The List

My schooling from grade 6 was in Chinmaya Vidyalaya, a spiritually-oriented school. And as part of our syllabus, we had Value Education (VEd). We would be asked to chant hymns and traditional songs called bhajans. When we reached grade 9, members from Chinmaya Yuva Kendra (youth wing), abbreviated as CHYK, came down to our school and conversed with us, encouraged us by making us participate in group and individual activities. And one of those activities involved listing down all the things I loved. All the things I enjoyed. Everything that made me happy and smile.

And being the ever-eager kid, I started working on it as soon as I went home that evening. I would carry that list with me everywhere I went lest I forget to add even one item to the list. I carried it from room to room at home, en route school in auto rickshaw, during classes safely tucked in my bag but easily accessible in case I thought of something during my daydreaming detours. My list had a spectrum of happiness for display to anyone who read it (but couldn’t ever because I safeguarded it like that) ranging from silly, personal, secret joys to intense, soul-touching, pure bliss.

I tried to dig through my badly-stacked and dust-coated piles of books, files, diaries and paper to locate the said list. I haven’t been able to find it yet. Luckily enough, I can sort of remember few items on it.

The smell of mud before rain.

Rain

Ice cream

Horlicks powder

Smiles on people’s faces

Children

My brother’s baby photos

English

Winning prizes for writing

My baby lion doll

Watching TV

Ilairaja’s blissful BGMs and A.R.Rahman’s Music

The smell of coffee

The smell of petrol

Mehndi

Nail-polish

The taste of chocolate

The beach

The waves

Shells on the sand

Gaming zones

Pizza

The number of items crossed a 100, surprising the child that I was. As I scrambled to add items to my list, I found myself getting more specific and more trivial, realizing that I found joy in the smallest of things, in the gentlest of gestures and the subtle miracles that nature works on us.

To be able to make a list of over a 100 small happinesses at the tender age of 15, I now realize was a feat indeed. Perhaps, I’ll have to refresh, write a new list, discover new joys, find out if any items have been replaced or not. I realize that The List can be crucial weapon to win happiness and satisfaction, reminding me to stay eternally grateful to all the things I’ve been blessed with. So, yes, I’ll start writing a new List. Why don’t you too?

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