Quick Ways of Becoming a Hero

Some ways of becoming a hero, then, now and in between.

Pre-independence India: Sacrifice all you have. Sometimes your life.

Post-independence India: Work hard, build the nation, without looking for rewards.

Post 1991: Work hard, set up your own company. No license needed.

Post I.T. : Study, Become a coder, regardless of your qualification. Work hard.

Now: Kill somebody on the road, speak about intolerance, give speeches without any regard for what you are saying, be born into a privileged family that thinks they own the country, lead an agitation for anything that will get media attention- a new state, or a reservation for a caste, or better still, be a media man who shouts everyone down in debates.

These are just a few ways to become a hero,  faster than you can say Maggi.

Celebrities and Surnames- A Correlation Study

What are the chances of your becoming a celebrity with the surname Mishra? Gurnani? Gopalan? Almost zero. But a Kapoor in your surname would increase your chances by a million times. A Khan in your last name, by a zillion times (Saif and Irrfan in addition to the triumvirate).

Celebrity-hood sits as easily on a non-Khan too. Not convinced? Khan (Na) is a powerful surname, shared by the first 'superstar' Rajesh and then Vinod, and his son Akshaye. (Sur)name yourself Raman, and you may become the big boss of Physics or Maths, but a name like Padukone would catapult you into the big league of Badminton or Bollywood.

Some other powerful surnames are Bhosle, Bachchan, Kumar (Manoj, Rajendra "jubilee" Kumar, "jaani" Raj Kumar, and my all time favourite Kishore), Burman, Dutt, Mehra, Desai, Parekh, Roshan, Samanta (the producer-director), Rai (both the Northern and the Mangalorean versions), Shah (Kundan directed Jaane Bhi do Yaaro, the cult comedy), Kher, Bajpai, Sharma (Kapil is my favourite comic)

Saving the best for the last- the legend Tendulkar, and the biggest of all, Gaekwad. Why? That's the real surname of Rajnikanth.

Correlates of Happiness

Shared from a BBC News Report which is based on a University of Rotterdam study - comments are mine.

Studies collated by the database say you tend to be happier if you:

• Are in a long-term relationship- 25 and counting!

• Are actively engaged in politics- I wish i'd thought of this.

• Are active in work and in your free time

• Go out for dinner- I am going out today.

• Have close friendships (though happiness does not increase with the number of friends you have). 1500 on Facebook and fifteen in real life.

And there are some surprising findings:

• People who drink in moderation are happier than people who don't drink at all.- Thums Up!

• Men tend to be happier in a society where women enjoy greater equality. I doubt this.

• Being considered good looking increases men's happiness more than it does women's. Who's complaining?

• You tend to be happier if you think you're good looking, rather than if you actually, objectively speaking, are. Easy to do! Will follow this diligently!

• Having children lowers your happiness levels, but your happiness increases when they grow up and leave home. Yipee. They are grown up!