So, you've found yourself in recession-hot water and decided to bathe in the newfound freedom of "funemployment" instead. But what will you do when the fun dies, and you get a double whammy of boredom and guilt? Self-confessed funemployee Kasmin Fernandes has some answers

Paycation. Unemploymentality. Freegan. The current financial crisis has thrown up new urban buzzwords to define situations earlier unknown. The latest one is "funemployment"; a happy time in one's life when one is not employed, and does not want to be employed. A new breed of young people is taking career breaks or using the time between jobs to blog about their passions, roam the streets and art galleries, travel to exotic countries and have fun along the way.

Sandeep Mathur spent his time travelling after leaving his corporate job

Strange as it sounds to the urban Indian workaholic who is perennially tied to the cubicle by an umbilical cord, this is a state of being that existed even before recession hit us. I've been a "funemployee" for a year, and have encountered many others who briefly were. Like 36-year-old banker Sandeep Mathur, who quit a dead-end job last year to take time off from the corporate grind. In the nine months before he took up another more lucrative job, Sandeep had taken a solo trip to Turkey, a vacation in Thailand, a road trip along the Konkan and short treks in other parts of India. "Travelling gave me the time and space for deep thought and catch up on reading. I was completely at peace with myself," he says.

Funemployment isn't only about fun, though. Many use the time to volunteer, do part-time gigs to make some moolah, or learn new things. Like 33-year-old Purvi Patel. She went cold turkey when the Indian media company she left a rewarding multinational firm for, didn't deliver on its promises. Once free from the high stress levels a sales job demands, she decided to enjoy her newfound liberty, doing things she never had time for. One of them was the long desire to be a water baby. "I learnt swimming, went paragliding, reconnected with cousins and old friends, drove from one end of Gujarat to Rajasthan, hit the gym and began weight training. Before I knew it, nine months flew by," says Purvi, who is currently a sales manager with a telecom company.

Purvi Patel learnt how to swim after she quit her job at a multinational Read Next Story She's better than me. Learn to say, So what!› Trending Stories Latest Photos Latest Videos Latest Web Stories ADVERTISEMENT Mid-Day Fast ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT