Lockdown Diary Of A Teenager: How to reclaim weekends in corona times
Before the deadly force of coronavirus invaded humanity, weekends were the highlight of any individual’s daily life. Weekends were the means of catching up on all things we sacrificed during the week to focus on our professional endeavours.
The weekends were like the finishing line at the end of a long, tiring race; used by runners as motivation to keep the pace and enthusiasm. While some used them as means to celebrate achievements or occasions like birthdays and job promotions, others used them as an instrument to run away from harsh realities and drown their sorrows in solitude with each sip of whiskey that tunnelled down their throats. However, keeping in mind the lockdown and the grim conditions of human life, it as if the weekends disappeared like a corpse in an Agatha Christie novel, without any trace of its existence.
This might be hard to digest but the absence of our beloved Saturday and Sunday is an outcome of the seemingly endless days of lockdown. Ask yourselves this: In these days of lockdown, what differentiates a Monday from a Saturday, or a Friday night from, maybe, a Tuesday night? The answer is blatantly obvious.
Never in my 10 years of school life would I have imagined myself lounging in my pyjamas till midnight and waking up at my own will without the alarms blazing off on a regular weekday. My working parents, having faced an even more severe blow to their lives, find themselves feeling more like potatoes on a kitchen rack than ordinary working beings. If I had to describe their activities for the day, pecking around like headless chickens in search of productive directions seems to be the only way of life.
They say that the origins of weekends has been associated with the concept of Sabbath, a day devoted to God and not work. Back in time, religious institutions encouraged people to pray to God for peace of mind and a speedy recovery before the next working day. It is fair to say that this concept of weekend is almost unheard of today. In status quo, as much as people look forward to weekends, it always ends up in people being blank about the happenings of the previous days. This leads to me to question the hype behind the weekends in the first place, when people don’t even want to remember the good time they had.
Nevertheless, ‘weekends’ in the time of coronavirus entail an entirely different scenario. Apart from entertaining movies on television and a scrumptious lunch if Mother Dear obliges us, weekends fall into the same dull chasm as the rest of the days of the week. If only I were forced to squint my eyes to find some respite or joy in all this, for once, I might seek some inspiration from many of the fads on the internet today.
I believe that Mr Sunday and Mr Saturday, who are taking their last breaths in coma, deserve our concerted effort to revive them, for they have been faithful to us for a long time. Redefining ‘weekends’ in the time of corona can become a new activity for us. Looking at the emerging hobbies in the time of corona such as TikTok, cooking, working out, etc, can be of help to give us a starting point for our mission to bring back the weekend. Whether it be a competition among family members to cook the most delicious dish, make the most entertaining TikTok dance or dribbling the ball to see the most skilful player - all that is required is will and the determination to bring positivity.
Also Read | Lockdown Diary Of A Teenager: Learning the value of simple joys