PANAJI: They leave their mark-a smiling yellow sun-everywhere; on trees and t-shirts, on bumper stickers, roadside food carts and even on garbage cans. For the past four years, Goa's 'Live Happy' campaign has quietly been living in the corners of our subconscious through their sunshiney-logo, and are now in the process of measuring Goa's 'happiness quotient'.
"Using the information collected from our interactions with thousands of people from different walks of life, we are in the process of evaluating Goa's 'happiness index'. While most Indians perceive the people of Goa to be the most content and stress-free, we find that this is slowly changing," says Achal Chauhan, one of the founders of the non-profit company, based in Assagao.
While India ranks at a miserable 111 (out of 156) in the UN's World Happiness Report (2013), few studies have attempted to measure the happiness levels of individual Indian states.
The closest came from research firm Crisil, which in 2013 measured the prosperity and equality indices of various states and placed Punjab, Kerala and Gujarat on top. Goa, Kashmir and the North-Eastern states were not included in the survey.
"Our research has found that native Goans are any day much happier than the business-minded people from other states who have made Goa their home. The levels of happiness are going down and stress levels on the rise even among Goans who are now forced to join the rat race in order to maintain the high-quality lifestyle that they are used to. Most Goans are unhappy at having to trade in their once-relaxed pace of life to problems that spring from competition, inflation and pollution," says Chauhan, who left his maddening job as a financial consultant in Mumbai's stock market for the simple country life in Goa.
The report will also evaluate the average Goan's contribution to society, in terms of man-hours spent in doing voluntary social work or community service.
"This is because we find a strong correlation between one's happiness and his 'giving nature'. We recommend that a minimum of ten hours per year spent giving back to society would make a huge difference to our lives," he adds.
'Live Happy' is a Section-25 company that comes up with sustainable business models to fund their social activities, like their 'happiness sessions' or visits to cheer up hospital inmates.
"At present, our main 'business' is to recycle or compost Mapusa's garbage, which is often dumped on the Assagao plateau. We make a surprisingly good amount of money from trash, which is then pumped into dance, yoga and laughter sessions, spreading smiles among the student community or visiting the sick or the underprivileged to cheer them up," adds Felly Gomes, another founder.
To get in touch with the 'Live Happy' team to conduct free 'happiness' sessions contact 0832-2268495.
March 20 is United Nation's International day of happiness
"Using the information collected from our interactions with thousands of people from different walks of life, we are in the process of evaluating Goa's 'happiness index'. While most Indians perceive the people of Goa to be the most content and stress-free, we find that this is slowly changing," says Achal Chauhan, one of the founders of the non-profit company, based in Assagao.
While India ranks at a miserable 111 (out of 156) in the UN's World Happiness Report (2013), few studies have attempted to measure the happiness levels of individual Indian states.
The closest came from research firm Crisil, which in 2013 measured the prosperity and equality indices of various states and placed Punjab, Kerala and Gujarat on top. Goa, Kashmir and the North-Eastern states were not included in the survey.
"Our research has found that native Goans are any day much happier than the business-minded people from other states who have made Goa their home. The levels of happiness are going down and stress levels on the rise even among Goans who are now forced to join the rat race in order to maintain the high-quality lifestyle that they are used to. Most Goans are unhappy at having to trade in their once-relaxed pace of life to problems that spring from competition, inflation and pollution," says Chauhan, who left his maddening job as a financial consultant in Mumbai's stock market for the simple country life in Goa.
The report will also evaluate the average Goan's contribution to society, in terms of man-hours spent in doing voluntary social work or community service.
"This is because we find a strong correlation between one's happiness and his 'giving nature'. We recommend that a minimum of ten hours per year spent giving back to society would make a huge difference to our lives," he adds.
'Live Happy' is a Section-25 company that comes up with sustainable business models to fund their social activities, like their 'happiness sessions' or visits to cheer up hospital inmates.
"At present, our main 'business' is to recycle or compost Mapusa's garbage, which is often dumped on the Assagao plateau. We make a surprisingly good amount of money from trash, which is then pumped into dance, yoga and laughter sessions, spreading smiles among the student community or visiting the sick or the underprivileged to cheer them up," adds Felly Gomes, another founder.
To get in touch with the 'Live Happy' team to conduct free 'happiness' sessions contact 0832-2268495.
March 20 is United Nation's International day of happiness
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/goa/Happiness-levels-of-Goans-decreasing/articleshow/32323650.cms
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