In Pursuit of Happiness

As kids we all want freedom. Freedom to play, freedom to have fun, freedom to have all those things which we don't have. As we grow up we want to be better. We want better looks than our friends, better outfits, better lovers,etc. Finally, stepping out of teenage we look for better status. More money, better job, more rewards and thus better education. What we keep searching in all these pursuits is happiness. This nine letter word is the rarest commodity on earth. And I learnt it in one night.
Tonight I chatted radomly with five people, people whom I have known closely for a long time now. I chatted one on one, with all of them. One common sentiment among all of them was of unhappiness. Let me start with this friend of mine here in Canada, who has been frustrated for sometime now as his plans are not going the way he wants them to go. He had imagined his life in a certain manner couple of years back but now things seem to be rather different from that rosy picture he had in his mind. I have known him for a few years now and have never seen him unhappy or atleast understood it. Tonight I know and I do understand.
Next, is this really old friend of mine from engineering days. Tough guy, always has a go getter attitude. Always brags about his hot sex life and the girlfriends he has in all different parts of India. Today's chat started in a similar manner. However, as I digged little bit below the surface I unconvered the hidden sorrow behind the big talks. Although he had made love to innumerable women, he never fell in love with any one of them. The only woman he loved, never had the courage to love him.
This third one, I had been expecting for sometime now. A good friend of mine, got married to a rich banker, moved to US of A. A dream for many young Indian girls. To many it would sound like a fairytale. However, as the old saying goes, money does not buy happiness. With a social life close to zero, lack of friends and late work hours of hubby, my good friend is not feeling that good anymore. She is unhappy that her young years are passing away, sitting at home when she can acually do something great with it. Loneliness and an east coast winter is almost a perfect prescription for unhappiness.

Fourth up, is a really close friend of mine whom I have shared my most intimate feelings with. Today he told me that he still remembers 'Strangers at Last Sight' and thinks about how he can relate to it. How he still looks at lost oportunities and thngs that could be. In short the unhappiness bug had struck the southern hemisphere boy too.

Finally, the fifth one, was yours sincerely. My life is going just the way I planned. I am not unhappy on being lonely, I have tons of friends n Montreal, good social life. I am not tired of meeting random people, in fact I have hardly got that wild. However, I still am not happy. Is there anyone out there who truly is?
'Ek masoom dil hai aur sitam hai kitne. Is mohabbat ke siwa aur bhi gham hai kitne'