Swati woke up startled. It was 8 a.m.

She saw the phone screen; it mentioned Wednesday, October 1^st, 2025. 

She got up quickly, hopped to the bathroom, and started brushing vigorously. As she looked into the mirror again, the realisation hit her. She didn’t have anywhere to go that morning. It was the first day after she had given up on the corporate life that she had been living all these years! 

She continued to stare at the mirror. As the brush swayed from one side of her mouth to another, she studied her face. It had come a long way from the bubbly, worry-free demeanour she had been known for in her college days. 

Twenty long years. She had dedicated her life to her work. And what she had got in return was a swollen face with sunken eyes and deep creases on her forehead. Her face didn’t look like that of a forty-two-year-old; it looked older. 

The brush finally stopped moving, and Swati spit out the foam and cleaned herself up. She splashed herself a few times and then walked out into the living room. 

The living room that she had put together a few years ago after much thought and care. For herself and her family. But one in which she had not been able to enjoy much of her life in all the time that had passed by since its creation. 

She had no one to blame for it. She was always a workaholic and liked to keep herself busy. If not the office hours, constant business meetings, and travel, she had other social engagements or the demands of her twelve-year-old, Sara, during weekends. 

Sara had grown tall and was at the cusp of teenage years. Sometimes, Swati saw herself in Sara. It was during one such school function, when she saw her daughter performing on stage, that she was really taken aback. 

She had never imagined Sara growing up so fast. That day, she decided to spend more time with her daughter before she grew too old and moved out of the house to be on her own. 

Just a month later, she learned that the tech company she had been working for for a decade had decided to lay off some people. She had always thought of her employer as very compassionate and caring. Yet, bottom-line pressures had caused the management to concede some of those qualities, and they had announced layoffs. 

The worst part was that some of the older employees and her friends, those who had spent years building the company and helped it reach these heights, were being asked to leave. While Swati wasn’t affected, she couldn’t bear this. 

These two instances, within a month, proved too much for her. She decided to put down her papers. 

******

Swati’s husband, Ravish, had always been supportive of her. He had actually asked her, when she had turned 40, about what her plans were for this golden decade of her life. 

He had always wanted her to enjoy her life and follow her passions. He wanted Swati to get back to art and music, qualities that had made him fall for her during college. 

They had been together for all those years, married for about fifteen. As time passed, they had grown busy with their work, but their love and mutual respect for each other remained intact. While they didn’t have as much time to spend together as before, eating dinner together was still a ritual at their home. That was when they unwound after the long days at work. 

Ravish was a successful executive in an FMCG company. He had risen through the ranks to head a large business unit and enjoyed his job. He, too, had plans to do something of his own, but he had already been planning toward it for the last couple of years. They had enough savings and alternative income options for him not to worry about how they would keep up their lifestyle if neither of them had a stable job. 

Considering this, he had urged Swati to also think if she wanted to consider alternative career routes. Swati, however, had postponed the thought as she was in a happy space until then. 

However, as the situation changed in that one month, and she decided to call it quits, that didn’t leave her with much time to think through all of these aspects. 

Instead, she decided to wind down after her last day at work, take things slowly, and then figure out what she wanted to do, if at all. 

Hence, that first morning when she didn’t have to go to the office, she felt so awkward. She hadn’t put together any plan. 

Sitting in the living room, soaking in the morning breeze from the balcony, Swati practised some deep inhaling exercises. It helped calm her mind. 

Then, she looked around and noticed that Sara had left her a note on the dining table. It read, “Mom, have an amazing day today. And remember to pick me up from the school, we have to go for that mid-week shopping expedition”. She remembered having promised Sara to do that. 

Ravish had also left for the office early, as he had some early morning meetings that day. He and Sara hadn’t bothered her on her first day of being unemployed. She didn’t know if it was a good sign or a bad one! 

******

That day passed by quaintly. Swati took care of a few errands around the house, helped her with some thoughtful meals, and spent time reading the newspaper sitting on the sofa instead of in the backseat of her car. 

She then got ready and drove over to Sara’s school to pick her up. It was so refreshing to drive with lesser traffic all around. 

Mother and daughter had a lovely time shopping together, and then they all enjoyed a good family meal at dinnertime at her favourite Chinese restaurant. 

The next day, Swati got up as per her usual morning routine and waved Ravish and Sara off from home. She spent more time doing some cleaning, and then lazed around the house all day long. 

This became a pattern for a few days. 

With nothing on her mind, or any urgency of a calendar or a pressing meeting, Swati got all the time in the world to do things she thought she wanted to engage in. There was no one at home to demand her attention during the day, so it naturally became her ‘me time’. 

It was refreshing. Not having to run around the whole day. Having time to think through and tend to herself. Giving time to Sara and enjoying the late-night discussions with Ravish. 

Swati hadn’t felt this way ever. 

However, as with most good things, this phase came to an abrupt end when they had to travel for a family wedding. Swati’s niece was getting married, and they had been planning this for a while. 

Leading up to the wedding and the departure date, Swati, with all the time in the world now, had carefully planned her and Sara’s clothes and accessories. She had also spent time selecting some nice new ethnic wear for Ravish, which otherwise would have been a rushed affair. 

What she hadn’t accounted for though, was how things would feel like in this new personal era for her. 

******

Swati had a fairly big extended family. Most of her cousins were spread across the country and a couple of them lived abroad as well. But they had always made it a point to meet every year. 

This year, due to the wedding, it was decided that they would spend time together during those days. She was looking forward to it.

As is usual with weddings in India, there were guests not just from her extended family but even her cousins’ extended families. Adding to that, was the fact that the wedding was happening in Delhi, where most of them had grown up. And so, even a few close family friends had been invited over. 

With such a big gathering, there were naturally multiple conversations all around. 

It began almost innocuously when one of the cousins asked her about her job. Not many people knew that she had quit her corporate life, so when she spoke about her decision, a few of them looked askance. 

Then, as the news spread in the group, many of them walked over to her to talk about how they felt she should reconsider her decision and not give into these quotidian pressures. How they had faced something similar in their lives but had continued to plough through. 

Most people in the family had always viewed her as competitive and career-oriented. They couldn’t imagine her not working anymore; it was as if her identity was tied to her work only. 

Swati didn’t like this turn of events. It was as if they were all questioning her intelligence and decision. She couldn’t understand why it was so important to have a job. Why couldn’t she choose to do nothing?

She had not retaliated in any of those chats but as she continued to face this question, she started cutting those conversations in the middle or tried to get away from them. 

Ravish had been observing this too, but he had kept quiet as he wanted Swati to handle this herself. Besides, he didn’t want to end up in an awkward conversation with his in-laws. 

The second night, as he saw her getting increasingly restless, he pulled her aside and asked her if she wanted him to intervene. Swati looked away, tears in her eyes. She had never imagined that her image was built on such a narrow perception. 

She questioned her choice and whether she had made the wrong decision. Ravish consoled her and told her not to get overwhelmed with these feelings but to think this through. 

That night, Swati couldn’t sleep. Her mind kept swirling with so many thoughts. 

******

The wedding ended, and they went back home. Swati couldn’t accept that her extended family had asked so many questions about her and the choice she had made. 

A few days passed in these thoughts, but soon she got out of that conundrum. 

She knew within herself that she had made a good choice. She had felt the positive effects of not having to worry so much and of having time to do things she liked to do. 

Ignoring those negative thoughts and the forgettable experience at the wedding, she decided to get into a routine. Not something hectic, but a more balanced approach to her everyday life. 

She took to fitness, made time to read, and rediscovered her love for art and music. 

Her days started to get fuller with things she liked to do again, only this time, it was more purposeful, as if she were doing all she could to catch up on lost time. 

She found time to meet with at least one of her friends every week, sometimes closer to their workplace during the weekdays. That way, she could devote the weekends entirely to Sara and Ravish. They now often went out on weekends for long drives. Ravish enjoyed driving, and Sara always loved the outdoors. 

However, she resolved to observe one golden rule: She wouldn’t engage with anyone who talked negatively about her decision or the fact that she had so much freedom now. 

Swati also took to learning new methods of painting, something she had given up on after college. She enrolled in a class and spent hours engrossed in creating new paintings.

Over the next year, she steadily built her own library of painted artworks and steadily improved her fitness. 

Then, one day, as she was showing her recent paintings to Ravish, an idea struck her.

******

Swati had the idea of hosting her own art gallery walkthrough. She could rent a small space in the nearby public library and use it to demonstrate what she had created.

She discussed it with her art teacher, who was very supportive. She then prepared a plan and laid it out to Ravish and Sara. They were excited too. 

After much deliberation, Swati decided to invite her extended family to the closing night. They had not met for more than a year, and she didn’t want to play spoilsport just because of one bad experience.

Also, she had a point to prove. 

Invitations went out without a hint of what she was presenting. They were all told that she was doing an exhibition, and their annual get-together would begin on the last day of that exhibition so that they could all participate in the closing ceremony. 

As was the ritual when they all met, arrangements were made, and bookings were shared. Everyone was looking forward to seeing what Swati had been up to. 

Swati spent a lot of time planning the intricate details of the exhibition, which was to run for a week. She printed and distributed pamphlets in local newspapers and sent emails to prominent artistic groups in the city. She also took help of her art teacher to reach out to folks within the community to visit and see her work. 

With all the planning done, she then chose some of the best paintings based on feedback from her teacher, for the exhibition. 

On the first day, she was nervous. After all, she had not done something like this before. But as the day progressed, and some of the people visiting the library walked by, they stopped to see her work and expressed some appreciation. 

By the third day, she saw more and more people trickling in, spending up to an hour to observe and appreciate her work. 

Of course, Ravish and Sara came by every day. But they had seen all of these works enough, so it wasn’t new for them. Those who did see it for the first time felt elated to see such authentic expression in Swati’s paintings. 

The exhibition was successful in establishing Swati as an emerging artist and proving to herself that she was on the right track!

******

The final act though was still pending. 

On the last day of the exhibition, Swati’s cousins arrived. They had all been invited to her home for lunch, after which Ravish was going to take them to the exhibition. 

Everyone was inquisitive about the exhibition’s contents. But Ravish told them it was a surprise that they would soon discover. 

Swati was away attending to her guests, so while she knew from the Whatsapp messages that they had all arrived, she had not seen them yet and didn’t know the level of anticipation that had built up in the group during lunch that day. 

Finally, as the clock turned 4, she saw Ravish coming in from the parking area, with her cousins in tow. She beamed. 

They all exchanged hugs and high-fives. It was then that she realised they were all eager to discover what she was doing here. She just asked them to go ahead and see for themselves. 

Ravish held her back, holding her hand as they walked in last, into the room where her paintings were on display. 

There were quite a few other people in the room, some of them notable artists from the city. Her art teacher was also present. 

As Swati entered, they all started clapping. Swati’s cousins, who had just entered the room and were still soaking in what was being presented, were pleasantly surprised. They too joined in to cheer for her. 

They looked at her with awe. They all knew that she was a good artist in her childhood but had forgotten about it in those last two decades. As they went past the paintings on display, they saw how she had excelled even further in her art. 

After a few minutes, her art teacher, taking the opportunity, thanked everyone present for coming to the exhibition. A couple of prominent artists congratulated her on the clarity of her paintings and encouraged her to continue. 

Soon after, the crowd thinned. It was closing time. Only Swati, her family, and her cousins remained. 

They all could see that she was fit and brimming. A different radiance emanated from her, and she had confidence that they had not known existed in her. 

She was a different Swati. Free, happy, and unencumbered. 

Someone they envied for her choice, and someone they loved for her defiance!