Ins and outs of the pursuit of happiness

Shakespeare’s “whining schoolboy… creeping like snail unwillingly to school” may well have been gladdened by the report that the Delhi government is planning to introduce “happiness classes” in all government schools, in an effort to relieve stress.

While sceptics might dismiss the idea as a political gimmick aiming for faux AAPpiness, the scheme might have been endorsed by Jeremy Bentham, the 18th-century utilitarian philosopher who devised an algorithm based on a ‘felicific calculus’ that could establish the amount of pleasure any specific action would give rise to. While Bhutan can claim to be the only country to rate its national wealth and well-being not on a GDP index but on that of GDH, or Gross Domestic Happiness, some could contend that there is no sure-fire formula for felicity.

Auden’s thief remarked that, as he felt happy committing larceny, and God felt happy forgiving him for doing so, the universe was admirably well-arranged to the satisfaction of all concerned. The wife of an eminent French politician, when asked by her English-speaking host what she and her husband looked forward to in his imminent retirement, replied, “A penis.” Consternation gave way to comprehension when an interpreter construed the response as the Gallic pronunciation of ‘happiness’.