Sunday for all

“Ah, Sunday tomorrow,” says their father, breezing in from the office. “Time to catch up on my week’s quota of sleep.”

Yes indeed, Sunday is the day the entire family is looking forward to . To rest, relax and recuperate for the hectic schedule of the following week. But in all this fun and gaiety, what does the mother, the housewife have have to say? More often than not it is, as Prabha Shinde complains, “Sunday? Why that’s the busiest day of the week for me. The whole family will be lolling around in front of the television, littering newspapers, wafers and chocolate wrappers, so I cannot get my cleaning done. After a week of hurried cornflakes-toast breakfasts and dry packed lunches, they expect elaborate, special meals today. Then there is the weekly pile of dirty clothes and ironing to be done. Oh no, Sunday gives me the shivers!”

“Why does a housewife need a Sunday off?” exclaims her husband, Pankaj. “Isn’t she at home every day of the week? In fact she’s always complaining that she desperately needs some `time pass’. A closer look, reveals the humourous twinkle in his eyes. It better be that way, judging from the way wife Prabha is swinging the rolling pin a trifle too casually.

Sunday does not necessarily have to be a bane in a housewife’s life, does it? Decentralise, allocate tasks, get them to help you, and for God’s sake use all those smart new kitchen appliances you’ve been buying, these seem to be the passwords of many a smart homemaker.

Look at Sunita Aggarwal. A busy housewife who runs a beauty parlour from her home. On weekdays of course, she is up early in the morning. On those days, she looks after every bit of housework right from making the beds, to tea, breakfast, dabbas, shopping, the works. Her husband and her two grown-up sons, Ashish and Anmol, don’t even have to enter the kitchen. Everything is handed to them on a golden platter. But on Sundays, Sunita takes it easy. “I wake up late, to the luxury of a cup of steaming tea made by my husband.

Bed-making is not on my agenda that day. The boys take care of that. And instead of spending the whole day making breakfast and lunch, we leisurely have all-in-one brunch. My sons even help out by making toast or chappatis or noodles or bits of this and that. My husband takes over the other chores like walking the dog, stocking up a weekly store of vegetables and groceries. So the mornings are generally spent in a relaxed mood.”

Rumela Roy is also quite firm about enjoying her Sundays, but again not at the cost of her family’s pleasure. “I love to cook special meals for them that day and I want to relax too. So what do I do? I make all the preparations the previous day,” she reveals triumphantly. Breakfast is usually luchi with a spicy vegetable. I knead the atta and chop the vegetables on Saturday. A special fish curry is a must on the Sunday menu. I grind the spices and marinate the fish on Saturday. After all, what is a modern amenity like a refrigerator for, if we don’t utilise it for our convenience.

On Sunday, it takes me just a few minutes to actually cook the food. So we have the delicious hot meals that my son and husband (and I too) are looking forward to and yet I hardly spend much time in the kitchen. As for the other cleaning jobs, those too, I do on Saturday and then again on Monday. Sunday is for sitting and chatting. In the evenings we generally go out. A little loafing around, a bit of window-shopping followed by dinner at one of the thousands of eating places in Pune, is the perfect happy end to a Sunday.”

Elsy Vaz, the wife of an Army officer seems to have her chores even more organised. Elsy, who outlets and even designs pearl jewellery from Hyderabad, is kept on her toes throughout the week, even though her business is done from home. Sundays are the time for her to unwind, too “I allot different duties to my family. While one makes the breakfast, another looks after lunch. Or they all join together to give a nice break to me. My husband makes the most fantastic Mangalorean mutton curries and Sundays are the days he likes to try out his recipes. My son Lenold and daughter Linshiya are wonderful cooks when it comes to fish, so sometimes they take over. They help me with the cleaning and washing too. They know that if Mummy has an easy time in the morning, she will cook a delicious dinner that evening. Of course, it’s not always possible for them to help out if they have examinations or some other work, so if the day has been hectic, we relax in the evening by going out for dinner or calling for some packedfood.”

These smart, modern young housewives are certainly clear about one thing. They may be at home throughout the week, but that doesn’t stop them from taking things easy on that one special day. After all, as the Bible says, even God rested on Sunday, so they too, make sure, to have their little bit of relaxation. Feeding the family is fine but it’s equally important to spend quality time with them. And of course, a happy, contented mother and housewife means a happy family atmosphere too.