The measure of happiness

At a social gathering, an acquaintancewho had just moved in to Dubai recounted her experience. "My son is verydisturbed because he had to leave all his friends back home. It's a newenvironment for him and he feels lost. A few days back, he came home saying mom,most children talk in Arabic here during recess and I do not understand. Forhim it's very difficult to learn a completely new language from scratch. Latter,when we spoke to the teacher, they assured us that they will help him learnArabic as fast as possible. They also told us that children in any Indian schoolin Grade 2 cannot speak so fluently in Arabic. What my son could have assumed isArabic must have been either Tamil or Telegu, which he doesn't understand."Arabic in the Gulf is a compulsory subject. With all its intricacies andnuances, Arabic is not an easy language to learn. Children start learning itfrom KG-2 onwards. Undeniably, it is a difficult situation for a child. All thesame, the situation is not so different when an individual travels across statesin India. Every state has its own language, which is made a compulsory subjectin regional schools. A few months later, I chanced upon the same acquaintanceagain at a shopping mall. I inquired about her child and how he was feeling now.It was indeed pleasant to learn that the child had made friends and was enjoyinghis new school a lot. So much so that he didn't want to go back to his oldschool because learning was fun here, there were more activities, and with ACbuses and classrooms, everything was more comfortable.The lady too had made friends. She had even joined a dance club, something she wanted to but never got an opportunity as life with in-laws had kept her fully occupied. She and her child had missed home because they loved it. All the same they had adopted the right approach and concentrated on good things that their new environment offered rather than sulk over what they had to leave behind.Life in a foreign land, away from one's roots, comes with itsunique set of pros and cons. The ramifications of geographical, cultural, socialand climatic changes on the psychology of an individual and his/her familydepend on the degree of change as well as the individual's attitude towards suchchange. Such situations test individuals' coping skills; their ability to adjustand acclimatize. The new and novel can be enticing for some and extremelypetrifying experience for others. Personal circumstances, life style changes,changes in living comfort, personal security etc all leave disparate footprintson people and they respond distinctly to any alterations in their circumstances.If there is general wellbeing, fairly normal and non-restrictive conditions inthe external environment of the new place of living - expatriate slowly begin toadjust and get acquainted with the new way of life and most being to like theplace and people they live in. They develop circles or pockets for socializingand for satisfactions of their interests and goals. They seek out and replicatesimilar patterns of social satisfaction as in their home countries. Hence theybecome formal and informal members of different groups based on their ethnicity,similar interest, aspirations and mentality. At times they may even develop newinterest and goals due to their new experience and exposure and thus formcompletely new groups. The vital factor for liking a place of living is thepositive emotional/psychological wellbeing/happiness one derives in theirimmediate surroundings. In most instances, people venture to newplaces in order to explore chances for better economic gains. However,ultimately they find out that money alone cannot bring them happiness. Ofcourse, at the macro level, the GDP of a country is indicative of its economichealth, but from the micro perspective, it is the emotional wellbeing of theresidents that is far more crucial. In this instance GNH or "gross nationalhappiness" (a term coined by Bhutan's 4th King Jigme Singye Wangchuck in 972)becomes very relevant. Gross national happiness refers to the holistic wellbeingof the general population and its major indicators in the first global GNHsurvey were: economic wellness, social wellness, political wellness (goodgovernance), work place wellness, environmental wellness (sustainabledevelopment), mental wellness and physical Wellness. Unlike the GDP, the GNH isnot easily quantifiable, but its fundamental indicators can be subject toquantitative dimensions. Measuring the health of a country based solely onobjective material factors like consumption and production, disregarding the"happiness economist" or the human entity cannot be considered realistic. It isa logical deduction that the GDP of any country becomes more attainable when theGNH index climbs up. More focus on GNH is vital for the survival and sustenanceof life and future.Dubai is one of the least conservative countriesin the Middle East. Visit a mall and you will find displays stating what to wearand what not to wear. You are not asked to wear an Abaya but requested to dressdecently (implying dresses which are not revealing or provocative). If youwander around the mall, you might find people dressed in clothes that leave verylittle to imagination. Hence, there are certain expectations but these are notforced upon outsiders. Recently there has been discontent among the localcommunity regarding this. There logic is that an outsider should respect thelocal sensibilities and culture at least to the minimum. Kissing in public,homosexuality, relationship outside marriage etc are all acts that violatedecency laws in Dubai and are punishable by law. A person can live his/herentire life in Dubai, buy a house here and still never be granted citizenship.Yes, all this is true yet there is another facet of the coin. Instances of eveteasing are rare in Dubai, barring a few places, a woman feels safe to travel atany time in the night. The city is clean with good infrastructure. Overall, theexperience of life in Dubai is satisfying.Recently, a social studysurvey conducted by the CDA (Community Development Authority) stated that theDubai residents accounted an average happiness quotient of 7.9 on a scale of0-10. The survey sample included Emirates, expatriates and also people fromlabor communities. The parameters on which satisfaction levels was judged were:Civil rights, social cohesion, social services and requirements, empowerment,participation, personal values and opinions, and national identity. The surveyreports that majority of the residents felt Dubai provides financial stabilityand protected their human rights. They felt protected and safe by the law of theland, enjoyed good work environment and were not discriminated. The fact thatthe average happiness quotient is 7.9 and not 10 implies there are still someconcerns in various areas. However, the overall quotient is a good indicatorthat people in Dubai are basically happy.