Neeraj Sharma

The day of rest, and perhaps the most underrated day of the week, has an oscillating range of meanings for each individual, depending upon their financial and societal hierarchy in this current world scenario.

For a student, Sunday is a king of all days, yet at the same time always taken for granted and gone with the wind. For a teacher, a sigh of relief, a break from the humdrum of the daily rut, yet also a prep day for the coming week’s lessons. For an employee, an opportunity to stay in their pajamas all day and watch Netflix while hogging down a fair share of fast food. For every individual, Sunday has its own unique definition.

And well, although wars fought for independence might intrigue you more, the journey of a Sunday is no less than a historical movement in itself, if you read closely.

They say in March 321, Constantine the Roman emperor started this intervention of Holiday on a Sunday, as a means to influence society to attend more Church, by specifically giving them a day off for the same. Henceforth, in the 20th century, we see people in dominantly christian countries, attending church on a Sunday as a symbol of an age-old relay torch being passed that is still in practice. Hence proved, Constantine was indeed a wise man.

As for India, we didn’t have the concept of a day off until the Britishers invaded. It was when mill workers churned their sweats off 7 days a week, while gawking at the suited Brits going down the church lane every Sunday, one of the workers Narayan Meghaji Lokhande, campaigned for the Sunday to be the common wife of Indians and Brits alike. And though it may not have made it to your history books, it was a long fight. After 7 years of what we infamously call a sade sati, the Shani finally went away, and Sunday was declared a holiday !

As for India, we didn’t have the concept of a day off until the Britishers invaded. It was when mill workers churned their sweats off 7 days a week, while gawking at the suited Brits going down the church lane every Sunday, one of the workers Narayan Meghaji Lokhande, campaigned for the Sunday to be the common wife of Indians and Brits alike. And though it may not have made it to your history books, it was a long fight. After 7 years of what we infamously call a sade sati, the Shani finally went away, and Sunday was declared a holiday !

While some countries treat Sunday as the last day of the week, we Indians welcome it as our first day. Or is it the procrastination that has mirrored itself into the weekday cycle, that we’d rather have Sunday than its infamous girlfriend Monday. The feeling that fills up our body as we hear words, have you ever noticed? Even hearing about making plans about a Sunday far from now, brings in a stream of happiness. And dare someone mention Monday, they will be skinned alive by our mental judgement of the day.

As for me, I have developed a ritual to go to the nearby coffee shop, have some me-time. Have a south- Indian supper, give myself a treat, like a gentle pat on the pack for the last week and fuel for the next. Another, distinct representation of a Sunday is imprinted in my mind. It is when I go by the Sukhna Lake on an early Sunday morning, and spot a group of neon coloured shirts streaming through the paved track. It seems as if they are determined to lose all the carbs of six days in one single Sunday. Highly ambitious and graphically striking is all I can say.