QUARTERLY MAGAZINE October 2020 Vol 04
QUARTERLY MAGAZINE October 2020 Vol 04
Employee engagement initiative 
Nyasa Gupta
Age - 10
Location - California
D/o Vineet Kumar
Company - Zensar
Sometimes not getting what we want makes us realize the importance of what we have. This happened to me in 2020. Wow! What a year this has been and it keeps surprising us. There was a pandemic, fires, protests, injustice and online schooling. I tried to see the silver lining in all this. This is because my family and friends are the people who make me happy, and I am at home with them.
There are many things that I can't do this year. I can't meet many friends due to social distancing. I can only meet the people in our social bubble, who are, well, to be honest, not very much. Every day so many people are dying. It's very depressive. I find respite and feel thankful that my family is safe and healthy and that gives me happiness.
We also had fires here in California. It caused tons of air pollution and it even created orangish-red skies! We weren't able to even step out of the house for days due to bad air quality. But I found happiness in it because it felt like I was on Mars. I guess Mr. Musk has some serious competition because our earth is giving a feeling of being on Mars.
School has also been online. It is really a different experience from being in the classroom. My mom and dad have been very supportive and they help me when needed. They let me sleep longer in the mornings. That has definitely brought me a lot of happiness!
Almost every day, I talk to my friend over video call. We have formed a book club and we also play video games together. Reading books is like entering a new world that you know nothing about. My friend and I have opened our imaginations to Percy Jackson's exhilarating world.
Family is one of the most important things that makes me happy. I have many cousins overseas and I look forward to talking to them on videos. I really love my grandparents and spending time with them. My parents are also very understanding. They get it when I am unable to do something. I can tell my mom everything because she makes me feel comfortable. Family is a really important part of my life. This summer, I learned how to bake. My mom and I have been bonding a lot over the baking experiments. Many things make me happy, but family and friends are a big part of my life.
Ending with a poem that I wrote on Happiness:
There's a desirable thing called happiness,
It gives a warm feeling all throughout.
While you may not understand it at first,
When you experience it, you'll have no doubt!
Happiness is the opposite of grief,
Your heart feels lovely and nice.
Always remain happy,
Or you'll become sad in a trice.
The pure bliss of happiness,
Has been experienced by the wise.
The one who acquires deep satisfaction,
Is the true achiever of paradise.
Jennifer Benil
Age - 13
Location - Wayanad
D/o Benil John
Company - Harrisons Malayalam
Oranges and lemons, sold for a penny
All the schoolgirls are so many
The rose is red and the grass is green
Remember me when I am dead, dead, dead.
As I sit to write this topic 'Meaning of happiness to me', this childhood game rhyme is the first thing that came to my mind. Today as a teenager when I look back at those times I played with friends at school during lunch recess, singing this rhyme and trapping one friend after the other into an 'arm prison', my happiness had no bounds. Even today it gives me great happiness thinking about how joyfully we played at school, for the very reason that I don't get to play at home (I stay on a tea estate in a bungalow without neighbours).
At my age playing those childhood games are a thing of the past. Even though technical gadgets are ruling people including children like me I am thankful to my parents for not replacing my toys with these gadgets. Therefore my happiness even today is to play with girly toys. Time seems to be flying away while playing with my miniature kitchen set. The real play starts when I drape myself in my mother's old dupatta and play 'the lady of the house'. The fun and excitement I experience while playing this cooking fiesta with my sister is sheer happiness to me.
As I have been living in remote plantation districts of Kerala, going out with my family was not a regular feature like people who live in a city or town. As far as we were concerned going out was usually for a new movie release. The day my father decides to take us out, my happiness begins with the choice of dress I wear and lasts till we drive back from the cinema theatre. I surely miss it now as Covid-19 has snatched these outings away. But I do hope that good times are going to come soon.
Moments of happiness were also when I realised my father has a child hidden within him during the initial lockdown days. Every night our family played cards and paper and pen games like Bingo and my all time favourite game Name, Place, Animal, Thing and my father was a tough competitor for me and I thoroughly enjoyed him as my playmate.
Happiness to me is also spending time observing and walking amidst the greenery and beauty of nature that abounds around where we stay. Sitting in the lawn and imagining shapes of far off hills and moving clouds are all such relieving moments I cherish. Besides, my most highlighted moment of happiness is when my father takes me for a ride around the tea estate on his two wheeler Bullet and off- road driving in his Jeep.
I do realise this is a trying period for all people in the world. But honestly I am experiencing a different phase contrary to my routine. Yet this phase seems to be opening fresh opportunities and avenues. Happiness seems to be flowing my way through YouTube videos to study keyboard and ballet dancing. Every new note I learn on the keyboard and every new step I take to balance myself on my toe gives me a new ray of happiness and satisfaction.
Far away from the hustle and bustle of a city I feel fortunate to live in the lap of nature and enjoy every moment of my life and all because I am born as a child to my parents. I thank the Almighty for giving me this unparalleled blessing in my share. I believe happiness to me is a stream in which every time I take a dip I come out drained with the smile on my face and hope in my heart. And the creator of this stream is none other than me.
Thank you!
Alisha Vyas Age - 17
Location - Pune
D/o Manish Kumar Vyas
Company - KEC
"There is no path to Happiness: Happiness is the path." - Gautama Buddha
What is happiness? Some would state that happiness implies being well off. Others would state that for them, happiness intends to be sound. There are individuals, who trust that the fulfillment of a specific wish would bring happiness in their life. Having true happiness is something which is desired by all.
My favorite thing about happiness is that it’s a feeling. I have access to it whenever I want. I think the feeling of happiness is hard to explain. In fact, very often I am happy but I don’t realize it. I have a happy-go-lucky personality, so I am generally contented in even the smallest things in life! A delicious meal for example or playing with my little cousins and hearing them giggle and laugh makes me jolly.
As a child everything around us brings immense joy. Playing with my parents, getting a new toy, watching a favorite cartoon, having a birthday party are some of the specific reasons which delighted me. In my early teens I had a different set of reasons to make me happy – partying with friends, being ‘popular’ among my peers, being stubborn about getting the dress I want and eventually getting it and many such childish wishes. My father always used to say, “Spending time with my family makes me so happy!” And I used to feel that it is such a silly thing to be happy about. Years went by, I learnt new experiences, some good some bad, and I realized that none of the materialistic things, makes me happy anymore.
Growing up, my reasons for happiness changed. In fact, I have no reasons at all. I now realize that ‘spending time with family’ is not a silly thing. It was me who didn’t really understand what my father meant. In comparison to what happiness meant to me earlier and what does now - small things such as keeping my promises, helping someone in need, forgiving someone, having a safe, healthy and loving family, achieving small goals are now some of the wonders of joy.
If you ask me as an 17 year old what happiness means to me, now I would proudly tell you that happiness means finding joy in everything whether good or bad because if you keep waiting for a moment to make you happy, you would be the unhappiest person in the world. What makes me feeling good doesn’t automatically bring happiness to another person. One has to discover what makes them happy. Nothing can buy you happiness, whether be the favorite thing you desire for or the person you love the most or the career you build, unless and until you feel it within yourself.
