The world's best bear turns 100

In its centenary year, A.A. Milne's beloved teddy bear, Winnie the Pooh, can teach adults a lesson or two in humility

- Somak Ghoshal

Milne's son Christopher Robin got a teddy bear for his first birthday.

I don’t know about you but I am taking Winnie the Pooh, the beloved teddy bear from British writer A.A. Milne’s stories, as my role model into the new year. Let me give you my top three reasons behind this decision.

Number One: there is no pressure to make a success of your life if you follow in Pooh’s footsteps. You don’t have to dazzle anyone online, or in the real world. Pooh doesn’t need to impress the world, post his #OOTD on Instagram, since he goes around pantless, and doesn’t have exotic taste in food. All he wants is a pot of “hunny” or a bit of condensed milk, and he’s happy. He’s also incredibly lucky to have friends, who are always there for him. “Pooh hasn't much Brain, but he never comes to any harm,” as his best friend Piglet says. “He does silly things and they turn out right.”

Number Two: Pooh is the first one to admit his shortcomings. “I am a Bear of Very Little Brain,” he keeps telling the reader with disarming candour. He is humble, always ready to own his mistakes. Maybe that is why Christopher Robin, the little boy he belongs to, considers Pooh to be “the best bear in all the world.”

Number Three: there is no space for hustle in Pooh’s world. When he wakes up in the morning, the first thought that comes to his mind is: “What's for breakfast?” Which, as Pooh tells Piglet, is not all that different from the question that pops up in his dear friend’s head at the start of the day: “I wonder what's going to happen exciting today?”

I could go on and on, but let me just remind you that for all his lack of ambition and intellect, Pooh hits a big milestone this year. While he made his first appearance in a poem called Teddy Bear by Milne in Punch magazine in 1924, it was in 1926, exactly one hundred years ago, that the first book about his adventures was published.