I just cannot continue to be in
bed beyond 7 a.m. even on a Saturday. Usually, after working hard throughout
the week, it is taken that a person would prefer sleeping through the weekend.
I am used to jogging for quite some time now and it is something that I cannot
give up. That is the only time I find for myself. People have asked me several
times why I do that. They feel I am thin and don’t need to exercise (well … no
comments on that! :P). Can’t a person work-out to remain fit and fine? Anyway… that’s
not the point here. What I am bringing out today, is something I found at the jogger’s
park, at 28th main cross at HSR sector-1.
My colleagues say that it takes ‘something’ to pull oneself out of the
cozy covers and hit the park for just a jog. I do not know how difficult this
can be for some but yes… since the time I have discovered this park, I just cannot
wait to get there in mornings, however rainy, cold or sunny they might be. Apart
from being health conscious, there are other driving factors too.
I come from Goa, a place known for
its greenery, great people, beaches, food and fun. It turns all the more
beautiful in the monsoons with large portions of land being used up for
agriculture. The non-perennial springs making their way through the rocks located
in the hills to the inhabited lowlands. Crabs and shrimps are caught in in
plenty in the paddy fields (I remember accompanying daddy to the farm for a
walk and coming back home with at least two crabs for dinner! J )…
I can go on and on when it comes
to talking about my hometown. But not right now. The point is… Goa is something
that is inseparable from my soul. Even death cannot do us apart.
So…when my dreams got me to Bangalore,
I felt I would be lost in its crowd. The traffic, honking, busy lifestyle, fun-on-Fridays
mentality… all was so overwhelmingly disturbing! It took me months to get used
to the fact that I am no longer in a quiet and peaceful place closely tied to
nature. Home sickness took over me several times. With great difficulty, I
gathered myself up to be a part of this agitated city. But, deep down within me,
I have kept alive the child that still dreams about her home so green and so beautiful.
This child in me wakes up every
morning… asks me to buckle up my shoes and get going to the park. The green and
flowering trees there help me feel somewhat at home. The fresh air fills my lungs
blackened on the inside due to the vehicle exhausts and the dry dust that’s found
in plenty everywhere here. This child… doesn’t settle down till I find myself
in the park among many others striving for peace and good health.
Peace and good health… how heavy are these words? Heavy or expensive? I do not know. But while in the park, I feel, yes, they are way too costly. How much does one need to spend to buy these two things in life? A pair of shoes and might be a track suit. That would hardly cost anything when compared to the average salaries paid to the folks by the MNCs in Bangalore. If this is true, then there should have been a big young crowd at the jogger’s park every weekend! But I do not see this happening… What I see there … is completely different.
Men and women, most of them in
their sixties and seventies, retired from work, with sons and daughters to take
care of their morning breakfast, drag
themselves to this small park. The lady with shiny grey hair and wrinkled skin
is my favorite fellow – jogger. Not because she is cute and greets me with a
smile always, but only because I find her so strongly determined to be there
without fail. And the others there, all of my parent’s and grand-parent’s age, have
their own reasons of coming to the park. Some must have been advised by their
medics and nutritionists to work – out in order maintain or lower down their
sugar and cholesterol levels, others might be having severe arthritis or
rheumatic bones. But I see it all boiling down to a single thing; it is not
health consciousness of course. It is something that has been forced upon all
of them by their health problems or by bad experiences in their life so far. It
is something that has made them realize the value of being healthy and fit. It
is something that they have realized after they have been in pain due to
whatever reasons and yes… it is something that we youth have still not
understood.
I do not deny the fact there are
youngsters in the park. A handful, but all of them with extra pounds around their
waists or with big bellies. And also do not deny that there are a few enlightened
ones working out in gyms and at home. No offense intended to them or to anyone.
But, I wonder, how long does it
really take for a person to realize the importance of good health? Good health
triggers good thinking, which in turn brings success to the individual and the
nation. Why do we fail to understand this? Or to put it in a better way, why do
we fail to execute our broad and modern notions of healthy and happy lives?
Does it really require losing a big portion of our lives and be hit by health
issues and then finding a way out through exercise?
I and my old jolly friends in the
park do not talk. But all seem to be walking towards a common goal. All seem to
thinking the same thing. Their experiences, their grey hair and aging skins
seem to answer some of my questions. The questions that keep springing up from
my past, pinch my present and endanger my future. They seem to be telling me
that life stays meaningless until we find it a meaning, identify and do our
duties sincerely and then retire to go in search of peace for the short time left
in hand for the old self...
I find solace in that place even
without having people of my own age there. They motivate me, they soothe my worried
emotions, and they remind me of home and of my parents, always backing me up
with all the strength they are left with…and yes… these old park-pals of mine tell
me silently that life is short and that we need to live it to the fullest.
So, my mornings are crowded with
thoughts and remnants of my dreams of the night. Some unsorted things keep flying
in my mind like dust particles. This dust happens to settle down only after my jogging session
in the morning, to clear my thoughts and to get me ready me for the long day
ahead ... unlike the road dust that meets the earth in the night, heavy with mist
and eager to rise up next morning to create havocs around the city...
