Livewire Articles

Just until a couple of months ago, I held this picture-perfect concept in my mind regarding what happiness should look and feel like. Theoretically, I knew that I was the only one who could truly make myself happy but I overlooked to decide what happiness would actually mean for me. I had a rough sketch in my mind that I would be doing a work that I would enjoy and pay me well such that I can afford frequent trips and adventures be it national or overseas. Second, but not of any less importance, I imagined having great and nurturing relationships. However, this idea ofRead More →

How does one become happy? Is there a magical formula for happiness? The answer to these questions, my friends, lies within. There is no one size-fits all solution to all our problems since we are all different. 150+ days of solitude post the lockdown have taught me a few valuable life-lessons on how to be happy. My 10 commandments of happiness are: 1. Allocate a minimum of an hour every day to unwind and do what you love doing the most. It could be cooking, dancing, reading, catching up with someone or just about anything that makes you happy! 2. Choose not to respond toRead More →

Happiness, a complete sentence within self with lots of logic, emotionand reasons behind. Its always said to be happy, and the sorrows wouldjust go away. For a person, who is not fortunate enough to even attendthe school in his/her childhood days its not an easy thing to seek for,but not even the most difficult of task either.Raj is elder son in his family with three sisters younger to her who liveswith his mother. During his childhood days, his mother was left aloneby his father to fight the battles of life on her own. Raj had a difficultchildhood, as he had to earn bread for hisRead More →

“Happiness does not come automatically. It is not a gift that good fortune bestows upon us and reversal of fortune takes back” It depends on us alone. One does not become happy overnight, but with patient labor, day after day, happiness is constructed but that requires efforts & time. Now, this is my personal experience, No one can give you true happiness except yourself, not your charming lover, best friend or sweetest family members can bring you the blue sky of happiness. I read it somewhere that albert Einstein’s son asked him for secret of happiness & learning. To which Einstein replied succinctly that findRead More →

Right at the moment when lockdown started, I was quite unsure how to deal with it for two main reasons. First being at home for 30 long days was making me very anxious. Second on what will I do in this complete lockdown at home? Luckily being with family is something I was grateful especially with observing so many people missing their mother, wife, or husband’s food (yes guys can also cook). Now to be very honest with you one thing I was very scared of was how family relations will turn out. One thing I completely believe is that our modern lifestyle has madeRead More →

Years ago- “Mumma, I don’t feel happy!” “Why?” “I don’t know… Maybe you cook for me, my favorite masala dosa and I will be happy again?!” “Fine!” Year after year slid by slowly; and so, did nifty negotiations with Mumma. Hot dosas are no longer a kitchen away but need elaborate planning & execution! That which felt like magic – now has revealed its painstaking paraphernalia of – overnight soaking, grinding, fermenting and then slathering onto a hot pan for a crispy moment of flaky happiness. Mumma’s magic now happens once in many blue moons. Thus, my shortcut to happiness is a long way away!Read More →

Rabindranath Tagore had once said that it is very simple to be happy, but it is very difficult to be simple. When I first read this adage, I realized that life can never be simple, so does that mean that we can never be happy? And I got the answer to my question from a very unlikely source. There is a fruit peddler in my area who always seems to be jolly. He beams with joy whenever someone walks into his shop. One day, a fellow customer asked him, “How come you always have a smile on your face…how come you’re so happy every day?”.Read More →

“A man’s happiness should be like a fruit grown on his tree rather than a toy bought off someone’s store. They are far more enjoyable, yet less finite.” Food is a universal happiness creator. However, when the pandemic hit upon us, restaurants became a casualty. This paved way for some delightful turn of events – discovering the happiness of cooking. Kitchens in every home began doling delicious dishes with men and women both learning new skills to quench their appetite. People were literally creating their own happiness. In fact, the logic is expandable much beyond. Our most enjoyable activities are our hobbies. Reading a goodRead More →

Ralph Waldo Emerson said “ For every minute you are angry, you lose 60 seconds of happiness” The term happiness is an overrated term. As human beings, we often attach our happiness to other individuals or tangible luxuries. It’s a feeling that we generally associate with the outside world. When I was a small kid – I saw my seniors using ink pen to write. I felt I will be happy when I reach to higher standards and use those pens. By the time I reached higher standards – my definition of happiness had already changed. I had started admiring the students of college –Read More →

I was full of beans to write on the topic “Create your own happiness”. As I started inditing my thoughts and beliefs, I struggled to find the right words and bring the state of being happy under one umbrella for all. Albeit we all live under the same sky, we don’t experience the same shades. Hence, I started reaching out to my friends, strangers, and family on their voyage of creating a happy boat for themselves. But to my amazement no one could bring justice to the answer, rather every response concluded to the assertion “Wish, I’d knew”. It was somewhat disappointing to see myRead More →

For as long as I can remember, I was an unhappy person. I do not mean I was unhappy all the time, but there were more occasions when I was unhappy than otherwise. Some things would give me great joy – a good movie, chicken tandoori, an evening with chosen friends, a candle-lit dinner. There are, however, many things that I still seek, whose absence makes me unhappy – a better job, the perfect ice cream, a trip to Saltzberg. Why do only some things make me happy? Perhaps, in the process of growing up, these desires had solidified in me in a pattern, soRead More →

They say for every dark night, there is a brighter day and sometimes to embrace that bright day, you have to create your own sunshine. Four years ago, on Christmas eve a 21-year-old girl found herself lying on an ICU bed, plugged in with channels and entangled in tubes, attached to various parts of her body. It was difficult for her to express her pain and emotions as the tracheostomy tube, which was shoved down her throat barely let her utter any word. A girl who loved chattering was losing her ability to speak. Her vascular disease & sheer weakness also made her incapable ofRead More →

“Happiness is not something readymade. It comes from your own actions” – Dalai Lama Picture this – a two-year old baby sitting with a normal piece of cardboard and marveling at it, with fits of giggles. The adults around her wondering how could she possibly experience happiness in such a mundane object. It would be fair to argue that when we are younger, every experience is fresh and every emotion heightened. Therefore, the credibility of the child’s laughter is questioned. As adulthood approaches, so does stress, grief, envy and other emotions, robbing us of happiness. We spend our weekdays convincing ourselves the weekends will beRead More →

Happiness is the most precious, valuable and the demandable word in the present scenario. In fact, everybody wakes up in the morning, works till late evening and sleeps at night just with the intention to stay happy. Every individual has a different meaning of happiness, for some it may mean name, fame and recognition while for others it may mean spending quality time with their loved ones and for few others, it may be pursuing their dreams and passion. But these definitions of happiness are incomplete as here the happiness is dependent on others and not on one’s own self. Most of us become happyRead More →

“What is this life if, full of care, We have no time to stand and stare” You must be wondering that why I have quoted these lines from “Leisure” when I should be discussing about Happiness. Is happiness synonymous to leisure? For me it is. I am no Sigmund Freud but still I believe that “people strive after happiness; they want to become happy and to remain so. This endeavour has two sides, a positive and a negative aim. It aims, on the one hand, at an absence of pain and displeasure, and, on the other, at the experiencing of strong feelings of pleasure.” IfRead More →

Imagine from tomorrow onwards each and everyday , is going to be controlled by your boss.You have to wake up at 4 in the morning everyday , eat only bitter gourd for every meal, dress in a certain way , do stuff which you do not like at all.And you have to follow it for the rest of your life.How would you feel ?Won’t you feel like a captive?Won’t you feel that your boss does not have the right to control YOUR day ?Will you protest ? I believe any human being will , at some point of time.But why do you give permission toRead More →