Kamal Ghorui
…often comes the best of wisdom, as two pre-teen Tamil boys have shown. Adults, pay attention
Two, toothy’n grinny, underprivileged kids, “child influencers” on Insta and YouTube, made it to their chief minister’s office – and got 15 minutes of adult-world fame. Their discovery, by the Tamil adult world and beyond, showed what simple joy, boring adults miss out on. Pre-teen siblings Deva and Jiva from a village in TN’s Cuddalore, make tiny reels – 20 to 40 secs long – on, mostly, the value of education, the Joneses trap (comparing with ‘have-mores’), and a nod to poor parents’ efforts to send kids to school. No doubt, the push for peer awareness and motivation has parental support; some sound parenting there. And no doubt, as Deva and Jiva turn teens, their views will evolve, as is the nature of the beast called teenage.
Now that they’ve met Stalin, their bobbling heads are bound to host more thoughts – it’ll be fun to see if lessons on bluster & ego will follow. Handling even 15 minutes of fame can be tough, but what these two kids aren’t, is camera shy. Neither can they be accused of stage fright. The rural family’s creativity, and the fact that they’ve been on social media, are a fine example of the power of internet. It has democratised creative expression, and spurred aspirations. The little boys are invisible to the larger world. But they are mini-stars in their algorithmic world, with their ideas and spontaneous performance, and sheer creativity.
One reel, in particular, strikes a chord. The younger brother is scrolling endlessly. Older brother: “What’re you doing all day?” Jiva: “Watching reels.” Over the next few seconds, the message: “If you spend all your time watching others succeed, you’ll never create your own success.” Peer wisdom, life-lessons, almost Panchatantra-style, are lessons not just for kids, but for adults too. Out of the mouths of babes…
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