The Science of happiness

Gary Mehigan,one of the judge-presenters of the show Down Under,savours his job as much as the food with pure enjoyment. And thats the difference between the two. In Masterchef Indias enormous kitchen (was it once an Airbus hangar?) everyone is sad or angry,disappointed or grave,tense or scared theres so much negative energy around its a wonder that the food doesnt spoil. Well,it does,of course and thats why there is much heartburn (dont attribute it to the ingredients). The contestants try hard to cook well,the chef-judges Kunal Kapoor and Ajay Chopra try to entice the best out of them with appetising and exotic recipes,Akshay Kumar eggs them on,but no one looks happy with the results. In contrast,Masterchef Australia is full of the lightness of a well-beaten egg white. The participants seem to love what they do; they experience the joy of cooking. One show has the fragrance of freshly-baked bread,the other has something burnin and it isnt love. Which one would you prefer to watch?

Something you might like to watch is Modern Family (Star World). The American comedy follows the lives of the Pritchetts. The father is married to a much younger woman,the daughter is a itchy homemaker,the son is gay but the father,evidently,doesnt know the meaning of the word. Its irreverent,edgy but treated with a sincerity that makes it believable. Its not a spoof,it doesnt mock homosexuality. Does it reflect the modern American family? The series is popular in the US and won an Emmy for 2010. That doesnt answer the question,but still.

So You Think You Can Dance (AXN) but did you ever think you could belly-dance? For those who may have wanted to without admitting it,heres our chance: TLC teaches you belly-dancing. The show treats it like a work-out (shape up,shed calories,etc) so you dont need to feel apologetic about rotating that waist. The voiceover instructor is as soothing as pranayama and the dancing looks like a walk in the park. Until you try it.

If you do not have the stomach for that,why not try a Minute To Win It (AXN)? Here,you dont need abdominal muscle control,cordon chef hands or any other particular talent,just the ability to lift an egg with a rubber band and balance it on the mouth of a bottle. Or to find gas balls,blindfolded. The idea,if you havent guessed,is to use household items (from an American household,mind you) in ways that their inventors never imagined when they created them,to win thousands of dollars. Its silly,but at least they are having fun. Maybe in an economic recession this is what you do: have happy hours on TV with simple shows where contestants reveal the economic woes of their families,beaming from ear to ear,and the more money they win,the happier they get.

Wonder what our shows say about us: that theres too much competition to succeed? By the way,Madhuri Dixit still knows how to dance and belly-dance. Hers is rotating quite nicely,thank you. We got a jhalak of that on the new season of the dance competition. This years special offering is Madhuri as a judge. So far theres a lot of her and her divine smile. Its time Masterchef Akshay took happiness lessons from her?

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