Main description:

Identifies the nature of well- being through analysis of in- depth interviews with Indians on what good life means to them

This book explains well-being through insights gathered from qualitative interviews with Indians from different walks of life. It shows that well-being is mixed and transient, shifting in interactions. It reveals the universals that lead to well-being, bringing out interlinkages between health, wealth, and pleasure. Explaining variations by gender, class, age, and individual choice, the book highlights the distinctive insights in Indian religious traditions about life satisfaction.

Contents:

Preface: How I Came to Study Well-being in India
Introductiion
Universals
Health and Wealth
Connections to Others (and the Specialness of the Self)
Meanings and Approaches
Pleasure
Variations
Age, Gender, Class, and Individual Lives and Choices
Indian Ways of Living the Good Life
Lessons
What Have We Learned about Well-being?
Toward a Better Sociology
Living the Good Life
Acknowledgments
Glossary
Index