Click! And I shut-off the alarm, which was disturbing my sleep and curled up again, as usual. (It has sometimes occurred to me that we keep alarms just to test whether the Alarm function will work properly or not and not to get up when it rings.)
Then I remembered the new (year) resolution that my friend and I had taken last evening. To get up early and go for a morning walk to streamline our bodies. We decided not to take too many resolutions, (which obviously is one resolution by itself) and the second one was this.
After a lot of self-convincing, visualisng the leaner and meaner body shape that we would have, we were on the road in next ten minutes. Off we went, past the shut bakery, mobile shop to a wider road.
The road already had some regular walkies, from 10 year old to 80 year old. Other occupiers of the road were the milk vans, garbage collectors and early commuters for work.
There were grandpas and grannies wearing thick sweaters and caps, so thick that even a bullet cannot reach their body. We could hardly see their eyes, the face covered with woolen caps. They wore Adidas and Nike shoes and were walking slowly either with their partner or alone.
Some of them, who seemed to be little on the healthier and sporty side, were seen to carry a stick, not a walking stick, with them. I tried to understand, why? There are no stray dogs that you need arm yourself, and no, its not a walking stick since it is short, about 2 feet or so. Many grandpas seem to carry that, some of them were even thinner than the stick that they carry!
We walked on, and came across the new age health conscious and body conscious teen and youth. A typical one sports a Reebok T-shirt and cap, Nike shoes, Adidas tracks, an Apple iPod and they walk as if there is nobody else in an area of one square kilometer engrossed in their music. They walked fast; some overtook us who were devoid of the walking gears and accessories.
It was fun to watch some grannies and housewives walking with keys all around their bellies (who were wearing saris did that), and they also wearing Nike/Reebok sports shoes for walking. Some of the faces looked as if it was a mourning walk. Some groups were in their own world, while some other local groups were discussing the last night’s episode of that serial and the story of shopkeeper who tried to charge more for cabbage. Thus went their talks.
As we approached the park, it was business hour for some smart businessmen. There were people who sold fruit juices, of all possible juice variety that can reduce fat, increase digestion, blood circulation and memory. You could also get a brochure on health tips; mainly focusing on what juice should you take on which day for best results etc. It was indeed good businesses for them as people are turning health conscious day by day.
A loud set of voices made us turn their heads and look back. No, it was not an abuse like what we expected. It was a Veterans club having a hot discussion whether Siddaramiah should resign and Dharam Sing's stand on that issue. There are many such veteran clubs, a bunch of retired officers, who meet daily. They whisk away from home (mainly from wife) claiming to go for a walk, and end up discussing these 'hot' issues in park while relaxing after their walk from home to park. Then they go to the hotel nearby, have a coffee and break for the day. Some of them meet in the evening also for another session.
An interesting sight caught my attention. There was a person who was supposed to take a dog for a walk. The dog was so huge that it looked like a calf and it refused move. Its face said "No. Come what may, I am not coming. You do whatever you want." The person had to literally drag the dog, and he kept dragging it till I lost my sight. There were some others who had multiple dog chains with them, to me it looked like a chain on horses tied to a cart. (Like those chariots in Ramayana and Mahabharat).
It was time for us to return and on the way back we saw somewhat similar sights. People and venues had changed slightly. We saw bullet proofed grandparents, some with lathis, the modern day youth, dogs dragging people and people dragging dogs, distribution system of milk companies and fruit sellers, BPO/IT employees bound for Whitefield waiting for buses, etc.
In one way, a morning walk is healthy for body and mind too. Lots are there to observe in the small little world around us. So keep walking ! !
Then I remembered the new (year) resolution that my friend and I had taken last evening. To get up early and go for a morning walk to streamline our bodies. We decided not to take too many resolutions, (which obviously is one resolution by itself) and the second one was this.
After a lot of self-convincing, visualisng the leaner and meaner body shape that we would have, we were on the road in next ten minutes. Off we went, past the shut bakery, mobile shop to a wider road.
The road already had some regular walkies, from 10 year old to 80 year old. Other occupiers of the road were the milk vans, garbage collectors and early commuters for work.
There were grandpas and grannies wearing thick sweaters and caps, so thick that even a bullet cannot reach their body. We could hardly see their eyes, the face covered with woolen caps. They wore Adidas and Nike shoes and were walking slowly either with their partner or alone.
Some of them, who seemed to be little on the healthier and sporty side, were seen to carry a stick, not a walking stick, with them. I tried to understand, why? There are no stray dogs that you need arm yourself, and no, its not a walking stick since it is short, about 2 feet or so. Many grandpas seem to carry that, some of them were even thinner than the stick that they carry!
We walked on, and came across the new age health conscious and body conscious teen and youth. A typical one sports a Reebok T-shirt and cap, Nike shoes, Adidas tracks, an Apple iPod and they walk as if there is nobody else in an area of one square kilometer engrossed in their music. They walked fast; some overtook us who were devoid of the walking gears and accessories.
It was fun to watch some grannies and housewives walking with keys all around their bellies (who were wearing saris did that), and they also wearing Nike/Reebok sports shoes for walking. Some of the faces looked as if it was a mourning walk. Some groups were in their own world, while some other local groups were discussing the last night’s episode of that serial and the story of shopkeeper who tried to charge more for cabbage. Thus went their talks.
As we approached the park, it was business hour for some smart businessmen. There were people who sold fruit juices, of all possible juice variety that can reduce fat, increase digestion, blood circulation and memory. You could also get a brochure on health tips; mainly focusing on what juice should you take on which day for best results etc. It was indeed good businesses for them as people are turning health conscious day by day.
A loud set of voices made us turn their heads and look back. No, it was not an abuse like what we expected. It was a Veterans club having a hot discussion whether Siddaramiah should resign and Dharam Sing's stand on that issue. There are many such veteran clubs, a bunch of retired officers, who meet daily. They whisk away from home (mainly from wife) claiming to go for a walk, and end up discussing these 'hot' issues in park while relaxing after their walk from home to park. Then they go to the hotel nearby, have a coffee and break for the day. Some of them meet in the evening also for another session.
An interesting sight caught my attention. There was a person who was supposed to take a dog for a walk. The dog was so huge that it looked like a calf and it refused move. Its face said "No. Come what may, I am not coming. You do whatever you want." The person had to literally drag the dog, and he kept dragging it till I lost my sight. There were some others who had multiple dog chains with them, to me it looked like a chain on horses tied to a cart. (Like those chariots in Ramayana and Mahabharat).
It was time for us to return and on the way back we saw somewhat similar sights. People and venues had changed slightly. We saw bullet proofed grandparents, some with lathis, the modern day youth, dogs dragging people and people dragging dogs, distribution system of milk companies and fruit sellers, BPO/IT employees bound for Whitefield waiting for buses, etc.
In one way, a morning walk is healthy for body and mind too. Lots are there to observe in the small little world around us. So keep walking ! !
Your first blog article dealt with brands bargains was focussed on pricing and branding of various branded jeans and shirts which are highly priced in the market. But yes you also branded quite a few Reebok, Nike, Apple Ipod shoes just by your walk in the mornings. The best mode of brand promotion happens to be the walking syndrome in the morning with people wearing branded clothes and shoes.. Thats where the real purpose of walking to maintain health and fitness is lost. Most of the people who are being menioned in you article dont seem to be health conscious people. They are walking in the morning either to find a group to gossip, either to run away from their wives (to get away from helping at home), either because the doctor have advised them to walk looking at their recent health reports. A few people like and , many others just walk for a few days to streamline their bodies. There is no much consistency there too. You can see some people walking more often during some months when the impact of Ozone is too much in the morning. So in oder to receive the ozone people walk. Walking itself has lost its image as a fitness assignment.
ReplyDeleteSo whats health consciousness about? Walking in the malls and shopping , Gossiping in the garden about politics and headlines in the news paper, Branding Godrej and Yale keys on the sari's and of course shoes!!! I suggest the morning raga is much better with music therapy and some meditation at home, reducing on the ghee and oily diet and leading a normal day to day life.