A Lazy Sunday in Mumbai

by Sharell on September 7, 2009

in Daily Life in India

My Buddha drawing.

My Buddha drawing.

Sadly, there’s no such thing as a “weekend” in Mumbai. The majority of people work six days a week, with only Sundays off. That’s certainly the case with my husband in the family business.

Back in Melbourne, I used to turn my brain off from work at 5 p.m. every Friday. Now that I work from home and actually do have job that interests me, it’s rare that I have a work free day. I often find myself getting obsessed with work, and can’t switch off from it. It’s not good at all. So, I’ve resolved to spend more time on creative pursuits to ease the tension.

Yesterday, my husband was keen to spend the whole day working on his music production. The temptation for me to open my laptop was great. I managed to resist though. Instead, I headed out in the rain to InOrbit Mall. First stop was Barista, to treat myself to a leisurely iced coffee and muffin. Next, was Crosswords bookstore. I easily spent an hour browsing in there. I saved my favourite indulgence until last — clothes shopping. Since I predominantly wear kurtis and jeans here, I’m always looking out for attractive, inexpensive kurtis!

Back in the apartment and still determined not to go do any work, I dragged my pencils and sketchbook out. I really enjoy drawing. I don’t do it often enough though. Looking through my sketchbook, I realised that the last time was two years ago!

My style of drawing is bright and colourful, and a little bit trippy. The Buddha in the photo above is the result of my efforts yesterday. It took me four hours (I’m very slow!) but got my husband’s approval. He’s excellent and quick at drawing, whereas I struggle with shading. My mum is also very talented.

What other things do we do on Sundays? Visiting my husband’s family, and going for a Sunday brunch (such as the one at Vie Deck and Lounge), are common activities. We can often be found at the Ivy Wine Cafe. And, we enjoy the peace and quiet of Sanjay National Park in Borivali too!

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{ 24 comments… read them below or add one }

shalini September 7, 2009 at 2:24 pm

Whoa !! The painting is amazing, you sure have some talent there, and i so so agree with you, we work 6 days a week and sunday is the only day left with so many things to do, spending time with the kid, social commitments, family get together’s, so many things and hence there just no time left to relax !!!

I quite liked you idea of the sunday you well spent :)

With kids again this seems like a bleak chance !!

Anyways glad to see the other side of your creative talent as well !! Keep it going !

viksdes September 7, 2009 at 3:29 pm

great painting!..yes ur right Mumbai has no weekends..they even call on a Sunday..its sad , may be we all should switch our cell phones on Friday eve and like good old days take calls on landline only!

Ronny September 7, 2009 at 7:48 pm

Hmmmmmmm……now that is cool.

Try doing a self-portrait of yourself……..it will be good fun.

Gina myalgerianrollercoaster.blogspot.com September 7, 2009 at 7:52 pm

Your draw is really beautiful! Maybe you should draw directly on drawing paper instead of sketchbook, this way you can frame it ;)

PGB September 7, 2009 at 10:38 pm

The avant garde talent should no longer be confined to your house …. reach out to the Hoi polloi. :|

Tin bfriendlyindelhi.blogspot.com September 8, 2009 at 11:32 am

Hi in Mumbai
I totally understand your feelings about Sunday. I live in Delhi again and can still not quite accept how little there is to do. I used to live in Berlin, a city of 3.5 million where the city guide which comes out every 2 weeks has pages and pages of even listings just for 1 day. Here I get “First City” and for the whole months, there are 2 or 3 odd entries. Transportation is uncomfortable when you dont own a car and everything which is interesting happens, it seems, only for a small elite of people. So you end up like a mall rat, hanging out in movie halls and food courts, sipping cold coffee forever. Hardly any fun without spending a bunch of money. Well, one must bear it and doing artsy stuff oneself certainly is a good way of spending time, more fulfilling than merely consuming.
I enjoy your bogs a lot, because they are straight-forward and honest. Best wishes from Tina in Delhi

Tin bfriendlyindelhi.blogspot.com September 8, 2009 at 11:34 am

oops, sorry for all my typos!

Ramit September 8, 2009 at 4:00 pm

Try ‘Westside’ for Kurtis, or Fabindia. Correct me if I’m wrong people.

By the way, lucky you got a sunday off!

Sharell September 8, 2009 at 4:20 pm

Thanks everyone! :-) Portraits are way beyond my capability. :-( I did try once but need much more practice first. (Ronny, send me your pic! ;-) ) I actually intend to have a go at painting on ready to hang canvas, so then if they’re any good I can hang them easily.

Shalini — that’s what worries me about the thought of having kids. No quiet time. I’m very much quiet time kinda person.

Ramit — I love Westside. I find some good stuff in Lifestyle too. I’ve never been to Fabindia.

Tin — I agree, being a mall rat or a food pig is hardly inspiring. Plus it gets awfully crowded when half the city is there on a Sunday!

Ramit September 8, 2009 at 8:11 pm

Hey, my turn for the sketch after Ronny’s is done!

Ronny September 8, 2009 at 9:59 pm

“Ronny, send me your pic!”

R u crazy?? My pic……NO WAY

Then u will stop responding to my comments….since i dont match upto YOUR HIGH STANDARDS :-) LOL……..

Or entirely opposite can happen too……u may stalk me for the rest of my life… :-)

Either of these two situations are highly undesireable…… ;-)

Sharell September 8, 2009 at 10:26 pm

Hahaha, I’ve been looking for a reason to come back to Kolkata! :-P

Ramit September 9, 2009 at 12:56 pm

In case Ronny doesn’t want his sketch done, is it time for mine now oh Great master of Sketches? :P

Sharell September 9, 2009 at 8:08 pm

Portrait drawing is seriously beyond my capability! My husband has all the talent in that area. Maybe I could convince him. ;-)

Ronny September 9, 2009 at 9:15 pm

“Maybe I could convince him.”

Convince him to draw yours……..

Era erasundar.wordpress.com September 9, 2009 at 10:06 pm

Beautiful drawing!

Ramit September 10, 2009 at 1:08 pm

Oooh Sharell stalking Ronny? Sounds like the next big Subhash Ghai blockbuster! Should be fun, keep me posted Ronny… :-)

whatever google.com September 10, 2009 at 3:06 pm

quick tip from a fellow indian

dont say “Visiting my husband’s family”
they are your family as well! :-)

Sharell September 10, 2009 at 4:16 pm

So true! I don’t like using the term “in-laws” very much, so maybe I should call them my Indian family? Or is there a better affectionate term to use in India?

areason2write areason2write.wordpress.com September 10, 2009 at 4:51 pm

lovely!

Ronny September 10, 2009 at 7:04 pm

“”so maybe I should call them my Indian family?”"

Hey Sharell

MY FAMILY is perhaps the best……..use it.

@Ramit

No worries……..its coming to a theater near you!!

Sharell September 10, 2009 at 7:16 pm

I think if I refer to them as “my family” it may be a bit confusing…. people may think that my relatives from home are in town! Of course I feel like my in-laws are my family, I’m just trying to distinguish for the sake of clarity. :-)

Ronny September 10, 2009 at 7:40 pm

Call ur mother-in-law……..MOM( My Other Mom)

Sharell September 10, 2009 at 7:44 pm

:-D

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