Weekend woes

Weekend woes 

Mumbai weekends, like everything else, bear their own character. 

Friday morning is when it begins. Everyone at work drifts in slower than normal. Their gait announces a whiff of freedom from the tyranny of the week. The coffee machine whirs slowly and bears witness to the gossip that gets louder. Riots of color transform office corridors on Friday as opposed to mournful whites and blacks of the weekdays. The new menus of the eateries fly thick and fast over the intranet. By 12 pm, office goers exit for a liquid lunch that ends at 3 pm. By 6 pm, bars around offices fill three layers thick. Everyone orders drink in an ugly hurry to drown all trials and tribulations of the week. Married members of the gang have their eyes on the clock to catch the 7.30 pm Borivali fast. Home beacons to them. Those adventurous enough to stay back order paneer or chicken tikka masala and cheese naan, and more drinks. 

Saturday Mumbai sleeps till late. The day's first order is to look up a movie review in the morning paper. There is a frantic rush to the Book-My-Show even before having a second cup of tea. Matinee show and lunch out is a norm. A household with children adds extra zing and super extra strain to plan family outings. Nonstop activities fill up Saturdays and are more stressful than the normal office day. The last order of the day is invariably Netflix, closer to midnight. 

Sunday is unique to each family. There are no patterns and no norms. A day of snoozing around is fine. Brunch from 11 am to 4 pm is permitted too. A movie-watching on Sunday is ruled out. Visiting friends is taboo. Traffic congestion has taken away fun from the long drives. The choice finally revolves around takeout or just a round of Beer, a lunch of Rajma-Chawal cooked at home, and Netflix followed by a long siesta. The late afternoon tea and paneer pakora are a bonus to look forward to. The day ends there. As the day wears out, the man of the house is smiling with the thought of catching 8.34 am Churchgate fast and looking forward to meeting train friends. The lady of the house is fantasizing about mid-morning soap operas and kitty club chai meetings of the society ladies. 

For someone like me, I have eliminated the distinction between my weekdays and weekends; all days are work and all are weekends, a fusion of sort. 

 It’s called retirement.

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