HAPPINESS IS JUST AROUND THE CORNER

About the Book

"Happiness is just around the corner," is my first book. I have tried to tell you about the fun times in my life that make childhood so interesting now, if tedious at that time; of the impossible dreams of my teen years that made life excruciatingly painful; of the times when I got married and set up home on the average of once in two years; and well, the usual amount of nostalgia that goes with writing about ones past!

Before you say, "So what's so different about this book?" let me tell you that that is exactly what I said to you a little earlier – that I am not famous, notorious or controversial. At some point I realized that everybody's next-door neighbor has also had some interesting times in her life, and some of them are so filled with joy and the sheer exuberance of living, that they are worth telling. That was how this book was conceived. No, it just tumbled out as recollections flooded my psyche and traveled on to my fingers and onto the keyboard till what finally came out as -Happiness is just around the corner. As you turn each page, I hope you will share in the joys of my times, and when you finally put down the book, you will have a smile on your lips.

In one episode, I encounter dacoits,

We were warned to keep a lookout for dacoits. Fine, agreed. After finding them, rather after they found us, what next? I had a vivid picture of what a dacoit would look like. He would be big made, with huge moustaches. And he would wear a turban on his head, one end of which would be covering his visage like a mask. And then he would be on horseback, and of course, he would be carrying a country made rifle. And my husband and I were supposed to look out for, and tackle him to the best of our ability! Tall order this! However, since we were warned well in advance, I was determined to give it my very best------"

In another, I was having this interesting conversation with a stranger in an airport in an alien land,

"You can't stay in a hotel."

"Why?" I asked," I can pay for my stay."

"No, you cannot" he persisted "you need permission to stay in a hotel"

"Permission to stay?" I had not heard of anything so preposterous, "And who gives this permission?"

"The Government"

"But you said all offices are closed over the weekend"

"That is correct"

You realize the Catch 22 situation I was being drawn into? This was worse than being incarcerated in a luxury hotel. At least there, I had a roof on my head.

Yet again, there was this time when,

At about the same time I began my dance classes as a child, or maybe a year or two later, a music teacher came on the scene. It was believed that a good dancer should have some knowledge of Classical Music. I would squeak out the required notes in a thin and nasal voice. The teacher told me that I was doing it all wrong.

"Your breath must come from right inside you. Develop your lung power and sing at the top of your voice; not in this squeaky way," he admonished.

There was nothing wrong with my lungpower, and I could scream and shout as well as the next kid. Singing was the problem. I tried shouting my notes as loud as I could. The result, if anything, was worse than the previous one. In fact, there was a serious danger of complaints from the neighbors. The teacher would make me try various techniques; things only went from bad to worse. At the end of a couple of months, my teacher conceded defeat, and made this profound statement.  No one could make me sing!

And so it goes on, from crazy cooking disasters, to devious business deals, to rides around the countryside to more exciting ones, and yes, most of this happened in India, my country.

About the Author

Jyotsna Codaty is a physician from India. In her maiden writing effort she describes some of the zesty events of her life and times in urban India, traversing back and forth from yesteryears to today. She firmly believes that life is full of choices and living is fun!