This story is from July 24, 2014

Monsoon Mondays: the new Sundays in Banaras!

Schools in Banaras have changed their weekly offs from Sunday to Monday during Monsoon, but not everyone is gungho about the idea.
Monsoon Mondays: the new Sundays in Banaras!
Schools in the city have changed their weekly offs from Sunday to Monday during Sawan, but not everyone is gungho about the idea.
With religious activity at an all-time high in the city of Kashi Vishwanath during the Hindu month of Sawan, Mondays are reserved for worshipping Lord Shiva. Even schools are closed on Mondays during this time, due to traffic restrictions imposed in the city to manage the influx of pilgrims.
Instead, schools are open on Sundays these days. Here’s what the change in the weekly off entails for the city folk:
No Monday blues With no school for kids on Monday, Sunday night is party time! Homemaker Nancy Batra shares, “We could not hold late night parties on Sundays as there was school for kids the next day, but during Sawan, we go out partying on Sunday without the anxiety of coming back early. With Monday becoming the new Sunday, we go for movies on Monday afternoon.”
Even Vaibhav Kapoor, who has a textile export business in the vicinity of the Kashi Vishwanath Temple (KVT), prefers to have a dinner outing with his friends on Sundays during this time. “Though the market has not been asked to close on Monday, it becomes an unofficial chutti for us, as no business transactions happen on that day. So we tend to enjoy Sunday evenings with friends and also the entire Monday is spent relaxing,” he says.
Sunday Ka Funda However, this shift does not go down well with some. Because, well, Sunday is Sunday! “Sunday wala feel he nahi aata,” says fashion designer Priya Agarwal, who has two school-going children. I cannot sleep till late now, which I normally do on Sundays. This is something which I really miss during this time. Moreover, with the kids going to school, Sunday special meals, when the whole family enjoyed a lavish spread, are also missing. We can’t just shift our Sunday routine to Monday, because even though it is off for children, my husband is working that day,” she says.

Airing a similar view is homemaker Shweta Singh. “Sunday means no cooking for me as we go out for a family luncheon, but with my son going to school that day, this is not possible at the moment. Sunday appears like any other day now, as does Monday, and neither have the feel of a weekly holiday,” she says.
With parents going to work and children at home on different days, synchronisation of different moods is a tough task at home. “While the children are going to school, the rest of the family members are in chutti mood. We sorely miss the family time that Sundays are associated with. The kind of family bonding that you have on that day is not possible on any other day of the week. Moreover, children being at home on Monday complicates the situation for a working mother like me. With both the parents out at work, special arrangements have to be made for the child who is at home,” says Rekha Gupta, a dietitian.
It’s all in the mind “It hardly matters whether it is Sunday or Monday,” says Subina Chopra, director of The Aryan International School, dismissing the woes of the parents, “Moreover, we have to cooperate with the district administration, which makes it imperative to close school on Mondays during the month of Sawan,” she says.Sharing a similar thought is Pooja Madhok, director of DALIMSS, Sunbeam School. “Everyone has adjusted to the fact of Monday being the new Sunday in the city. Personally, I feel more relaxed if I don’t have to go to work on Monday, when the city is caught up in religious fervour,” she says.
Student Speak Vatsal Agarwal, who is a student of Class IX at DPS says, that going to school on Sunday is something which he resents. “I miss spending time with my father. Sunday is the only day when he is around and we usually play a lot of games together. Monday, though a holiday for me, is a working day for my father.”
Nikhil Kedia, a Class XII student at The Aryan International School, has a different take on this. “There is a lesser pressure of studies in school on Sunday and even the attendance is very low on that day. It appears more or less like a holiday. So I don’t mind going to school on Sunday,” he says.
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