With all the pressures of work, I hardly ever get the luxury of a weekend off. But that said, I still try my best to squeeze out a bit of time just for myself and my friends and loved ones.

I thoroughly enjoy reading, which in any case I do throughout the week, but on weekends, I try and devote a little more time to it than usual. My tastes run to books of the non-fiction variety, and more often than not, you’ll find me curled up with a book on philosophy, design, essays or even wildlife. That apart, listening to music is another passion and I love almost every genre, right from pop bands and old classics to Western symphonies and Indian instrumental. Nothing, I feel, relaxes you quite as well.

Weekends are also the time for friends to drop in, and since I enjoy cooking, I usually invite them over for lunch or high tea. I can whip up almost every kind of cuisine at home, which is why eating out doesn’t figure very high on my agenda. That’s not to say however, that I don’t eat out at all. My grandchildren, Ayushman and Mayurakshi, have their own favourite haunts and so, I get dragged everywhere from Mainland China to Pizza Hut and KFC, to satisfy their cravings.

Oh, and of course, there’s also shopping. I haven’t yet succumbed to mall mania, but weekends are still the time when I make the rounds of my favourite places like New Market, Gariahat, Aavishkar, Weaver’s Studio and FabIndia, picking up clothes, materials or even interesting curios for my home. Books and stationery also figure on my shopping list, so you’ll often spot me at the Oxford or Crossword bookstores as well. And between work and all the other things I have to pack in, the weekends simply pass by in a flash.