Indian Irony At Its Best: Most Holidays But Least Chuttis Per Year

It’s ironic that even though India has most official holidays in the world, we have such few chuttis!

Most Holidays But Least Chuttis Per Year

(Photo: The Quint)

Chutti. There’s something so freeing about that word!

Chutti has happy connotations of euphoria and freedom (no matter how temporary). Mind you, chutti is different from a holiday; cause while the latter is merely the time spent away from work, the former is mentally saying toodles to it.

Chutti, therefore, is not merely a word dearies; it is a state of mind.

Which is why, it’s the greatest of ironies that even though India has more official holidays than any other country in the world, we have such few chuttis!

Chutti on 26 January? Shh, Don’t Ask the Delivery Boy

Boy, he works on public holidays too. 

Thought You Could Escape Work on a Holiday? LOLs, Say Air India Air Hostesses

Air India’s new rule for its cabin crew is LOLworthy. They want air hostesses to pack their uniform while on holiday and be prepared to abandon their families in case there is shortage of staff.

30-Day Work Month? Bring it On, Say These Security Guards

Work? Bring it On

A 12-hour-shift, and a 30 day month is no biggie for India’s security guards.

Diwali is Extra Work For These Firemen

Time for work, guys

For you, Diwali may be Chutti, but for firemen it’s a super busy day.

Saleswomen

What’s worse than smiling even while being made to work on a public holiday?

So Many Holidays, Yet so Few Vacays

In his column, Jug Suraiya notes that all in all, there are 156 officially listed national or state holidays in a year in India, which FYI, does not include Sundays, or the second Saturdays of each month. Suraiya says the barrage of holidays reflects our “multicultural history and polity,” cause after all, besides assuring us great food, the multiplicity of faiths in India give us lots of holidays as well.

Boy, isn’t that a great reason to stop India from becoming a monolith!

Anyhoo, the point we are trying to make is that despite so many chuttis, we as Indians are still starved for vacations.

Vacays? What’s That

Note this: we have been counted as one of the most vacation-deprived nations in the world, according to Expedia Vacation Deprivation Survey.

Apparently, as many as 53 percent of us desis take fewer vacation days than we are entitled to. And last year alone, 68 percent of the people surveyed had canceled or postponed their vacays due to work.

Guys, what is this? Our holidays are always lapsing, and even in the rare circumstance that we are on a holiday, we still carry the work with us.

Disconnected During Chutti? Think Again

Yes, we don’t even completely disconnect from work while on a holiday. A study by Ipsos says that at least 60 percent of respondents stay connected to work, even while they are vacationing in the hills or chilling by the beach.

In contrast, Europeans surveyed say they disconnect completely from work during chutti time, with the British at 71% and the French at 70%.

And leave aside holidays, we ourselves are uncomfortable with the idea of having chuttis, EVEN IF WE ARE BEING PAID THE SAME AMOUNT. Another survey says that given a chance to work five days a week or four days, we would prefer five days. This, despite being offered the same amount.

Guys, it’s high time we removed our feudal mindset and enjoyed those goddamned chuttis.