Bad for work culture, bad for image, bad for morale, bad for bottomline… we all know how bad a bandh is. After lounging through the first real bandh in a while, why not hunt down the good in the bad and raise a toast to a midweek break? “Come on, it’s good for our environment and for us,” says Manish Agarwal, a young businessman.

First, our environment. “Auto emission is responsible directly or indirectly for nearly 90 per cent of air pollution in and so, a traffic-less day does make a difference, especially in winter,” observes a pollution control scientist. Given that Calcutta guzzles around 450 kilolitre of petrol and 4,000 kilolitre of diesel on any weekday, the impact on the air we breathed on Thursday is obvious. Add to that the lack of noise pollution and the city almost seems idyllic.

If the air needs to breathe easy, so do we. “Once in a while, a midweek bandh can do your body some good," smiles Nepal Kumar Panda, senior therapist, Solace. “With our lives growing faster by the day, where does one find such a chance to de-stress? Meditation, head massage, some asanas, stretches, a walk on the grass... can do wonders.”

If going barefoot in the park is not an option, a game of para cricket sure is. With hours to go for Sourav Ganguly’s comeback, the city streets turned into Wanderers. Adrenaline and nostalgia flowed in equal measure on gully cricket pitches. Pradip Das, an LIC official, was just passing by when he got drafted into a team near Deshapriya Park. “It was like turning the clock back. Such a match was only possible because it was a total bandh,” said the 36-year-old.

The midweek need to break free of work shackles is evident from the footfall highs on Wednesday nights at party places. “The mood on bandh eve was of a midweek weekend. And why not? They knew they could just chill at home on bandh day,” said DJ Girish at Shisha.

For many, catching up on “me time” and spending “quality time” with the family are bandh priorities. From reading to a leisurely bath to some winter skin pampering to playing with the kids to sleep, sleep and more sleep — a midweek break isn’t that bad after all. If only it was voluntary, too.