Column

Japanese scientists, who studied 43,391 men and women, made a startling discovery about what reduces life expectancy. It's the lack of ikigai! Or in other words, the lack of joy in being alive! I couldn't help but wonder what could be the lack of ikigai in Japan which doesn't have politicians ripping apart the country in the name of religion, caste, community, language and misplaced political ideology. Unless, of course, the average
intelligent Japanese, like the average intelligent Indian, is wasting time and energy by choosing to get outraged by trivial issues that doesn't affect his life at all!

There's a flood in Bihar. There's an N-deal that threatens to blow up into an early election. There's a city whose roads are in bad conditions while its signboards are getting repainted. There's a state putting an expensive price tag on itself to roll out the cheapest car. There's a state where communal riots are giving terrorism stiff competition…

Enough reasons for the average intelligent Indian to lose his ikigai, right? Naah! He is actually losing his ikigai over some silly movie at the multiplex. It's amazing how people come out of a movie much angrier than they are about bad roads, bomb blasts and bandhs.

And then he loses his ikigai over ‘discomgoogolation’! What's that? It's another word I learnt over the weekend which refers to anxiety over inability to use the internet! Apparently, half of Britain is victim of discomgoogolation. And all I needed was one look at Facebook to discover that half my friends are victims too. Some of them keep you updated on their every move: "XYZ is contemplating going to the loo… To pee or not to pee!" There are also those who frequently change their profile pictures, wonder aloud about the state of Bollywood, make box office predictions and even recommend obscure French films! It almost seems like each activity in their life is a stage performance — whether going on a holiday or a diet, buying a litre of milk or a music system, spending a sleepless night or just being tired after a hard day at work…

As for me, discomgoogolation sets in whenever I am unable to access the one source that makes me look knowledgeable about any subject under the sun — wikipedia! That apart, I am a low profile guy who loses his ikigai only looking at the doomed attempt to turn my paunch into a six-pack!