Way back in the 70s, we as youngsters loved a zany American movie  called “ Thank God Its Friday “ which went on to become a cult theme and remains one till today. Working people across all ages, classes and countries show universal solidarity when it comes to welcoming every weekend like a lost brother ! The flip side to it has been the disdain and the depressed feeling accompanying it, every Monday morning at the start of another long week….( and more so after a lo-ong weekend ! )   

As a retired professional banker having worked in Mumbai for over a decade, where an average working day spreads across 14-15 hours (adding the travel time), everyone I have known (me included) is emotionally attached to the weekend syndrome for many reasons (pending housework, social obligations, family outings, movies, chilling out and sleeping- to name a few) but most of all, no office and no boss !  

Another legitimate reason given is that most people today are caught in the inevitable time warp – great, exciting  jobs are few and far between and too many men and women quickly settle for a mundane job-role and a boring work-week that sustains itself on looking forward to Friday and the work-free weekend.

But there is news from beyond, you can love ‘Mondays’ too if you are  really passionate about loving what you’re doing and creating hugely fulfilling results ! Motivational pundits, mentors and coaches have shown the path to employees to discover how to love their work-place and win at work with employers/bosses offering the right creative space and opportunities to them and people experiencing a powerful and visible commitment to their success.

This may sound futuristic to us but the prospect of loving the dreaded  ‘Monday’ appears fascinating !  A work-space with bright ambience, welcoming smiles all around, a shift from a “why we can’t” to a “how we can” workplace and each one backing up the other. But what of the leader who could take everyone forward each day. Those in command need not always have extra-ordinary talents  but  have that empathy and  “soul” that cares, nurtures, brings out the best in the others they lead !

And then, incredible as it may sound, we would find ourselves longing to go back to work where everyone exclaims  “Thank God Its Monday“ !

In school, such stirring lines as in poet Henry Longfellow’s “A Song of Life ” ‘…Life is real ! Life is earnest !…’ exhorted us that you have only one life in the here and now, so make the most of it. But modern day lifestyles extol more on the lines of – life is mending, life is repairing, life is upgrading ! It’s not just about fixing impaired alliances, broken hearts, college admissions, new tax laws and dwindling investment returns or avoiding the unending potholes but maintaining what you still have !

To come straight to the matter’s crux, during the last few months, three fourths of our family time has been invested in hardware repairs and maintenance with the assistance of a variety of specialists –setting right the problems ailing the almirah locks and knobs, falling clothes line, bulbs, geezers and ACs to debugging the laptop, replacing the desktop monitor and getting rid of archaic cable-wala in favour of a new Tata Sky connection were the high-points. However, a formidable list remains to be attended – the leaking roof and the broken tiles in the sitting room ! This is not to underestimate the power of Mumbai traffic snarls and the  intrepid mobikes/autos to dent the car at least on weekly basis and regular repair visits to neighbor-hood mechanic who smiles ironically at the poor vehicle !

Coming to other issues of mundane nature but vital in importance, the usual monthly house maintenance, electricity, gas, mobile bills and Home Loan EMIs which all civilized people meet through ECS or on-line but aren’t there also dozens hounding you for new credit cards, travel schemes, home/car loans and club memberships while retired folks ( like me) receive offers on phones to earn by becoming insurance salesman . Skillfully yet patiently avoiding these traps is needed to maintain sanity !

With fixed deposit rates now plummeting to unprecedented depths, the average house-man (or lady) has to relook his portfolios and seek market advice on how to frugally maintain the depressed looking incomes.

In meeting all these challenges, what remains overlooked is maintaining  the physical self – what then of the morning walks, visits to the gym, low calorie diets and no fried stuff and eateries ? With such pressures and demands on your time, it’s likely that you’d rewrite the famous lines – ‘What is this life, if full of care – we fill our hours to mend and repair !’

 

 

One of my favourite lines (specially for those in positions of authority and power ) is to ‘Walk the Talk’ which is newer way to extol ‘Practice what you Preach’. Apart from many issues that are moral, spiritual and philosophical, this applies as much to physical exercise and the virtues of early ‘morning walk’ which are widely accepted but not followed in true letter and spirit !

While for the happening younger set it‘s the in-thing to sweat and work-out (or pump iron for the seriously physique-conscious !) in a gym that has cool ambience and modern equipments, health-conscious ‘aam-aadmi/aurat’ in almost all our cities are seen thronging the streets and parks for an early morning jog and then switching over to office-gear to catch 8 am bus/train !

Why is the ‘morning walk’ so highly rated as the best ( and the cheapest ?) form of physical exercise apart from the wonders it’s supposed to do to our hearts ? Research proves that numerous benefits accrue – Walking gives you energy for the rest of the day, it’s motivating and removes the “I’ll do it later” excuse, creates a positive mindset for other important activities, gives you time to plan out the day and yes, it ‘magically’ promotes weight loss !

Very importantly, as I’ve discovered during my daily outings, walking in the morning has many social benefits too. Several groups of like-minded people of different age-groups converge at a common dhaba/tea stall and talk animatedly on all subjects under the soft morning sun, over tea and ‘snacks/phafda/phuckas..’. The biggest beneficiaries of morning sojourns appear to be the happy looking, grey haired men’s group (read retired !) who seem to having the time of their lives. They may or may not be part of a ‘Laughter Club’ but have their own stock of morning jokes to relate !

In fact, one of my friends (from senior citizen’s category) is part of a group which meets every Sunday morning in a well-known park to enjoy breakfast goodies pooled in by the members. It’s lot of fun and talk and a little walk !

 

 

What’s an hip Indian birthday without the marvelous chocolate topped cake with candles affixed, an auspicious event now mostly without the traditional ‘laddoos’ and a major announcement with the crinkling of wine glasses ! These have become so much a part of the celebratory customs that the traditional ‘kheer’ and ‘dahi’ have been slightly relegated though still in vogue in the hinterland.

With this has come many an adage which is so popular in usage today that the significance of the delicious ‘cake’ is overlooked. Sample these – ‘it’s a cake-walk (so easy to attain) or it’s a piece of cake (so very cool) or one that is less complimentary ‘He loves to have his cake and eat it too !’ Something beautiful happening is often said to be ‘the icing on the cake’ ! And yes, also remember the nasty bit from French Queen, Marie Antoinette ‘ If they can’t have bread let them have cake..’ which eventually led to her execution !

Few eatables have so many connotations as the good old cake which is for a good reason available in innumerable varieties and flavours – chocolate, plum, walnut, fudge, marble, vanilla, pineapple, fluffy and plain to name a few. Of course, chefs all over the world have perfected and ‘caked’ this art !

But cakes and candles have a long history behind them. Researchers say that candles, being slow-burning, are believed to be symbolic of the passage of time. In fact, they were often used as timekeepers. Though the exact origin and significance of the candle blowing ritual is unknown, the history of placing candles on top of the cake is believed to have started in 1808. The tradition at the time was to place one candle on the cake for each year of the individual’s life, so that the number of candles on top of the cake would represent the age of that person.

Some say that candles were placed on the cake because people believed that the smoke of the candle carried their prayers to gods. Others believe that the custom originated in Germany where people used to place a large candle in the center of the cake to symbolize ‘the light of life’. People place candles on birthday cakes and a silent wish is made before blowing out the candle. It is believed that blowing out all candles in one breath means the wish will come true and the person will enjoy good luck in the coming year.

However, after the first three, though not all birthdays are landmarks – unless it’s say (start of the teens !) 13^th , (becoming a major !) 18^th, ( entering the naughty 40s !) 40^th, completing the big half-century, 50^th , and time to hang-up the boots, 60^th –  friends and family will inundate your Whatsapp with peppy messages, collages and funny pics to brighten up the day while gifts, cakes and champagne may flow, making it all short-lived but memorable.

Then you have birthdays of a different kind – like the one celebrated by the ruling party to mark their fourth year in power with lots of fanfare and suitable noises from both ardent supporters and vociferous critics – as if to remind us that ‘men may come and men may go, but celebrations and cakes will be together forever’ !       

 

‘General Knowledge’, better known as GK and later christened as ‘General Awareness’ (because knowledge is all bookish?), was every young student’s favourite subject once upon a time – more so because all could have a decent shot at it, guessing was very much on and there were no urgency to post spectacular results with marks not in the reckoning ! I recall that it was the best of times, when we in school, knew by heart the names of all the Cabinet Ministers, the CMs, Governors and capitals of all the Indian states and had on our finger-tips all about our country and rest of the world. However, GK was then the plain vanilla type which one could reasonably well prepare for (remember ‘Manorama’ !). The brightest ones were given a place in the school team to pit their wits against the best in the business !

Today with the great success of quiz shows first popularized by the incomparable Siddharta Basu as a champion quiz-master and then as the producer of the phenomenal KBC under the tutelage of the Big B, quizzing at highest levels has become a professional’s paradise with huge amounts at stake. The quiz-masters now delve into every conceivable subject under the sun- art, literature, music, entertainment, sports, science, history, finance, current events and newsworthy items like how many mo-bikes does Dhoni possess or how much did Salman’s latest potboiler rake in !  However, it’s now increasingly difficult to ask questions about those in power and political arenas – before ink has dried on the GK paper, the person might have got dumped or changed his party! This seems to be a worldwide phenomena too.

What’s it about a quiz that makes the adrenaline flow – the challenge of pitting your reflexes in a split second of quick thinking, aura of suspense at a close draw and the strategising needed to nail the one going down to the wire ! It’s also a fascinating mind-game (like chess) that is not age-specific. I recently participated in a quiz contest as part of the audience and believe me, could manage to answer a few posers by the quiz-master with a kind of elation that was felt at scoring the winning run in a cricket match in school !