A Sociologist by training, I am expected to be objective in my approach. But this is something I have failed to achieve time and again. Somehow or the other, subjectivity poses a serious problem. This is where the Gross National Happiness that Bhutan so lovingly introduced to the world comes in. "How does one quantify happiness?" I wonder. Isn't it supposed to be very relative and subjective. Happiness to me may mean a cup of mocha, happiness for you might be a pint of beer. So how does one go about solving this dilemma?
My happiness, up until last night, was in fulfilling the tenets of my routinized existence. All that changed earlier, in the morning, with a single phone call. Death. The uncertainty with which it strikes scares me, and to have something so huge thrust upon a loving one is even worse. The first time I felt it was when my Uncle passed away. One look at my Aunt and I was her. In the past few years, I have lost a few loved ones myself but those have all been a collective sense of loss. For the second time in my life, it felt like Sombarey. The irony that produced itself within hours of hearing the sad news was humbling. I sat in the auto rickshaw with my parents and, all the time, I was trying to freeze the tear drops from falling down my cheeks. I was happy to be the girl with her pillars sitting next to her, but I was also a daughter 4000 miles away.
What goes on in your mind, I do not know Bams. But what I do know is you have real friends standing by you in this moment of grief. I am praying for your father tonight. I am praying for your family tonight. Tonight, I am praying for you. Stay strong and hold on. I am always around, if you should need me.
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