahamed’s wealth. His high-risk investments collapsed, and his business suffered heavy losses. The lavish lifestyle he had built began crumbling. The fear of losing everything kept him awake at night.

Desperate and disoriented, Ahamed met Mohammed at a quiet café.

“I don’t understand, Mohammed,” he admitted. “I worked harder than anyone else, took all the right risks, and still lost so much. How do you always stay so calm?”

Mohammed sipped his tea and replied, “Because I never let money define my peace. You built your life around accumulating wealth, always chasing more. I built mine around financial security and contentment. The difference is, I don’t need more to be happy.”

Ahamed sat in silence, absorbing his friend’s words. For years, he had believed that more money meant more happiness. But now, he realized he had been chasing an illusion.

Determined to change, Ahamed began reading about behavioral finance, human psychology, and the true meaning of wealth. He learned that financial success wasn’t just about accumulation but about security, freedom, and peace of mind. He started making wiser investments, focusing on stability rather than constant growth.

More importantly, he reconnected with the things he had once ignored—spending time with family, enjoying simple pleasures, and appreciating what he already had.

Years later, Ahamed and Mohammed sat on a beach, watching the sunset.

Ahamed turned to his friend and said, “For years, I thought wealth was about having more. But now, I see that true wealth is about needing less.”

Mohammed smiled. “The richest person isn’t the one with the most money, but the one who finds contentment with what they have.”

Ahamed nodded. “You were right all along, my friend. Money is important, but how we think about it matters even more.”

Moral of the story:

The psychology of money is not about how much you earn but how you perceive and use it. True wealth isn’t about endless accumulation but about financial security, peace of mind, and contentment. Money should be a tool to enhance life, not a goal that controls it. Happiness doesn’t come from having more, but from needing less.

*****

Author: APARNA G

Perungulathur, Chennai -63

Mail ID: aparnag171290@gmail.com

STUDENT IN WONDERLAND

 

Volume - 1                             Issue -2                     March 2025            

STUDENT IN WONDERLAND 

WOW! It was yummy! It made the rainy evening even better with a hot cup of tea.

I asked my mom,
“What’s special today? You offered me samosas?”

With a gentle smile, she replied, “Have fun, my dear son.”

And then, it was discussion time.
I started sharing my day’s experience at school with my mom.
“Our school is going to function without exams!”

My mom remained silent and didn’t react.

I asked her, “Mom, don’t you feel happy that I won’t have to worry about exams and homework anymore?”
I added, “Even you won’t have to stress over my exam results!”

Again, with a gentle smile, she advised me,
“If there are no exams, you will forget to study. Studying books gives us knowledge, and the more we study, the more we gain. Knowledge helps us think wisely, and through education, our thinking capacity expands.

If there’s no homework and no exams, you will forget how to write. Writing and learning help us think and improve our presentation skills. Through education, you can achieve anything in this world. The more we educate ourselves, the more literate and developed our society becomes for future generations.

So, exams and education are inevitable for students—they cannot be avoided. A school without exams can exist only in a wonderland.”

A SCHOOL WITHOUT EXAMS AND POOR ACADEMICS IS A CURSE FOR SOCIETY.

She continued,
“I insist that you study effectively until you complete your school days. On the whole, students should take education and exams seriously. Exams are not just for scoring marks and grades.

Answering a question at any stage of life is not as easy as you think.
Some questions need to be answered with education.
Some questions need to be answered with general knowledge gained from books.
And many questions need to be answered with life experiences and critical thinking.”

As a school student, you may wish for a life without exams. But you cannot judge yourself without them. You cannot plan your next step without knowing your level of knowledge and mental strength.

I AM TIRED OF MOM’S LONG ADVICE…

I THINK I SHOULD APPRECIATE MYSELF FOR THE PATIENCE I HAD TO LISTEN TO HER…

However, it was an eye-opener for me. I thought school life was just about fun,
But in reality, it lays the foundation for the next generation’s future.

Suddenly, my dad entered the room.
OMG! How did I not notice that he was working from home?
When my mom gave me samosas, I should have guessed that Dad was at home! HAHAHA!

With a stern voice, he said, “Go and study, my son.”

Finally, I came to a conclusion—this society, including my parents, relatives, and dearest friends, will value me only if I am educated.

My parents are my inspiration. Both are Ph.D. holders. In the future, I should also reach their level, no matter the challenges.

LEARNING IS A TREASURE THAT WILL FOLLOW ITS OWNER EVERYWHERE. 

Author: APARNA G

Perungulathur, Chennai -63

Mail ID: aparnag171290@gmail.com

The Phoenix of Sarveshnagar - A Short Story

 Volume - 1                             Issue -2                     March 2025             

The Phoenix of Sarveshnagar

In the heart of a vast land lay Sarveshnagar, a humble village whose soul was forged by the calloused hands of countless laborers. Here, hod carriers, framers, drywall installers, masons, plumbers, electricians, field workers, harvest crews, livestock handlers, irrigation technicians, assembly line workers, machine operators, quality inspectors, garbage collectors, street sweepers, sewer workers, tree trimmers, groundskeepers, gardeners, coal miners, ore miners, and heavy equipment operators all toiled day in and day out. Their lives were a symphony of sweat and persistence—a mosaic of human effort that kept the village ticking.

Yet, as the sun rose over Sarveshnagar each morning, its golden rays fell upon faces worn by labor and eyes dimmed by despair. In a cruel twist of fate, the very vigor that drove these men and women to build their community also left them vulnerable. The bitter relief of alcohol, sold at the solitary wine shop that flickered like a forlorn beacon in the village square, offered a temporary escape from relentless fatigue. But like a siren’s song, the drink promised solace while slowly draining their vitality. It was a poison cloaked in the guise of comfort, inflicting grave wounds—brain damage, heart disease, liver disease, and cancer—upon those who sought refuge in its embrace.

As the toll of addiction mounted, the village bore witness to a growing tragedy. With each passing day, the number of widows multiplied like shadows at dusk. Bereft of their partners and burdened by the unyielding demands of survival, these women watched helplessly as their children were forced to abandon dreams of education and instead take on odd jobs to keep the flame of hope from being snuffed out. The laughter of youth was replaced by the quiet resignation of sacrifice.

Amidst this somber landscape emerged a single, bright soul—Sarvesh. Unlike his peers, Sarvesh dared to dream beyond the confines of hardship. With eyes that sparkled like stars against a darkened sky and a heart filled with unquenchable hope, he journeyed to a nearby city to attend college. There, among books and lectures, he discovered the transformative power of knowledge. His mind became a fertile field where the seeds of change were sown, nurtured by the belief that education was the antidote to despair.

Returning to Sarveshnagar, Sarvesh carried with him a message as urgent as it was profound. In the village square, beneath a sky painted with the hues of a setting sun, he addressed his fellow villagers with the fervor of a prophet. His words, imbued with the clarity of truth and the warmth of hope, cascaded over the crowd like a healing balm:

“My dear brothers and sisters, the wine that numbs our pain is the very poison that dims our future. Look upon your children—your priceless treasures! Let us not allow their dreams to wither in the shadows of our sorrows. Instead, let us cast aside this bitter brew and embrace the light of education, for it is only through learning that we can rebuild our lives and reclaim our dignity.”

Sarvesh’s words were a clarion call, resonating in the hearts of those who had long been silenced by defeat. Like a tender sapling striving towards the sun, hope took root in the hearts of the widows. They saw in his message a path out of the labyrinth of misery—a promise that the cycle of pain could be broken. With courage born of desperation, they began to send their children to school, daring to imagine a future where the legacy of labor was not one of sorrow, but of success.

The transformation was neither immediate nor effortless. The widows, now the steadfast pillars of their families, toiled with renewed purpose. Every sweep of the broom, every brick laid, every tool wielded in the fields, was imbued with the determination to create a better tomorrow. In the eyes of the children, once dulled by hardship, now burned the fierce light of ambition. They studied diligently, driven by the memory of their mothers' sacrifices and the promise of a life free from the chains of poverty.

Years passed, and as the seasons turned, the fruits of their labor began to ripen. Those once-forced laborers’ children blossomed into accomplished individuals, securing respectable positions in government offices and multinational companies. The specter of poverty that had once haunted Sarveshnagar receded like a fading nightmare, replaced by a vibrant tapestry of success and well-being. The wine shop—once the emblem of a dark era—was now but a memory, its doors closed to make way for institutions of learning and community centers where hope was nurtured.

In a grand ceremony that shimmered with pride and renewal, the village of Sarveshnagar was honored with a Governor’s Award for Purity. The accolade celebrated not only the transformation of the village but also the indomitable spirit of its people—a testament to how a single spark of enlightenment could ignite a revolution of change. Today, Sarveshnagar stands as a beacon of prosperity and health, its streets filled with the laughter of children and the hum of progress. Government employees and professionals now work alongside the very hands that once carried tools of labor, a living reminder that resilience and education can transform even the darkest of chapters into a story of triumph.

-        Sivakumar Raman

*****

‘She, Unbound’

 

       Volume - 1                             Issue -2                     March 2025             

‘She, Unbound’

I. Daughter
She was the first monsoon rain—
a giggle in a cradle of sky,
her father’s vaanam held in her fist,
her mother’s lullaby stitching stars to her eyelids.
School ribbons tied dreams into braids,
while her knees scraped the earth,
learning to rise.

II. Wife
They called her manaivi,
but her crown was woven of silence,
her throne a threshold between homes.
She became a bridge—
carrying his storms in her sari’s pleats,
her laughter a lantern in his darkest corridors.
Yet, in the mirror, she still traced
the girl who once climbed mango trees.

III. Mother
Her hands grew rivers—
one to cradle, one to cleanse.
Midnight lullabies blended with dawn’s alarms,
her voice a pendulum between kanmani and Excel sheets.
She traded sindoor for sanitizer,
kumkum for keyboard smudges,
her love a hybrid of old hymns and WiFi passwords.

IV. Grandmother
Now her spine curves like a question mark,
her wrinkles mapping forgotten wars.
She fries vadai in coconut oil,
stories simmering in her throat:
“I wore my first jeans at forty…”
Her arthritic fingers, once jailed by kolam rice powder,
now swipe TikTok, teaching grandsons
how to unlearn caste.

V. Mother-in-Law
They painted her villain—
a dragon guarding generational vaults.
But beneath her stern pallu,
she hid letters from a lover lost to Partition,
her sighs echoing in the daughter-in-law’s coffee cup.
One night, she whispered:
“Break what I couldn’t.
Make peace with the ghosts.”

VI. Sister-in-Law
Neither friend nor foe,
she’s the hyphen in family trees—
borrowing lipstick, sharing side-eyes,
her WhatsApp forwards a ceasefire treaty.
In Diwali group photos,
her arm hesitates before resting
on shoulders that once stiffened at her name.

VII. Housewife
Her mornings are algebra—
budgets balanced on grocery lists,
monsoon leaks quarantined by buckets.
The pressure cooker’s hiss
synchronizes with her fraying breath.
Yet, in the nilavilakku glow,
she paints landscapes no gallery will hang,
her art folded into lunchboxes.

VIII. Officer
In stilettos that blister,
she marches through glass labyrinths,
her ID card a shield against “Can you make chai?”
Boardrooms flinch when her Tamil-accented English
detonates data like grenades.
She signs memos in red ink—
the same hue as her long-erased maang tikka.

IX. Herself
Beneath these roles—
a girl still hums,
her voice a tangled radio frequency
tuning between aadi thapi and snowstorms.
She is the hyphen in “woman-kind,”
the footnote in epics,
the edit button on history’s rough draft.
When the world demands, “Which are you?”
She smiles, a thousand mirrors reflecting:
“All. None. Beyond.”

                                                                -RS

*****

பெண்மைத் தீபம்

 

Volume - 1                             Issue -2                     March 2025  

பெண்மைத் தீபம்

அலைகடல் நீளம் போல் அகண்டமாய் விரிந்தாள்—
கலையின் மணிகள் கசிந்த கை;
வானத்து மீன்கள் சிரிக்க,
வையத்தைத் தாங்கிய மாமணி!

குழந்தையின் முதல் மொழியாய்,
குறிஞ்சியின் இனிய மழையாய்,
அழகின் அடியாராய் அல்ல—
அஞ்சாமைக்கு அரணாய் நின்றாள்!

சுடரென முளைத்த செந்தமிழ்,
சொல்லின் இசைபோல் மிளிர்கிறாள்;
ஓவியம் தீட்டும் கண்களில்
உலகம் புதுப்பித்த ஓவியர்!

மண்ணின் வேராய், வானின் இறகாய்,
மனிதரின் மௌனத்தை உடைத்தாள்;
பொன்னின் நிழலில் புழுங்காதே—
போராடி வென்ற புலியென வாழ்ந்தாள்!

சேர்த்தாள் கை—சமத்தின் சங்கம்;
சிந்தையில் எரிமலை கொண்டாள்!
இரவின் இருளைக் கிழித்து,
இதயத்தில் ஞாயிறு ஆக்கினாள்!

கல்வியின் ஒளியால் காட்டிய வழி,
கனவுகள் தோட்டம் காத்தாள்;
"இல்லம்" எனும் பெயரால் இருளடிக்க
ஏராளமாய் எரிந்த தீ!

புதிய நாளின் தொடக்கம் அவளே—
போர்வீரர், தாய், கவிஞர், மருத்துவர்!
பெண்மை என்பது பூவல்ல...
பெருமிதத்தின் புனிதமான புரட்சி!

                           - சிவக்குமார் ராமன்

 

Listen to Understand! Understand to Communicate!! Communicate to Lead!!! - An Essay

      

           Volume - 1                             Issue -2                     March 2025  

Listen to Understand!

Understand to Communicate!!

Communicate to Lead!!!

In today’s fast-paced world, ineffective communication often stems from a fundamental flaw: the failure to truly listen. Poor listening breeds misunderstandings, creating ripple effects across professions, relationships, and institutions. Let’s explore how the LUC framework (Listen, Understand, Communicate) transforms outcomes in every field:

Education: The Classroom Catalyst

When students fail to listen actively, their grasp of lessons weakens, leading to poor academic performance. Conversely, even attentive students suffer if educators dismiss their questions or misjudge their comprehension levels.
Solution: A skilled teacher listens intently to student queries, understands individual learning gaps, and tailors explanations to bridge them. This student-centric approach elevates academic outcomes institution-wide.

Healthcare: Precision in the Operating Room

A surgeon’s success hinges not just on expertise but on their ability to listen to real-time updates, interpret subtle cues during surgery, and communicate clearly with their team. A split-second misunderstanding can risk lives; seamless collaboration saves them.

Corporate Leadership: The Negotiation Edge

Leaders who listen deeply in client meetings uncover unspoken needs, understand strategic priorities, and articulate solutions that build trust. Failure here isn’t just a missed deal—it erodes brand reputation and revenue over time.

Transportation: The Trust Factor

Pilots, drivers, and captains must listen to navigation alerts, process environmental risks, and relay instructions calmly. Their attentiveness isn’t just about reaching a destination—it’s about safeguarding lives and earning public trust.

Customer Service & Media: The Public’s Voice

A cashier who ignores a customer’s request or a newsreader who misinterprets a headline doesn’t just fail a task—they damage credibility. Active listening and clarity prevent errors and sustain trust in these frontline roles.

Why LUC Matters Everywhere

The LUC framework is not confined to education—it’s a universal blueprint for excellence:

1. Listen to absorb context, not just words.

2. Understand to decode needs, fears, and opportunities.

3. Communicate to inspire action, resolve conflicts, and lead effectively.

When professionals prioritize this cycle, they become transformational leaders—whether in a classroom, boardroom, or operating room. Poor listening creates chains of failure; intentional communication builds legacies of success.

Author: Aparna G (TEFL Expert)

Perungulathur, Chennai-600063

Mail Id.: aparnag171290@gmail.com

*****

The Man in the Mirror

 

  Volume - 1                             Issue -2                     March 2025   

The Man in the Mirror

They call me gravity—
the pull of the earth in every step,
a body bent beneath the weight
of labels: lazy, weak, regret.

My shadow stretches long—
a map of neon-lit drive-thru nights,
of aisles where sugar wears a crown,
and fresh greens flee to richer ZIP codes.
These bones bear the cost of a world
that sells me fries but shames my size.

My heart? A tangled garden—
thorns of “Have some willpower!”
blooming into silent feasts of shame.
Even doctors see a chart, not me—
a number, red-inked, screaming risk,
while the why gets lost: stress,
genes, a system built to drown
the poor in empty calories.

But today, the mirror speaks a softer truth:
“You are not a problem to solve.”
World Obesity Day knocks—
a key turning in rusted locks.
We rise: not with scales or scorn,
but hands reshaping cities, policies, plates—
planting gardens where guilt once grew.

Watch me shed centuries of should,
not pounds. My worth isn’t measured
in inches lost, but in the fight
to heal a world that starves and stuffs
us all. Let’s walk, not from blame,
but toward a future where health
is a right, not a waistline.

         -         SIVAKUMAR RAMAN