MORNING GLORY!

My morning walks are a source of information and learning for me. I go to the nearby Government City Forest which is also a Nursery which has a nice walking path. The path is 2.4 kms long and winds its way in an interesting manner. The bends and turns are irregular, so the path retains a charm of its own. The area is forested with a large number of trees.

At the entrance to the Nursery sit a number of fruit vendors, most prominent is the nariyal walla. I feel very happy to see the awareness amongst the walkers to health foods and fruits. A lot of people buy their days supply of fruit on the way out. A number of walkers drink coconut water everyday.

Walkers are of all types, shapes and age. This park is situated on the Mehrauli Badarpur Road and is close to Sainik Farms, Saket, Neb Sarai and Said ul ajaib. The walkers come from all these places.

 The pattern of the groups are interesting. Young girls walk in a group of two or three, young men are in pairs, ladies in the age group of 30 to 40 years are usually in a group of four, older men walk in a cluster, then there are couples who would be in the slightly older age bracket and  then there are retired senior citizens who need help in walking, they come with attendants. Then there are singletons, who are usually the serious walkers, whose sole purpose is to walk at their own speed. They do not want to socialize and do not want to walk at the speed of someone else.

Yoga in the park

Younger men in two's usually jog, younger girls walk and talk and giggle. Older men are the loudest, there is a lot of politics discussed and there is a lot of leg pulling also. They really enjoy their walk the most. The middle aged women discuss their kids and the school and also extra curricular activities for the children.The older couples are the quietest. They just trudge along together, there is no talk, no laugh and no smile too. It appears as though they are just completing a task given to them. I do wish people would retain their charm, conversation skills, and companionship always. Wonder why people start taking each other for granted!

Looking for a bench

I usually take two rounds of the path and then look for a bench to sit down upon. Benches are arranged away from the walking path, in a square. While looking for an empty bench I cross a lot of groups. There is a group of young men who practice yoga. Then there is the laughter club, where after some bits of exercise and a lot of clapping, people burst out into artificial laughter. After the group laughter is finished and they disperse, I have noticed many from the group walk away with the perpetual frown that is the normal look on the face of most Indian men. A happy, relaxed, smiling face I have noticed is a rare sight.

Then there are those who bring food for the stray dogs as well as for the ants and the birds. They come with bags full of bread or roti and also bajra grain. There is an oldish lady who is usually surrounded by dogs. She talks with them and pets them and then feeds them. One person does the Surya namaskar and then feeds the ants.

One day as I sat on the bench I heard, "Ma, take off your shoes and walk on the grass. It is very beneficial for health." The mother took off her shoes and then the mother and son walked together on the damp grass. The young man's little daughter was also being told, " Beta, one must always look after one's parents". It was nice to hear these words. This is how traditions are passed on and children are trained by example.

This morning I heard two ladies discussing a proposal for opening of a creche and conducting Music classes at their house.

People

Morning walks provide me with fresh air, chirping of birds, and also lessons on people and their behavior, their interaction and also how almost everyone thinks that they are very experienced and therefore  competent to dish out their free advice to all and sundry on exercise and also on what health foods must be consumed!

One day as I entered the walking path I heard, "Come ma'm please have a cup of tea." There was a group of people who were serving tea and biscuits at the entrance to all the walkers. Satish said,"We all see each other everyday, so we thought that let us share tea and introduce ourselves". They had the tea with sugar and also without sugar! I spent a pleasant five minutes with them and had a nice hot cup of unwanted tea. The result is that  now we at least smile at each other on the morning walk path.

Once I went for a walk in the evening. The trees were full of extremely noisy birds, who were all back after the day and were settling down for the night. The noise was just too much. The decibel was very high and I think there was a lot of discussion going on about the day!

In the mornings the birds leave their nest after a good nights rest so one hears the melodious notes of the cuckoo bird, but the evenings are just a cacophony of noise.

My walking path in Nashua

I visit London and Nashua every year to be with my children. I walk there too. The difference is that in both these places the people are generally jogging. All the people that one passes on the path  always wish each other Good Morning and wave. Walking and jogging is always done after a warm up, which is not so in Delhi. 

A morning walk is not just a physical fitness walk for me, it is a social and educational walk, which starts my day with the mild sun, the cool fresh breeze and the cuckoo singing its melodious song. It is a beautiful  start of a new day.

Walking Park in London