I suspect Bollywood is already working on a script based on the tragic deaths of Ponty and Hardeep Chadha. It?s so cinematic; rags to riches, rapid acquisition of massive wealth and properties, family feuds, seven-star farmhouses, powerful connections, bodyguards and goons on call, shady underlings, unlimited access to deadly weapons, a gunfight between brothers and a blood-spattered denouement. Ram Gopal Varma would be salivating at the prospect. Yet, the events, which left two billionaire families orphaned, are really a contemporary parable and contain larger lessons about the acquisition of sudden, staggering wealth by people who were once struggling to make ends meet.
Psychologists who studied the effects of wealth on behaviour have found, generally speaking, that money and happiness do not go hand in hand. This is more true, they say, for people who become overnight millionaires, a phenomenon that psychologists Joan DiFuria and Stephen Goldbart call ?sudden-wealth syndrome?. Today, people are rated by their wealth, not by their virtues or behaviour. Most research on subjects like lottery winners have shown that a quick transition from near-poverty to riches is seldom made without problems. Possession and acquisition becomes paramount, from mansions to luxury cars, designer clothes, shoes and other accessories of the affluent, everything will generally be in excess. Much of it is for show and every gratification is exaggerated. Conversely, what is defined as ?affluenza? becomes a show-and-tell life, artificial and way beyond what is really needed to make people or families happy.
In his 2006 book, Happiness: The Science Behind Your Smile, psychologist Daniel Nettle found that sudden riches are quite stressful and tend not to impact baseline happiness levels in positive ways. He showed that after the initial euphoria of being able to lavishly spend without worrying about bank balances getting over, there is no correlation between more money and more happiness. Happiness, research proves, comes from creating meaningful relationships in your life and doing what you love.
The opposite happens with sudden wealth. People you?ve known throughout your life, however vaguely, will converge looking for help or handouts or offering advice on ways to spend the wealth. The problem of figuring out who you should trust actually makes you less happy. DiFuria says the effects of life-altering amounts of wealth often bring dread: ?There?s a sense of not knowing what to do??What do I do with all this money???
Equally, there?s the shock of adjustment. Lottery winners, for instance, abandon their old moorings?neighbours, friends, local communities when they move to their new home in an upscale locality. The problem is that their snobbish neighbours will never accept them; the nouveau riche don?t cut it in moneyed circles. Additionally, there is no longer joy to be derived from small pleasures and the company of equals. Everyday activity like chatting with friends at the local pub or bar, watching television, even walking pets in the park is abandoned in favour of vacations to exotic places, buying new friends, eating at expensive restaurants and designer acquisitions.
That is not to so say that becoming rich is a bad thing. There is the upside of the positive life changes such as no more financial worries and increased leisure time. A 2006 British study on the UK lottery winners demonstrated that the general mental well-being of winners did vastly improve. However, the issue is that more money and fewer simple pleasures cancel out the lack of stress. The study found that the overall happiness levels of lottery winners spiked when they won, but returned to pre-winning levels after just a few months. The takeaway: sudden wealth is most likely to exaggerate your current situation, but it won?t fundamentally change your sense of well-being. If you?re unhappy, have a tension-filled family life, are not good at managing money and surrounded by people you don?t trust, new-found wealth will probably make your problems worse. Money does not affect the other conditions that govern your life, your siblings, parents, business rivals and your basic character. In other words, if you came up the hard way using dubious methods, you are likely to continue doing that even though you no longer need to.
The Indian economy since 2002 has turned a lot of middle class people into the absurdly rich in just a few years?we?re talking Robert Vadra clones, or Ponty Chadha. Adjusting to that lifestyle without acquiring a set of new values and ethics can be dangerous to themselves and others around. There?s nothing bad about having money, but the real gateway to happiness lies in a sense of positive purpose, optimistic thinking, quality relationships and the ability to live in and enjoy the moment. Those things don?t cost anything. I remember a great quote from Oprah Winfrey, one of America?s richest women. ?l am grateful for the blessings of wealth, but it hasn?t changed who I am. My feet are still on the ground. I?m just wearing better shoes.?
The writer is Group Editor, Special Projects & Features, ?The Indian Express?