“A book of verse, a glass of wine and thou beside me sitting in the wilderness and wilderness were paradise enow…” go the words of the poet Omar Khayyam in his “Rubaiyat”.
“What does happiness mean to you?” asked the professor from his students.
The University students giggled. Most of them had boyfriends or girlfriends and felt that life was complete. So did they want a book for further reading? Or a glass of wine?
“I want to learn more about life from books and lectures but I don’t need wine or alcohol in any form.” opined Mallika.
“Why not?”asked the teacher.
“I feel that strong drinks cloud the intellect and at best are an opiate. You can also become addicted to liquor.” replied Mallika.
“But what about having a jolly good time after drinks?” chimed in Hiran.
“That is a preconceived mindset. If you are in good company, you can have fun even while drinking water or a fruit juice. You can sing and dance and enjoy yourself.” said Mallika.
“My boyfriend and I sit under the big tree in Peradeniya and we are happy. Sometimes, we read from books and poetry is one of our preferences.” commented Shalini.
“I think happiness means different things at different stages of life. Jith broke up with his long-time girlfriend and now he says that he is content to be a loner! He says that lovers make demands and he is now happy that he is no longer answerable to anyone.” said Hiran.
“So Omar Khayyam is not always right. But I agree with him that one must have someone to love, not necessarily a romantic love. There are men who are content with their mothers making them a cup of tea. There are women who are happy in the company of other women and who are not necessarily lesbians.” said Shalini.
Let’s re-think what we mean by happiness.
By Sirohmi
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