The tempting prospect of a siesta

THE Punjab Government has announced that for two-and-a-half months in the heat of summer, offices would function from 7.30 am to 2 pm. The situation offers office-goers an unintended bonanza — the enjoyment of a daily siesta — after their duty is over. The government’s decision, in effect, revives a forgotten tradition of the British colonial rule, when many parts of the state observed similar hours during the summer. My father, who was a police officer, averred that even after Independence, for some years, the princely states of Punjab continued to follow the working day as stipulated under the British rule. I recall my early childhood afternoons in a remote district; the family slept, while my father toured the countryside as a part of his duty.

English writer Rudyard Kipling observed around the end of the 19th century that, in the Indian plains, only mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun. Tongue in cheek, he was lauding the English for braving the scorching conditions when, presumably, the softer natives were enjoying a soothing afternoon nap. The word ‘siesta’ originated in Spain, where a break in activity during the hottest part of the day gave a cultural sanction for citizens to snooze. Thus, the mid-afternoon relaxation became a tradition in Mediterranean Spain and in Greece. Practical as it was, the colonial government in India might have borrowed the idea from Spain.

Doctors could justify the chronological adjustment as being conducive to efficiency and, thus, therapeutic. For English poet John Keats, the ideal enjoyment was ‘drowsy noons — steeped in honeyed indolence.’

The government’s unexpected move, however, stems not from grounds of health, climate or tradition, nor from any desire to promote indolence among the staff. The reason cited is the need to preserve a scarce resource, electric power. The Chairman of the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) has stated that the adoption of the new office hours would ensure economy in the consumption of power, in which the state is deficient. The saved energy would serve vital agricultural operations. The rationale begs an important issue. As per the state’s policy, farmers and small urban consumers are already supplied a certain number of watts of power free of charge. In financial terms, therefore, the power released courtesy the decision on new working hours will merely be delivered free of cost to users, thus not adding to the financial resources.

At a personal level, children might fear that idle parents would now have the time and the opportunity to nag them. Spouses, too, might face the ordeal of having to bear with the officials breathing down their necks all afternoon. Perhaps, the PSPCL could conduct a study on ‘the psychological impact of a siesta’. In terms of ‘light’, the findings are bound to be illuminating!