Physical Work - October 2012
Returning from a long brisk walk of 50 minutes in
Kukkanahalli Kere. Time 5 30 pm. Weather pleasant, cloudy and occasional drops
of rain.
Drenched in sweat. Sticky, sticky … Gundu would have said. Banian and T shirt
soaked in sweat.
Feeling high. No guilt today. But more importantly the walk
was very nice. Chamundi hills looking down on you. If you are a believer you
tend to bow your head and move on. But there are other compensations for an
atheist. The sky is glorious - cloudy but different shades of grey and white,
size and shape. Different types of people. Young girls in their own world. A
man walking slowly lost in thought. A worried looking man in spite of carrying
an umbrella.
White cranes returning in flocks. At a distance a big tree inside the lake with
its top fully white with hundreds of cranes looks other worldly.
I walk with my Nano on but still listening to outside
sounds.
While returning a strange thought – funny but understandable
to us – came to me. Now I can go home throw everything - socks, banian, T shirt
and I can afford all new for today and tomorrow and the days after. Shoes are
light and cozy. Nano is fine and I can listen to Carnatic Soundarya lahari of
Mani Krishnaswamy followed by Talat Mahmood
singing romantic songs. Don’t I feel grateful for affording all that.
There is pleasure in physical activities. I felt it when I
played cricket. While I was not skillful but was a lot more knowledgeable about
cricket. Played with some sincerity but without too much of talent or more to the
point I was not physically strong. Under - age for my class.
Back to cricket. An
off drive was exciting and an occasional catch - difficult one at that - would
remain in memory for a long time.
Later when I opted for sports instead of NCC parade in PUC I
tried some running - 200 and 400 m! The results were predictably awful but
experience was not. Several dreams of my winning sprint and long distance
running races was not small compensation.
Also, when I read Tolstoy ( no Indian writer seems to have had
this, i.e. celebrating physical deeds ) about the excitement of physical work I
could relate. I felt and more so now that physical work ( chosen not forced )
when you are healthy and have no financial worries is thrilling.
Or while doing certain exercises in Yoga – lumbar stretch
for instance - body stretches and
relaxes. Muscles move at your command. Waves of pleasure sweep over you.
Later, much later, I became
acutely aware of it seeing my daughter go to Gym , Crav maga and
coming exhausted but thrilled. This is something I learnt from her.
Sometimes I feel that I should have realized all these much
earlier but then experience is experience whether you are in twenties or
sixties.
Coming home to coffee is perhaps the icing on the cake. The
imagined aroma, of sipping coffee sitting on a soft seat and hoping that this
would never end!
