Morning Walk

Morning Walk
                A morning walk would generally be viewed as a monotonous activity. But if you observe carefully, it has its own potpourri of various events.  I am not aware of other cities, but in Pune, a morning walk is like a cultural thing. It’s an important part of one’s life.
            The drama begins to unfold even as you step out of your home towards the place you walk, either a walking track, hill (tekdi) or a ground. The neighbourhood is full of activity as newspaper delivery boys are busy preparing their stack of papers and scurrying around the lanes while milkmen, too, are busy with their routine. You’ll see the streets empty but the side-walks are abound with people in sports-wear and shoes. Somewhere, sleepy-eyed kids with their parents are waiting for their buses. Street dogs, either sleeping or scratching, are also a common sight. The tea vendor is in demand, too, as early-risers gather around them in anticipation of piping hot tea. Road sweepers seem to be competing with each other as to who can create a bigger pile of garbage while raising a cloud of dust in the air!
            As you near the entrance of the walking track, you’ll notice a number of scooters & cars on display……it’s a sign that people are already onto their walking routines. It’s wonderful to watch varied kinds of people engrossed in their walking routines. There is the quintessential fitness freak who jogs with perfect sports gear- shoes primed for the walk, wrist bands, sweat towel tucked in and headphones playing music. Then there are the cheerful oldies gleefully chatting as they trudge along slowly in their sarees/ salwar kameez but with sparkling white shoes matching their hair. A huge group of middle aged men walk past you briskly like a pack. A couple of ladies are too engrossed in their gossip about their daughters-in-law and hubbies, blissfully unaware that they have come to a complete standstill and creating the need for others to walk around them. Few walkers are seen with their dogs while there are others like me- the ones who prefer walking alone at a decent pace lost in thoughts or listening to the radio.
            The holiday season ushers in significant changes to the regular crowd. You get to see a much younger crowd with kids & college-goers joining in for the occasional walk. At the same time, certain regulars are missing in action by virtue of being out of station. Winters bring in a variety of ear-caps, sweaters, jackets & shawls.

            Trust me, everyone should try a morning walk at least once in their lives. The world is very different at this early hour. One can gather one’s thoughts, be serene and get the clutter off one’s mind. And ofcourse, come back home, fresh for the day’s work ahead.

*****

Comments

Shrinivas Inamdar said…
My day starts with morning walk and on weekends morning walk follows with cup of team. As I go to one of the gardens in Pune, on regular basis, it led to forming a group, mostly elders, and this led to organizing various activities social, cultural ...
Nikhil has nicely depicted morning environment and I really appreciate his minute observations.
July 4, 2015 at 3:15 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Life 2.0: kid to dad

Image
It’s unwavering eyes were staring at me with intensity. The forehead bore marks of indignation. It’s demeanour revealed nothing but pure antagonism. It’s hands were ready to grasp anything they could with an iron grip. In some places, it was covered in a gooey muck. Strangely, I was not at all gripped by fright. In fact, the anxiety that had bubbled up inside me was slowly dissolving. A new feeling was pervading - something where words won’t do justice to describe - a melting pot of elation, love, relief, responsibility, anticipation, overwhelm, a mild scare, some positive nervousness and what not. Literally every emotion wrapped up into one moment. That’s because this person was telling me in no uncertain terms, “I’m completely vulnerable, I need you.” Yes, it was a person, not some monstrous creature! This was a baby, my baby boy...MY SON! This was the moment that changed everything in a jiffy. Until then, I would always relate to the child when seeing a father-child com...
Read more

The Notice Period

The Notice Period                 The much awaited offer letter lands in your inbox and after going through the particulars, you eagerly send your acceptance of offer. There is a sense of elation and you are now eager to convey this to your immediate supervisor/manager, colleagues and friends. And finally, after discussions with your manager and triggering the resignation in your system, here comes the ‘notice period’.                 Notice period is an intriguing period of time in your corporate life. While some companies let go their employees very quickly, others tend to ensure that the associate has served his entire notice period. So here, let me walk you through a typical separation period.                 This is a period where you are neither here n...
Read more

Indian Cinema - Indian Cinema- Entertain and Educate?

Indian Cinema- Entertain and Educate?             Indian cinema has always been in the news, more so for the wrong reasons than the right ones. Reports of underworld links, money laundering, carrying arms & drugs, promiscuity & affairs, lack of morals, sleaze, illegal hunting, rash driving etc. have always portrayed cinema as a vice. All this tends to obscure the other side of cinema and this is what I’d like to discuss today.             “I would rather entertain and hope that people learned something than educate people and hope they were entertained. “ – This is what the great Walt Disney quoted. It’s so true that entertainment revives your soul and educates your personality. Right from India’s first motion picture by Dadasaheb Phalke to the recent releases, Indian cinema has never failed to entertain the classes & masses alike. At the same time, consciously...
Read more