Call it a garden or a park, but the joy of walking in these designated clean green spaces is unmatched. Here's how my deadline and target-trained mind makes a task out of a walk. I have added a few observations as well; after all, just going around in circles gets boring after a while! :)
The winter days allow one the liberty of going for the morning walks a bit late. The Sun is still lazy and reluctant, and you manage to finish a few km before he gets his first cup of coffee. The park that I recently developed a liking for is an immaculately clean space with a neat 1.5 km of serpentine walking/jogging track around it. The path intersperses manicured lawns, tall trees, a water body, lots and lots of seating places, an amphitheatre, a kids' play area and expanses of green grass, waving a come-hither to the yoga enthusiasts. I, too, am among those yoga enthusiasts, but the thought of wet grass and mud on the yoga mat discourages me. I stick to the original plan of "walking in the park".
Prerequisites-
The walking gear, of course, a cap for when the Sun decides to shine the torch on your face to get a better look, earphones (of course), a fully charged phone (yes, I planned my walk the previous night) and home keys. I do not carry water so that I can later regret not carrying it. The funkiest playlist, which plays a mix of foot-tapping numbers from the 70s, 80s, 90s and today, starts blaring in my ears just as I commence my exciting walk. I have grown to like the new age BTS, Imagine Dragons, Taylor and Harry, along with my own Queen, Savage Garden, Abba and Michael Jackson.
The walk-
I start with my skippy walk, determined to lose a few kgs per day and charge towards the interiors of the park as my path takes me. I set targets; I live my Life in targets, actually, to overtake as many walkers as I can. The softest targets are the easygoing ones who walk and talk (remember the Idea ad with Abhishek Bachchan?). Then come the reluctant ones, who have been pushed out of their homes by those who hold the power at their homes. After these easy ones are the ladies who walk in groups because Mr.Ratan Tata said, "If you want to walk fast, walk alone, " but these ladies obviously did not heed the advice. The next lot, I must guiltily admit, are the senior citizens. Then comes the stricter target, the ladies who determinedly and regularly come for their fast-paced morning walks. These ones are tough to overtake and really make me walk as if I were in a timelapse video. But the satisfaction I achieve out of overtaking them is similar to winning medals in races (I am assuming since I never ran races, the medals are out of the question). I keep my count, but there is no point; I meddle up my medal tally way too soon. I don't count the younger lot, the runners, the athletic ones in my targets at all; they aren't in my league.
The next subject that I then practice is mathematics, I calculate various distances against time in my mind. Why, I don't know because nothing has changed after collating so much data other than overheating the CPU. But nonetheless, the "chanchal mann" gets busy with calculations. Another round goes in that while the keen observation notices the spots where those walking in the opposite direction cross me during our respective chakkars. And then the Tarzan Boy that my mind is, catching another swing, starts comparing the speeds of people who cross me in the opposite direction.
Aah, so much mind work; whoever coined it "as easy as a walk in the park"?!
Observations-
I observe the path, the surroundings, the fixed features, my favourite superhero- the Sun, the dogs and, of course, the people! First, the path- it is well-paved and runs in continuity, with no breaks anywhere. Wide enough to accommodate so many walkers at once.
The surroundings-
The lovely garden, nicely landscaped, preserving its natural course and features, a pond that has many fish in it and as many fish-feeders around it, lots of places to sit, washrooms along the path, tall trees against shortest shrubs, sun rays filtering through the trees wearing the veils of vines, an amphitheatre which looks like a hill and seems a great spot for sunrise/sunset views (someday I shall go up there too), children's play area, a community hall and gazebos all along the path.
The morning sounds-
Birds, of course, parrots, pigeons and crows in large numbers. Dogs playing all around, our indie dogs in packs, they approach for some petting and play and do not harm anyone, people talking, a senior citizen who listens to his Paathh on his phone and does not believe in the use of earphones, or maybe he is doing this as a part of community service, youngsters playing football, a Yoga guru giving out instructions to his students, a laughter club (is that what they are called?), the clapping club (competing with the laughing lot), runners' shoes thumping on the pathway and their fast breath waltzing with the thumping, the sweeping sound the brooms make while being scurried across the path by the park staff, pre-nursery children giggling, grandparents chasing those tiny tots, Hare Krishna greetings by the ISKCON group that comes every day, and in my ears, Madonna crooning "La Isla Bonita".
The fixed features-
Benches, benches and more benches (best part of the park), tapless water fountains (should I call them hapless too?), notices all around stating the dos and donts, children's swings and rides, gates (4 of them), gazebos with more benches, and some regular faces.
The Sun
Forever captivating, this source of Life, the God, the buddy, plays games in the morning hours. From a big orange disk hanging like a garden ornament to sometimes winking through the haze and clouds, to gently touching with a few warm fingers and then when you do not pay attention, increasing the temperature of that gentle warm touch to scorching metal strips! Every day, I resolve to bring my DSLR (yes, we too bought one when the world was turning to photography) to capture the shades and moods of the Sun, but the morning walk would get compromised, and then those 2-3 kgs would not go away!
So much of overthinking at a place I visit for relaxing my mind and tiring my body. Just as I finish my walk, I perform the shenanigans of "Stretching" and "bending" and walking tall, feeling like some Bollywood Diva exiting those fancy Gyms of SoBo. And as I walk back to my car (don't ridicule me for taking a car to go for a walk; the park is a bit far from home), I feel two inches taller and five inches slimmer. Hunger is at its peak. I fix myself a healthy egg sandwich (sometimes); at other times, it is a parantha (I baptise it with low-fat blessings before consuming.)
Okay, bye; I have to plan for tomorrow's walk now :)
