How much does a man need to lead a normal, happy life?A “dhoti” (traditional men's wear in India - unstitched white cloth wrapped around waist and legs, like Gandhi wore) and a towel, is all that’s needed, going by one particular example.
Can see you grinning. But I used to know a guy who called himself “Basha” and “Partha” in Chennai. This 60-plus senior citizen lived in a tailor shop at our street and the two dress pieces were all the property he had, besides a rusted dumbbell to do exercise. The tailor had left a bicycle for him and allowed him to stay in the shop. His job was to deliver clothes to the clients. After returning from school, I used to play volleyball/kabbadi and chat with this simple man. When I finished college and went to great Amchi Mumbai in search of a job, my parents had shifted from that street in Chennai, but I continued to visit him and give him whatever little money I could whenever possible. He had a ready smile always as much as Bill Gates had. So I always used to wonder, is life all about money? Can money buy happiness is a never-ending debate. As I always say, what I look forward in life is good friends, healthy lifestyle, wonderful books and great movies. Of course, a happy family circle. Am I asking for too much?
You are asking for exactly what you need and deserve. Excellent post! I enjoy reading about people and their view of life...by the way, I think you need to add yourself as a follower again at Oasis because you changed your URL. I would like to add you to my list...do you think this blog will continue? Take care.
ReplyDeleteexcellent one ramesh
ReplyDeletei hope u gt my award msg on previous post if nt visit delhi blog plz
ReplyDeleteMay u get all that u ask for and much more in life.
ReplyDeleteSpoke to Nitu recently... we talked about u too for quite some time... hope u had a number of hiccups
ReplyDeleteAs far as i know you deserve more than what you already have.. Its indeed very great you still remember that.
ReplyDeleteFelt really good after reading this.
Keep it up!
Cheers,
Jayashree
This post speaks volumes; the more we discuss such points on philosophy, the more complex they seem to appear.
ReplyDeleteWell Ramesh Bhai, what you are asking for constitute the basic desires which every person has the right to have. Restricting yourself to just these basic desires is the key to a happy life.
But this World centers on – name, fame, power and money. The more we gratify our materialistic desires, the more they multiply and lead to greed.
Most of the people who struggle all through their lives and pile up a lot of money, realize in their old age that money is just a part and is not everything in life.
The old man, about whom you talked about, can be counted as one of the richest in this world, because he has both peace of mind and contentment in his life.
Why is traveling so expensive, particularly global travel and I am talking about traveling with a backpack. Is it too much to wish to travel to all those far off places?
ReplyDeleteGreat to see you back buddy. I was out of circulation for a week because I was busy winding up my assignment in Atyrau. Will be back on the blog circuit.
ReplyDeleteNice question you have raised...If you really want my answer In Today's Material World No amount is too much! Not all of us can ne be Basha can we..
How much I need is on the other hand is easier to define. I need one quarter's income more than what I am getting now:-)
The search for the extra 25% is what has kept me going and it is not too bad an avarice or is it.
Not really. But you are very lucky if you have all of what you asked for :)
ReplyDeleteI ask for a lot more. Turns out I get them instead of these little things I ask for too :P
hello!it's nice to see you back! i have a tag for you at my site. in case you are wondering who i am, this is also sassy reporter of Fresh Scoops but you can find the tag at my other blog in http://elishagayhidalgo.blogspot.com/
ReplyDeletesee you there!
Yes, you said it right - the bigger the smile on our face the richer we are :)
ReplyDeletepractice moderation in everything and just live a happy life.overindulgence in material things esp is worthless. love is the most important thing in life and it must be put into action.nice post!
ReplyDeleteAh! If only the simple joys of life could satisfy everyone we would not have any trouble with the world.
ReplyDeleteI believe it was homer simpson that said, The only thing money can't buy, is dinosaurs.
ReplyDelete@Sai Charan:
"The old man, about whom you talked about, can be counted as one of the richest in this world, because he has both peace of mind and contentment in his life."
I think he has just given up. Nothing noble that I can see.
I recently got in on this debate at another blog, so I won't repeat myself, but you can read on, if you wish.
http://nitawriter.wordpress.com/2009/02/04/the-dharavi-spirit/#comment-114335
P.S. I apologize to the author of this blog, but this isn't an attempt to advertise another blog here. If you see the site stats, you will notice it doesn't need advertising.
Impressive post. You put a smile on my face with this write-up. There are certain things in our lives that money can't buy.
ReplyDeleteSparrows are our cute and smart little friends. They remind me of my childhood days.
ReplyDeleteWell buddy, humor is an ingredient in majority of your posts and the readers enjoy it even more :)
In this post, these lines are quite funny:
"We had named him “Sparrow” as he kept talking about them" :)
“...huge fans limping around slowly like an elderly woman chasing a roguish grandson” :)
Another wonderful post of yours. Happiness is so simple, if only we wouldn’t make such a complicated thing out of it. I think Basha knew that. Glad you brought him here. And I think you already have what you ask for, right?
ReplyDeleteHappiness is most important in one's life.Contended soul is always happy.Wonderfulone.
ReplyDeleteK.Ragavan.