Over the years, weekend seem to have grown in significance. I don’t recall, when we were growing up in India in 80s, weekend was a thing of any special mention. We used to have 5, 6 days of school, with Saturday’s usually only up to noon. I have seen my parents & family elders working 6 days a week, with short Saturdays. There was no such fuss to wait for the weekend for any special activity. We played almost every day, met all of friends in school or in the Mohalla every day and have fun all the 7 days of the week. Sundays was only special as we could go out in the morning to visit our relatives, sleep a little longer than usual and play all the much more in the evening. I remember how my mother used to convince us to wrap up the day early as “tomorrow” ( Monday ) was a school day and how we must complete our full night sleep. The full rest in the night would ensure that we are bright & at our best in the school next day. Nights beyond 9 pm was almost inconceivable. Yes Saturday nights we used to watch movie on TV or go out for a movie if there is some Amitabh ( or similar hit ) starrer was released.
However, now weekends are a BIG deal. We crib, wait & look forward to weekends over the 5 days. Then they come & we have plans fixed for weekends way ahead in time, which parties to go, where to eat, whom to meet and what not. Then the weekends come & before you realize they are “off” in a jiffy. Then the wait for the next weekend starts. It seems we live 5 days, waiting for these 2 days to happen and keep everything on hold in between. It’s a terrible way to live, if you honestly ask me, but then it is the “in” thing. This is the influence of western culture which goes beyond the language, dressing, food choices, etc. The best shows, parties, events, sports, movies are all scheduled between Friday night & Sunday night. As if the rest of the week doesn’t matter. It never crosses our mind how much we can do in those 5 days, which are allocated as “work only”. No one asks you in office on a Tuesday or Wednesday –“ What did you do yesterday evening”. However, everyone has this first question on the Monday morning “ How was your weekend”, “Did you go out”, etc. or starting Thursday the questions start “ What’s the plan for the weekend”, “Whom are you meeting over the weekend” ? Come on.. this obsessive compulsion over 2 days of the week is just too much to take.
But as average human beings, who get influenced by their society ( read surroundings ) more than their own wit, we all tend to believe. Life is all Merry on those two days of the week & remaining days are just there because GOD had to fill something between two Saturdays. People hold their kids birthday parties for the weekend, marriages & anniversaries for the weekend & what not. So it is like this, its Tuesday & it’s my birthday, but I will only celebrate it on coming Saturday. No real joy on the actual date of birth, because it is a weekday this year – wow ! Life in pat used to be simple, we celebrated days as they come on naturally and need not hold tears & smiles for when we have “time” for them i.e. weekends.
What it also does is we keeping everything on hold for the weekends, they are jam packed. I feel more tired on a weekend that a week day – so much to do, so much to catch up than a normal day. It is no longer fun, but becomes hard work to go through the 2 days of weekend. If I miss to do something over the weekend, it has to then wait for a full week – be it visit to hair saloon, grocery store or friends.
Among all these I had a nice lazy last weekend. Didn’t do much, watched some old movies, played a lot with my son and more importantly got the time to sleep in the afternoons -- that’s how a weekend should be !
However, now weekends are a BIG deal. We crib, wait & look forward to weekends over the 5 days. Then they come & we have plans fixed for weekends way ahead in time, which parties to go, where to eat, whom to meet and what not. Then the weekends come & before you realize they are “off” in a jiffy. Then the wait for the next weekend starts. It seems we live 5 days, waiting for these 2 days to happen and keep everything on hold in between. It’s a terrible way to live, if you honestly ask me, but then it is the “in” thing. This is the influence of western culture which goes beyond the language, dressing, food choices, etc. The best shows, parties, events, sports, movies are all scheduled between Friday night & Sunday night. As if the rest of the week doesn’t matter. It never crosses our mind how much we can do in those 5 days, which are allocated as “work only”. No one asks you in office on a Tuesday or Wednesday –“ What did you do yesterday evening”. However, everyone has this first question on the Monday morning “ How was your weekend”, “Did you go out”, etc. or starting Thursday the questions start “ What’s the plan for the weekend”, “Whom are you meeting over the weekend” ? Come on.. this obsessive compulsion over 2 days of the week is just too much to take.
But as average human beings, who get influenced by their society ( read surroundings ) more than their own wit, we all tend to believe. Life is all Merry on those two days of the week & remaining days are just there because GOD had to fill something between two Saturdays. People hold their kids birthday parties for the weekend, marriages & anniversaries for the weekend & what not. So it is like this, its Tuesday & it’s my birthday, but I will only celebrate it on coming Saturday. No real joy on the actual date of birth, because it is a weekday this year – wow ! Life in pat used to be simple, we celebrated days as they come on naturally and need not hold tears & smiles for when we have “time” for them i.e. weekends.
What it also does is we keeping everything on hold for the weekends, they are jam packed. I feel more tired on a weekend that a week day – so much to do, so much to catch up than a normal day. It is no longer fun, but becomes hard work to go through the 2 days of weekend. If I miss to do something over the weekend, it has to then wait for a full week – be it visit to hair saloon, grocery store or friends.
Among all these I had a nice lazy last weekend. Didn’t do much, watched some old movies, played a lot with my son and more importantly got the time to sleep in the afternoons -- that’s how a weekend should be !
