WE VIEW - SUNDAY

Never on a Sunday
Never on a Sunday
She crooned into my adolescent ears
Everyday is not a Sunday
Became suddenly a welcome mantra
There are people for whom
There are no Sundays
No days of rest
The women in my home didn’t have any
Nor did we children
We played all day and
Whined over the homework
And fought for space
There were workers
For whom Sundays were special
They could find employment
When masters were home
Sometimes Sundays were a pain
When fathers were home
Aware of the shortcomings
Of children they tasked all day
Sundays reminded our parents
Of religion and ritual
Look at the Christians
They go once a week to their church
If all was good with the world
Why wasn’t every day a Sunday
Except that the girl crooned
Never on a Sunday
- GJV Prasad
Prof. GJV Prasad discusses life and literature at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi,
where he is Professor of English. His major research interests are Contemporary Theatre,
Indian English Literature, Dalit Writings, Australian Literature, and Translation Theory, and
he has published extensively in these areas. He is also a poet, novelist and translator. His
novel A Clean Breast was shortlisted for the Commonwealth Prize for best first book from
the Eurasia region in 1994. He is the current editor of JSL, the Journal of the School of
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