Keeping deadlines at bay

My perfect weekend

My idea of the perfect weekend would be to equally divide my time between my family and friends and, of course, manage to grab sometime for myself as well. 

I don’t want to look at the clock and race against deadlines like I do on weekdays. The weekend gives me the luxury to go slow and do things at my pace. 

My parents live in Dehradun, my sister Geeta and her husband live in Bengaluru and I live alone in Mumbai. 
So, I always end up spending most weekends at my fiance Rithvik’s home where I get some delicious food (his mother’s a great cook). They are my family here in Mumbai. 

Sometimes, I fly down and spend the weekend with my sister. My sister lives in an apartment complex in Whitefield and one of the first things that always draws me to Bengaluru is the weather and the trees in her apartment. It’s like a mini forest.
 I am not a morning person but whenever I spend the weekend, in Bengaluru, I wake up at 5 am and go for a walk just to soak in the atmosphere which is clean and green. We don’t  get this kind of green presence in Mumbai. 

Evenings in Bengaluru are spent exploring  restaurants like the ‘Sky Bar’ in UB City which is also one of my favourites. We also shop at Orion Mall and Garuda Mall. 
If we decide to stay back at home for the weekend then we make something at home. My sister is a brilliant cook and her pasta is something to die for.
My brother-in-law makes the best ‘Gobi Manchurian’. We usually order some ‘Kerala Parathas’ to go with the Gobi. 

Weekends are also reserved for a select group of friends. Rithvik and I prefer hosting house parties where we all meet and sometimes cook. We also have karaoke nights as some of us in the group are good singers.

 My friends and I sometimes go river rafting and bungee jumping. These two activities give me a high and I love indulging in them whenever I can. If my parents are with me on a weekend, then I treat them to ‘Panchavati Gaurav Thali’ which is an authentic Marwadi dish and sizzlers. Since I live alone, I don’t do extensive cooking. 
I make interesting variations of salad and that’s also when I am at my creative best.  I also spend a lot of time on Netflix where I get to watch some of my favourite shows and movies. Sometimes, I sit continuously and watch as many shows as I can. 

I also clock in a few extra hours at the gym  during the weekend. I do a lot of weight and functional training which I don’t get to do on other days. The extra time spent in the gym during the weekend leaves me thoroughly energised and refreshed to take on another challenging week ahead.   (As told to Nina C George)