Witerati | Kabhi khushi, kabhi glum
Once upon a time, happiness was scrambling and scaling up the “shahtoot” tree, lush and laden with lusciousness in spring; ah, but now Tweeple’s happiness lies more in monitoring the number of ‘likes’ and ‘followers’ their Instagram or X accounts are scaling
Barely was one done with scrolling the special days marking February, that the month of March paraded in to stake its own expansionist claims on the calendar.
Women’s Day, Poetry Day, Happiness Day, the merry ‘march’ goes on.
As with most other days, so with Happiness Day. How can there be only one day ascribed for happiness!
Nonetheless, the month heralded a high of happiness quotient .
For one, our Sunita Williams landed back from space.
Then, our films had an outing at the Oscars, never mind if they didn’t bring back a big trophy.
Well, to make up for that, our Men in Blue marched back with the Champions Trophy.
So, it is a season of many a happy tidings.
But back to Happiness Day. Happiness isn’t a mere momentary blinking on the year’s clocked march. Happiness is an every minute, every day thing, happiness is a 24x7 thing. Happiness is not a date, it is a state.
Yet, we have become such slaves to these western calendars, that we have crammed our lives with calendar moments.
Living in times of marketeer-mounted calendar days, is our generation any more happier than earlier generations that lived without being slaves of these synthetic days?
Weren’t we happier in those days of pre-social media fixation, when syndromes like FOMO, BROMO, MOMO and all that hadn’t infiltrated our dictionaries and mindscapes.
How much the definitions and yardsticks of happiness have changed! For letter or for converse.
Once upon a time, happiness was scrambling and scaling up the “shahtoot” tree, lush and laden with lusciousness in spring. Ah, but now Tweeple’s happiness lies more in monitoring the number of ‘likes’ and ‘followers’ their Instagram or X accounts are scaling.
Once upon a time, Happiness Day was not a blip on the calendar, but instead any idle day spent gazing at frolicking clouds or sequin-swathed stars, for hours and hours. Ah, but the only star gazing we now do is on Page 3 of pullouts or preened upon selfie standees with B-town biggies. And now, the only clouds we constantly gaze at are the cloud kitchens on Swiggy or Zomato.
Once upon a time, Happiness Day was trudging and tugging at parents’ elbows to head to the circus camping in the neighbourhood, gasping and gushing at gymnasts. Well well, now happiness is goggling and ogling at tamasha TV’s circus on Bigg Boss or the Arnab show.
Once upon a time, Happiness Day was when the bantaa-wallah or the candyfloss-wallah tinkled down one’s lane to the pattering of childhood’s awakened footfalls. Now, happiness is guzzling fusion sherbets or slushes, with fancy price tags, in the synthetic air-conditioned climes of frilly hospitality.
The curious case of ‘The Day Of The Scroll’.
Tiramisu thrills
With the month of March also boasting a Tiramisu Day, here’s toasting a March marriage of the two, happiness and tiramisu.
Those with a sweet tooth jolly well know how tiramisu spells and smells happiness.
You may have heard of lemon tiramisu, strawberry tiramisu and all that. But have all you sweet-a-holics heard of an ultimate in the fusion profusion?
Masala chai tiramisu.
If you thought this dessert must only be rustled up with the signature ladyfinger biscuits or Naples biscuits, perish or cherish the thought.
Move over, fancy Naples ingredients. Enter, our humble desi rusk.
Tossed up with loads of masala chai spices -- cinnamon to cloves -- what better than this innovative tiramisu to sit and savour this March, munching on new definitions of happiness.
The curious case of Rusk-y Aur Tiramisu Ki Prem Kahani.
chetnakeer@yahoo.com
