When an ex-journo suffers the holiday blues

While working on desk in a newspaper, you always crave for holidays but sometimes, for a person who is at the helm, a single day off in a month seems a far cry. Leave aside long leave, your immediate boss (owner in my case) never wants the “commander” to go for a single leave, leaving the “army” in the lurch. When you request for a day off, the readymade answer is, “Who will see the newspaper in your absence? How can you think of taking leave?”

I don’t remember that I had ever taken four to five leaves at a stretch during my 12 years as a desk journalist. Going to the office in the noon and retuning home at midnight was de rigueur. There were hardly two to three hours in the morning to run household chores. There was barely time to watch TV, read a book, attend social functions, and above all, enjoy the beautiful evenings. My wife would say, “All my relatives go holidaying in summer, but our family hasn’t gone on such a vacation even once. What kind of job do you do? Leave it and do some other job where you can get some rest and have fun.”

As if her voice was heard, I was selected for a government job some months ago. When my name appeared in the final selection list, the first thought to strike my mind was that of plenty of holidays. I thought now I could fulfil all my wishes of having fun and rest. Without a second thought, I immediately chose the government job, leaving my once favourite newspaper field. Now things have totally changed for me. Not a single week passes when there is no public holiday besides the rightful holidays of Sunday and Saturday. In the initial two-three months, holidays came as a boon for me, it was if a thirsty man had found a pond full of water. I would spend the free time watching TV for hours, going out with the family, reading books, or moving around.

But soon the pleasant feeling wore away. The very leisure I coveted started boring me. How long can a person watch TV? How much free time can a person enjoy?

Now I have plenty of free time. I just sit at home, do unnecessary things, move here and there to just bide the time and the whole day slips by. Last week, I visited my friend’s home. Our meeting could have been two hours long, but since I had a holiday, I spent a night there without any purpose.

I feel that during my hectic schedule as a journalist, I was doing something creative and constructive, which is totally missing now. Then, there was a flow in life, which has stopped now. I remember the words of one of my friends who told me, “Dear, now you will not be able to figure out where to spend your free time.” It seems a person who used to work 10 to 11 hours a day is pushing himself towards idleness.

I WAS SELECTED FOR A GOVERNMENT JOB SOME MONTHS AGO. WHEN MY NAME APPEARED IN THE FINAL SELECTION LIST, THE FIRST THOUGHT TO STRIKE MY MIND WAS THAT OF PLENTY OF HOLIDAYS