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The Perfect Sunday

Don't we all love our weekends? Sure, God may have ordained Sunday to be the day for rest, but trust us to include our Saturdays in it too, with all our parties and night outs...so much so that we ended up coining TGIF ( Thank God Its Friday for the uninitiated) as a welcome note to these two days of bliss.

Sunday mornings are undoubtedly my favourite. I am not particularly given to Monday morning blues, simply because in my line of work, it sometimes becomes difficult to differentiate one day of the week from the other. But a Sunday is a Sunday, and having the luxury to spend it not working is always a welcome idea.

Today, as I woke up to a brilliant sunny Sunday morning, I realised I had the day to myself...to spend it just the way I choose, to plan the perfect Sunday. At the same time, I couldn't help think of the many versions of a "Perfect" Sunday that I have lived through the years.

As a child, Sunday simply meant the Matinee Show at the nearby single screen movie theatre, followed by Maa's "special" Sunday lunch ; which would always be a secret till the lids were taken off the dishes with a flourish on the table. While in High School, Sundays meant having double tuitions followed by hanging out with friends till late evening. Small wonder,then, that we did the former just so we get to do the latter. Moving on, a couple of girlfriends in college swore Sundays are meant for pampering yourself, and dragged me to the parlour myself to "pamper" myself. All I knew after a few hours was how the lady in the chair next to me had facial hair issues, and that my wallet was considerably lighter...not exactly my idea of getting pampered, frankly. Once I started working, I grew to appreciate the time Sundays gave me, and I spent them sorting out my room, cleaning cobwebs and the like.

So, how do I plan the Perfect Sunday now? Picnic season is already over and a Sunday Brunch sounds tempting, but I don't feel like taking the trouble to dress up and go out. I was put out of my dilemma by my mother's question, "What do you want to have for lunch? Its Sunday,you know," she said,simply.

I gave her a huge smile and told her to forget it, because I decided I'll cook the Sunday special lunch for her today. I told her its been ages since she had some time off for herself, and didn't she tell me she wanted to visit the parlour?

So off she went, and here I am...sitting out in the sunshine in our garden surrounded by flowers. The beauty of spring is everywhere, and I can't help feeling relaxed. I just finished reading another one of Sadat Hassan Manto's stories, the beauty of his words still echoing in my head.Lunch is all set and I'm just waiting for my Mom to get back any moment now. What's for lunch, you ask? But that's meant to be a surprise...It's a Sunday, after all!!

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