Inventing A Holiday

Invent a holiday! Explain how and why everyone should celebrate.

Post retirement everyday is a holiday. So, thank God, I don’t have to invent one. However, it was not so a few months ago when I felt like a fish out of water with loads of time on hand and did not know where to start from.

The first thing I did was to join a Yoga class. But given my four decades old habit I landed in serious trouble when a ten minutes exercise got over in five minutes. The instructor, (Dear boy! God bless him!!) exclaimed in puzzlement, “How could you!” Until one day he realised that the expression “slowing down” was not in my dictionary.

Next came an avalanche of ailments. Viral infection twice within a fortnight and freak accidents which affected my left leg again twice. I confronted God, “This is not my idea of a retired life.” He smiled coolly and replied, ” This is the spillover of the assaults you have brought upon yourself for the past four decades.”

Well! You cannot argue with Him. Can you? He is always right. But the truth is that I am vexed with the idea of a prolonged vacation which according to me should be absolutely hassle-free. Fact remains, it’s not.

So the moral of the story is : if you are trying to concoct the concept of an ultimate holiday, Bohemian in letter and spirit, brace yourself.

It’s a Utopia.

Rather, pragmatically speaking, consider every day as a holiday.

Get up early in the morning

Inhale deeply the freshness of the cool breeze

Sip your morning tea sloooowly

Bond with the chirpy birds

Embrace the blueness of the sky

Have an intimate conversation with the trees

Glide out for a looooong walk

Return to have a hearty breakfast

Cook your man pasand (something that your heart craves for) meal

Don’t forget your afternoon siesta.

Compete with your pet in a snoring marathon

(In our part of the globe late afternoon is the chai shai time. The chai has to be kadak or strong to make you wakeful and shai should satiate your spirit. Don’t fret it’s nothing but appropriate snack to go with the tea.)

So welcome the evening with the sparkling golden beverage. Sip it with equanimity listening to some tranquillizing music. Or read a soul cleansing poetry seeking the imputed values between the lines.

After a feather light dinner, leg up on the railings of the balcony, gaze unblinkingly at the stars. Let the moon wink at you impishly. Never mind.

Retire to bed with a mesmerizing book in hand and let it slide down on your chest as you make way to your dream space.

That’s my kind of holiday. Ideal.

Those who are in their second innings, like me, every day should be a holiday. Your kind. But just do everything in very slow motion savoring every moment because you never know kal ho na ho (whether there will be a tomorrow).

Not to make you all feel depressed it’s just to ensure that you get to do everything on your bucket list not hurriedly but peacefully.

As I write let me confess I am still learning this phenomenal art of living life to the lease. In fact, though it may sound undoable, yet I feel I should have started a long time back.

But better late than never.

So don’t look out for leisure.

Embrace it in your daily ritual.

Ciao.