Obama Visits India, I Visit Timbuktu

Inspired by all the visits by Heads of State, and the Pope, I decided I would visit some place. It had to be unique, but known to people somehow. There were only two such places- Jhumritalaiya, made famous by all the farmaishes (song requests on radio) and Timbuktu. Given that the former was too 'middle class' and infra dig, I settled on Timbuktu.

I had to work hard at finding out how to actually get there, but once I did, I got a hero's welcome. I was told that I was the first visitor from this continent to actually go there. I felt like I had achieved something that even Obama hadn't. And at a fraction of the cost that it must be costing him. Also, saving myself from the traffic jams resulting from his visit.

I also found out how the place got its name- there was a buck-toothed guy called Tim, who everyone there made fun of, and his name over time stuck to the place itself. Tim-buck-too also, in a stroke of poetic justice, got to be spoken of derisively. Saving Jhumritalaiya the blushes.

Coefficient of Happiness

I am not even sure what a coefficient is, but no matter. I will still propound (I know what THAT is) a hypothetical equation where happiness is equated in an equation to various things which have coefficients (I didn't say I can't use coefficients, did I?)

Happiness = x*Necessities of life (food, around 2000 calories a day, 2 pairs of clothes, some detergent, minimal housing, money to buy maybe 2 or 3 pizzas in a year, a transistor radio) + y*Free indulgences that you can have such as conversations with friends including on fb or mail chat, walks with anyone you like to or alone, laughter, staring into the sea, mountain or plains, listening to bird sounds, or to free music + z*(inexpensive indulgences like a cup of chai/tea/coffee or beverages of choice and a samosa, an occasional game of golf played with friends) + a * (very expensive indulgences like a house in Florida or a single malt everyday or your own golf course or a Ferrari...you get the drift)

Now, my hypothesis is that if you have an internet connection even from a cybercafe, the value of x could be 1. y might be of the order of 25, z may take on a value of 10, and 'a' might have a value of 5.

My point is that items no. 2 and 3 in the equation, of which y and z are the coefficients, are probably easily attainable and give us plenty of happiness on a daily basis. x being a 'necessity' coefficient, is a multiplier of things necessary but not making you happy or motivated. But happiness is not far if you seek to maximise y and z, rather than a and z. If you can add interesting work that you like, it has the potential to be in category 2 where you also get money.

Have I made some wrong assumptions?