India, Tests and the World

There was a news item about Indian students doing badly in some test of Maths and Science in a world competition recently. We are not doing so well in the Tests of cricket right now too.

We often crib about India lagging behind on economic indicators. Could be true to an extent, we can do better on some of them. But those of us that have lived abroad for a length of time, say 4-5 years, probably realise that it is nice to live in India. In many advanced countries, loneliness and boredom is a bigger issue than anything else. Public transport like a bus or an auto is not easy to get, or is exorbitant.

On an average, people in a western, advanced nation are indebted and/or addicted to buying stuff they don't need, more than Indians. This is not statistical, but based on observation and experience. Happiness in general is not correlated to GDP, as an excellent book by some author whose name I have forgotten, told the readers. Bhutan even has a Gross Happiness Index that measures how its citizens feel.

So what could make us happy? That old ad of Thums up just about sums it up. Food, friends and Thums Up. You could actually skip the Thums Up, and maybe substitute it with a drink of your choice that you can afford- water too. Maybe I would add books and films, and in deference to today's world, an internet connection. And you don't need to be a zillionaire to have access to all these.