Happiness!

People may have many goals but the ultimate aim of life is happiness. Everyone tries to find that happiness in different things and situations.

As a child I found that happiness in reading fiction (specifically English literature books) or watching it on the idiot box. Happiness meant good grades in exams…happiness meant finishing of home work on time before my favorite shows start on TV… happiness meant Indian Cricket team winning…happiness meant getting new clothes…happiness meant dancing…happiness meant playing scramble…happiness meant dressing up my new Barbie…playing with teddies...happiness meant listening to stories of Ramji from Badi Ma (My Dadi)…happiness eant going to temple with her every Sunday morning…happiness meant going to temple every Tuesday evening with mama papa…happiness meant getting ready for school on time rather before Karan (my brother) and see him being scolded by mama. :p

As a teenager I found happiness in reading fiction in addition to what I read in school…happiness now meant watching loads of TV…collecting stamps/coins…painting my nails every evening and cleaning the paint every morning (Convent schools have strict rules)…eating chocolates…making cards for birthdays…listening to Badi Ma’s tales about Papa’s childhood, sometimes her own, sometimes the 1947 story of India’s freedom…visiting Nani house…fighting with Karan…arguing with mama…hating mathematics…sleeping…making notes of whatever I liked… writing diary...reading newspapers…watching cricket…playing cricket with Karan….reading film magazines…watching movies…dancing…collecting pictures of Hrithik Roshan…pasting them in scrap books…designing the scrap books…fantasizing Hrithik :p

As a college student I found happiness in reading fiction other than English texts…they were boring and childish by then…I can recall my English teacher in II year Dr. Saroj…and the ridiculous way she taught us the ‘Arms and the Man’ by GB Shaw, it was comedy drama but the pedagogy she used was hilarious, girls in class were more interested in the gestures and facial expressions of the fifty year old lady than in the plot of the play. Her stylish vocals ‘Chocolate cream solider’ as if she was talking of her own dream man!!! Now happiness meant studying journalism…media studies…films…advertising…corporate communications… watching news channels…TV shows making notes…working of projects and assignments…writing articles and reports for local newspapers…writing scripts for radio/TV for fests… …reading about great journos… reading novels in no time as if there was some race to be won…writing poetry instead of diary…dancing though Madhuri Dixit was replaced by Oprah Winfrey but no one could replace Hrithik Roshan :p    

Now I guess the meaning of happiness has changed a lot…its year 2011…in a few days it’s my birthday…I hope and pray that meaning of happiness will change for good.