Is finding happiness the purpose of life?

Purpose of our life should not be finding happiness, rather we should contrive to lead a meaningful life. Meaningful life and happy life overlap in certain ways, but are ultimately very different. Happiness is an emotion felt for sometime, it ultimately fades away. Happiness cannot be pursued, it must ensue. Meaning, on the other hand, is enduring. It connects the past, present and the future. We may or may not be happy about our past.

We should set aside our selfish interests and instead serve/help someone. Now fulfillment of our interests could give us happiness and so can helping/serving others. Now if the sole purpose is being happy, the former option would seem more feasible. Leading a happy life, is associated with being a "taker" while leading a meaningful life is much more.

Happiness, therefore automatically will be the byproduct of leading a meaningful life.

Whatever happens, happens for the best

"Whatever happens, happens for best"

The blatant stupidity of this statement is so obvious that it would be almost spurious of me to attempt to refute it.

*You are diagnosed with a chronic, painful illness.
*Your business fails and you lose everything.
*Your home is destroyed by fire.
* someome very close to you is slowly dying.
*Your husband loses his job and stays home every day drinking.
*You get into a car accident and kill someone.
*Your child is abducted.
*You are stranded on a deserted island

 Where is the good in all this???

Ridiculous, isn’t it? And yet, ostensibly a lot of muddle-headed people actually do believe in this sort of utter nonsense that there is something called Fate or Destiny that takes care of them, and essentially wishes nothing but eventual good for them.

Bad things can happen and do happen, and most of the time there is no good that comes from them. People who claim that they see the good in everything that happens are delusional.

Views on intolerance in India

Yesterday, after finishing my exam and leaving the examination hall, I inquired from my friends about how did their paper go.The responses I got were:

Friend 1 : Yaar baj gyi. Acha nhi hua ( It didn't go well)

Friend 2 : Kharab hua yaar paper ( It didn't go well)

Friend 3( whose only motive was to pass): Badhiya ho gya yaar (It went well)

I, then asked them how much score do you expect. They replied 80, 60 and 50 % respectively.

Now after hearing the initial responses, one may feel that 3rd friend might score highest but counterintutively that wasn't the case after response of second question was heard.


Intolerance word has been doings rounds in the media of late. Now, why I mentioned the incident above is because it is somewhat related to the extent of intolerance in our country. Someone who is very tolerant may feel that there is very little or no intolerance in the country and someone intolerant may feel the rising menance of intolerance around him. And there are people who are shit concerned about intolerance.

Whereas the truth is that our country is evolving everyday, a place where some stray  incident of violence has occured today may turn peaceful ever after, after reconciliation.

What media is doing is exaggerating and blowing things out of proportion.
Our beliefs are personal, so are our fears.

Rabindranath Tagore spoke of his country as a place where the mind was without fear, where the clear stream of reason had not lost it's way, he was praying for things to change, he was expressing a fear, a hope, a dream and a vision for his country.

Basically, we feel free to criticise our country after being dismayed by scummy infrastructure, plethoric corruption, governance mismanagement ourselves BUT pounce on someone else if he raises these points.

I remember what my friend says to me after I criticise him:- "Kisi ne acha samjha, kisi ne bura samjha, jiski jitni zrurat thi usne unta samjha" ( people term you good or bad in accordance of you fulfilling their needs)

Same is the case with intolerance. We we can do as an individual is to do any anything unless it harms anybody.

And regarding our country's image, I remember a quote by Dita Von Teese:

“You can be the ripest, juiciest peach in the world, and there's still going to be somebody who hates peaches.”

My first year in college

This year I completed my first year at NIT Srinagar (J&k, India)

Our college has one of the scummiest infrastructure when compared with most NIT's (Institutes of National Importance) in the country. The very first day seniors told us to attend classes donned in formal garb (which otherwise is not compulsory as per college rules).  In the initial days, there was some sense of apprehension of being ragged (somehow escaped it) by seniors. I reveled in not attending majority of the lectures while my parents were expecting me to work my ass off in studies. A month went by while every time  I was loathing college authorities and now it was the time of minor examinations. I was quite sure that I would flunk in exams. Week before exams, it started raining cats and dogs and all of a sudden whole city (our college too) was inundated with water.  Inevitably, exams were called off and I escaped by a fluke.

                                                 ​(photo: college inundated with water)


A swashbuckling experience (not for all) for us was a precarious situation for our family members back home. Our repeated reassurances did not lessen their concern for us. Somehow we were fled safely to our homes by Indian Air Force.

Our college was off for nearly a month. The teachers covered up whole semester in a month and showed a lot of leniancy while correcting answer books due to which I got decent marks, rather above average I'd say.

Then came the much anticipated winter break. Literally, I just ate, slept and repeated the same for nearly three months.

Everything was same in next semester except the flood and the fact that our mathematics teacher did not allow me to appear for the minor exam on account of shortage in attendance.

This semester, I along with my friends went for a road trip to Gulmarg on rented bikes(tourist spot 60 kms from our college). We witnessed the most beautiful arrangement of sun,clouds, snow and mountains that Srinagar had to offer. Damn that was pretty.

Somehow, I managed to clear all subjects in second semester too. (Courtesy : one night stands with books)

In no time, first year came to an end.

Psuedo Feminists

Psuedo Feminists hallucinate that everything that happens around has some hidden sexist agenda. In reality, making others believe so is their Agenda.

"A woman beats his husband"
Psuedo feminists: Yay! Women empowerment ( In rare cases they would atmost say "Law will take its own course")

" A man beats his wife"
Psuedo Feminists: OUTRAGE!! It is an act of persecution of whole womankind. All men are Misogynists!! We want justice right now!
(Note: I don't condone beating anyone, it's just an example)

One's sex should not define how they are treated. Psuedo feminists always give sexist angle to any incident. It is an undeniable fact that till today women are treated unfairly by many people. But some psuedo feminists have limited themselves only to crib,complain and not work to improve this situation. They feel that they would be called feminists only when they diss men and label them as " Woman hating species". They are always eager to concot a story where a female is oppressed and love getting half and hour fame debating the issue on National news channels. It's like throwing dirt on the floor and then cleaning it infront of someone to get attention (while showing him only the half truth). Feminism means removing all the prejudices that are still prevalent in the modern society. It means demanding equal treatment for all genders and not running from moral obligations. Psuedo feminists are retards with a propaganda against Men.

Stereotyping is the root of all gender ineqalities that exist. "Men like blue colour and women like pink"," Boys play with cars and girls play with dolls". Feminists(psuedo) would do a great service to the nation if they succeed in relinquishing this stereotype rather than blaming men for everything wrong that happens to women.

Growing Intolerance

There is nothing wrong with disagreeing, censuring, or even protesting (peacefully/lawfully) against contrary viewpoints. The problem arises when an individual, or a group of people do not tolerate any practice/belief/ action of someone and take the law in their own hands. Regrettably, the rising menance of intolerance has already struck Writers (killings of bloggers in Bangladesh), Cartoonists (charlie hebdo in France), Reporters (have been killed in many countries) and many other people from different professions. Thoughts, ideas and views which challenge the doctrine of intolerant groups,individuals or societies are being suppressed violently.

      "FREEDOM OF SPEECH AND EXPRESSION" is a redundant term if someone wants to impose censorship on it. Presently, curbing or even reducing intolerance seems invincible.

Vociferous demands for banning some film just because it advocates reforms and exposes the malpracticies of some groups and hallucinating it as an act of Blasphemy, destroying government property to show resentment/dissent is the common example of Growing Intolerance in our country. (Recent example is the protests to demand ban on movie PK)

Vandalism and mobocracy (recently a rape accused was killed by a group of thousand people although later it was found that charges on him turned out to be false)  should have no place in a civilised society.

Practicing tolerance should be of paramount importance for everyone, otherwise freedom of expression would be held hostage by mindless/stupid intolerant people.

 SADLY, NOWADAYS QUESTIONING/EXPRESSING IS LEADING TO THE END OF YOUR LIFE

Hypocrisy of Humans

Do you remember the story?

Driven by hunger, a fox tried to reach some grapes hanging high on the vine but was unable to, and termed them as "Sour Grapes"

The moral of the story was: "It is easy to despise what you cannot get."

We express bitterness or resentment against Reservation, Corruption, Dynasty Politics..... (endless list)  only when we don't get a chance to enjoy these privileges.

It is much harder to be fair than to seem fair. We always prefer appearances over reality. We like to tell others the 'right' thing to do, but we ourselves do not necessarily like to do the 'right'

We are hypocritical by nature (at least for the most part)


Here are a few quotes by different people on Hypocrisy :-

*Every man alone is sincere. At the entrance of a second person, hypocrisy begins. We parry and fend the approach of our fellow-man by compliments, by gossip, by amusements, by affairs. We cover up our thought from him under a hundred folds. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

*He does not believe who does not live according to his belief. ~Thomas Fuller

*Many of us believe that wrongs aren't wrong if it's done by nice people like ourselves. ~Author Unknown

*Forbear to judge, for we are sinners all. ~William Shakespeare

*The essence of immorality is the tendency to make an exception of myself. ~Jane Addams

*All of us are experts at practicing virtue at a distance. ~Theodore M. Hesburgh

*Go put your creed into your deed. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

*The most melancholy thing about human nature, is, that a man may guide others into the path of salvation, without walking in it himself; that he may be a pilot, and yet a castaway. ~Augustus William

*Hypocrite: the man who murdered both his parents... pleaded for mercy on the grounds that he was an orphan. ~Abraham Lincoln

*The injury we do and the one we suffer are not weighed in the same scales. ~Aesop, Fables

*The world is full of fools and faint hearts; and yet everyone has courage enough to bear the misfortunes, and wisdom enough to manage the affairs, of his neighbor. ~Benjamin Franklin

*It is easier to fight for one's principles than to live up to them. ~Alfred Adler

*A man generally has two reasons for doing a thing. One that sounds good, and a real one. ~J. Pierpoint Morgan

*People are very inclined to set moral standards for others. ~Elizabeth Drew

*Just remember, there's a right way and a wrong way to do everything and the wrong way is to keep trying to make everybody else do it the right way. ~Colonel Potter