The concept of weekends did not exist when we were kids. Saturdays would be working, and Sundays would vanish by the time we woke up. My dad worked on some Sundays too!
I had Sunday classes for karate, music or tuition during class 11-12 which would take away Sundays most of the time
Corporate life brought in concept of weekends. Weekends in metros have quite a different meaning. People go out to watch movies, binge watch OTT, catch up with friends, have dinner, and party in clubs at night. These activities were painful for an introvert and frugal person like me. I never indulged in them for peer pressure, choosing to spend time in solitude to relax and rejuvenate
I did go on some weekend trips to see the city for select weeks like Kanheri caves, Kaas plateau, Velas Turtle festival. As age caught up, I realized that I would be a zombie on Monday if I don’t relax enough during weekends
One ritual that I followed without fail is full body oil bath on Saturdays. I would call my mom during waiting time before I had a good bath. The oil in the eyes gave sound afternoon sleep. Evening time would go in washing clothes. Nighttime was for movie/content watching at home followed by an hour of walk. I used to visit my uncle’s house on Sundays for many years till Covid brought a pause to that
When I did projects in a different city, Sundays were for early sleep so that I could wake up before 5 AM to catch a flight at 7 AM. I would return post-midnight on Fridays, making me very sleep deprived. My average sleep requirement is 9 hours a day, which was impossible to achieve in the hectic job I had. My weekends were spent catching up on sleep to make up for the debt. Monday morning blues were real. I disliked Sundays so much that I never enjoyed them even if I had all the free time
Now that I have changed my role to a more stable one, I get free by 5-7 PM on Fridays. With no commute, every hour outside work is with family and pets. I live in a village, so I don’t have friends of my age I can hang out with. Honestly, with my introvert nature, that would have been a burden.
We live in an area where people across 5 generations of one single family have been residing. That means every neighbor is a family member. There are no appointments to walk into someone’s home. We know almost everyone in the area by name. Neighbors are also our friends since we end up meeting them at family functions that happen often, almost once every week
The town I live in is a spiritual one, so not much scene on parties. Instead, we have many temples, one every 500 m. I do believe in God, but not much in following spiritual practices. Temple visits are accepted by everyone, so it is a good way to go for a walk amidst nature and get back on weekends. It is one temple visit now for me every Saturday and Sunday that are at a walking distance from my home.
I readily agreed to do these visits with a different objective in mind. I could do bird watching during my Saturday Walk. The rice fields along the way were full of lotus plants, herons, cormorants, kingfishers, waterhen and ducks recently! The trail also went through a forest where hornbills are often spotted. I could get a chance to collect peacock feathers in our family naga bana (the forest for snake God)
I can predictably wrap up work on time, walk every day for an hour, watch TV, spend time at work without wasting time on commuting or travel. Mornings go into watching peacocks, feeding cows, having filter coffee and catching up on things with parents, my closest friends now. Home food has reduced acidity. Limited stress has reduced GERD, anxiety attacks. There is no sleep deprived zombie state anymore. Regular walks make me feel good
Our profession is called golden handcuffs for a reason. It takes lot of courage or uncontrolled destiny to come out of it. The benefits are immense, but the measure of success beyond money is difficult to digest since it is not easily measurable or comparable. The big question is why measure or compare? Everything is not relative. Happiness comes from within at the end of day
I would still have to work for 5-10 years to be self sufficient for my lifetime. I might live for another 60-65 years max, with 30-35 years with good health if God is gracious. I want that journey to be memorable and balanced.
I eagerly look forward to my weekend walks now. Weekends feel relaxed with time available for my own, without sleeping too much to take it out entirely. Mondays don’t feel that bad either- it feels like I have come out of the blues- An achievement after decades for me! I am thankful for my uncontrollable destiny which created this path for me
A bonus if you stayed on till here- Visit one of the lesser known but most beautiful beaches in the world in Padukere. It has a river on one side of the road and sea on the other!