Meet Ravi
Let me introduce you to Ravi, a 15-year-old boy I met in the lower ranges of the Himalayas, where my family home is located. I met him during my visit to India this October, on my last day in my hometown. He is small, quiet, and utterly absorbed in his craft. Ravi left school when he was just 10 because of difficult family circumstances. Since then, he has been working as a Mehndi (henna) artist to support himself and help at home.
In his village, he isn’t always chosen for work because of his age. Older artists are often seen as more reliable, and if Ravi doesn’t get picked for the day, he doesn’t get paid. It’s a simple and stark reality. But when I saw him sitting under the soft afternoon light, a little box of cones beside him, I didn’t hesitate. I chose Ravi. And as soon as he began working, any doubts others might have had about him melted away. His artwork was precise, delicate, and imaginative…it was also freehand. In another five years, perhaps even sooner, he will be a master.
As I watched him, something small but deeply meaningful happened. At one point, he accidentally dropped his mehndi pen. Instead of quickly picking it up and carrying on, he paused. He picked up the pen gently, held it for a moment, and then touched it to his forehead; in India, this is a gesture of respect for one’s tools. You honour the tools that allow you to create, the instruments that help you earn your livelihood. You treat them not as disposable objects but as extensions of your labour, talent, and intention.
That tiny gesture stayed with me. It made me think about how disconnected many of us have become from the things that make our work possible…the tools, materials, and natural resources we use every day without much thought. We replace rather than repair. We consume rather than cherish. And we rarely, if ever, pause to express gratitude for the resources that make our lives functional, comfortable, even successful.
Respecting what we use and truly valuing it are at the heart of sustainability. If we treated the planet’s resources the way Ravi treated his pen, with care, gratitude, and awareness, perhaps our response to the climate crisis would look very different.
There is so much we can learn from young people like Ravi. About humility. About resilience. About mindful respect for our shared planet. And about remembering that even the smallest gestures can hold the biggest lessons.
