Running at 30,000 feet

I am a walker.

I like to walk, I do not mind walking long distances or for long periods.. sometimes, my weekends have been walkends.

I have read about the runners’ high. but have not fancied running. maybe because it is much more work than walking.

as I saw many of my friends into serious running, I used to wonder, what keeps them running. they asre all very passionate about running and have developed their own techniques to stay fit, ,better their own records and plan nwell ahead to aprticipate in running events.

with the marathon being a significant aspiration.

with training clubs like runners for life, I see many new converts to running. this is not limited to bangalore. in chennai or chicago as well.

from the selection of the right shoes, to the proper methods of rehydration – and techniques to run a half marathon without any fluid intake – it is all a question of mind/body training, I heard from one of the runners.. – each person develops unique techniqies to run and challenge themselves each time.

I have also found that it is easy to get a runner to talk! and they make good conversationalists or inteersting bloggers such as this one.

recently, my flight from delhi to bangalore was more like old-time train journeys.

contrary to the silent, boring next seat neighbors who are not keen on any conversations, the two co-passengers seated next to me were articulate and we discussed various topics and shared our views.

it turnedout that one of them was a runner. who narrowly missed registering for the auroville marathon that was held recently.

talking about running experiences, a couple of stories he narrated were interesting to share:

a couple of years ago, some of the participants had suggested to the delhi marathon organizers that keepping a supply of oranges along the route will help the runners in the hot weather.

the organizers had taken this suggestion seriously and the following year, they had some stalls with oranges that the runners could pick up as they ran past.

except that these were whole, unpeeled oranges!

based on feedback again, they seem to have improved this by keeping peeled oranges now, that the runners could consume much more easily!

at the mumbai marathon, the runs was to be flagged off by actor Bipasha Basu. everyone was waiting at the start line and when the event started and the clocks were started, nobody ran! everyone was watching Bipasha, expecting her to start the run..

by the time they realized that the clock was already ticking and started, they had lost a couple of minutes – with the result that the timings for everyone that year were slower than the previous.

I have never analyzed why I like to walk. maybe some subliminal influence of one of my favourite heros – Phantom, the ghost who walks!.

A matter of Time

the other evening, as i was walking back home, a small boy on a bicycle asked ‘uncle, time eshtu?’
it was 6.50 in the evening, but i yelled out ‘6.45’ and kept walking.
assuming, that the boy just wanted to get an approximate time!
while most of our lives these days seem to be governed or controlled by time, having periods in our lives unconcerned about the exact time – is very relaxing.
maybe that is why many vacations are so refreshing.
Time was – pun intended – when, as school kids who love to be out playing on the streets till we really must get back home – we used to track time by predictable events..
when we hear ‘Balaji, time for your homework’ – it would be 6.30.
if we hear ‘Ranga, Thyagu, Cheenu… time for your sandhyavandanam’, it will be 7 PM
or, it is really time to get home when we hear ‘Sundar anna, help me with my homework. have to finish this assignment and go to sleep’ because it would be 7.30..
When we were in Mumbai, it was initially strange to see that even distances are measured in time.
How far is Borivali? – about 42 minutes by fast local!
i see that used in Bangalore also. we need to plan not based on distances, but on time it might take to get past the bottlenecks.
and one of the popular topics of conversation at parties is how long it took someone – i had to wait for 7 minutes at the xxx junction; or how happy someone was, to have made it in just 45 minutes.
getting back to the main trigger for this post – as i walked further, i noticed that there were about 40% of the people without wrist watches.
But probably less than 10% without cell phones. and among those that had one, more than half of them talking – while standing, walking, driving etc..
and all cell phones have a clock.
why are wrist watches still popular?
back home, i did a spot inventory of the wrist watches lying around.

i could not find my first watch – that i got as a gift for my upanayanam - to also help me with my SSLC exam, a SEIKO.
but i found the newest addition to the collection

a cheap watch that came free with a cereal box!
at that time, automatic watches that get wound by the normal arm movements was a major advancement in technology.
that was till the debut of quartz watches.
watches were associated with significant events, rites of passage etc. anniversaries..
i still wear a moon phase watch that i got as a company gift for completing 10 years of service.. for the last 22 years!

this clock was presented by my father to his, from his first salary.

when i had taken this to the horologist, he was very impressed that i still had this hand wound beauty. vintage circa 1930..
when i asked him if he could change the dial face or get some paint on the body, he was scandalized.. advising that i  could even think of such an action.
retirement is another milestone.
my father got this clock in 1973. and it still works. though has its own mind to stop from time to time, and will function again, after a little cajoling.

watches are also considered jewellery. there are special supplements in the  papers on luxury – that would not be complete without a section on watches.
with the era of digital watches, i cannot forget two images:
the first from a Dennis the menace cartoon – where Dennis complains when Mr Wilson gets a Digital clock – that he had to get it after Dennis learnt how to tell the time on an analog clock!
and the second  from one of my all time favourite books – the hitchhiker’s guide to the galaxy –  ‘planet whose ape-descended life forms are so amazingly primitive that they still think digital watches are a pretty neat idea’
and this morning, i understood why it still makes sense to have old-style watches..
my smartphone had run out of battery overnight and did not go off at the set time.
it was a Sunday morning and so, no dependent damage done..

MMMM…

was in a whirlwind trip – to Chennai, Pondicherry and back.

though i have visited Pondicherry many times in the past, never had an opportunity to see some of the local sights.

this time, since another friend and family were also visiting Pondicherry, we met up and went first to the botanical garden.

not very easy to locate and in a pretty run down condition, with the two bulls mutilated..

it was a sad picture.

the aquarium there was much better, though small.

also saw what was labelled as the oldest mahogany tree in India

and a nice looking insect on the lawn

 

the next stop was chunnambar, the lake / water sport location developed by the Pondicherry Tourism development corporation.

since it was windy, they had suspended the full boat trips and the trip to the island beach.

so, took a short speedboat ride.

the last stop was at arikamedu, a place where some old roman coins and other stuff were discovered.

this is a heritage site, managed by the archaeology department.

looked like hardly anyone goes there – and we got there after multiple queries along the way, till we reached the village and were directed on a non-existent road for the last stretch.

nobody was around to guide us. nor were there any information boards.

as we walked to the backwaters to the river bank, the view was worth it!

 

on the way back from Pondicherry, we decided to travel via Salem and visit Tiruchengode, that has an Ardhanareeswarar temple on a hilltop.

it was a short, nice drive up the hill that we took, rather than the 1200 step climb.

en route, we also was the 1008 lingam temple – from the road. did not stop to find out more..

even Wikipedia did not have an entry.

  

 

earlier, in Chennai, it was just a day.

this, as you would know, is the music season. the ultimate destination for all Carnatic music lovers every year.

attended just one concert by an upcoming artist – who is also a family friend.

other than that, met some others, who were so so serious about everything music and the season.

the newspaper carries special sections on the music season.

there are guides to help rasikas navigate the schedules at various venues.

the discussions are not only about the classical music, its technicalities, the variations and the debate on contemporization by not sticking to the traditional formats.

some of these also go beyond the music – the idiosyncrasies and private lives of the musicians and other influencers of the music ecosystem.

since i did not attend many concerts – that too the prime time ones, could not get to experience what one reads in the magazine cartoons – about the new clothes, jewellery and  other topics that the rasikas discuss during these performances.

these include the sabhas, the critiques and the celebrity makers.

these have been usual during the December or marghazhi music season.

associated with every sabha is also a caterer.  this time, i noticed the ‘specials’ on the menu at some sabhas and interviews with the caterer also featured in the newspaper.

and the focus on the economics of all this, probably a shade more than the altruistic motive of preserving / promoting the classical music tradition – seems to only get more every year.

 

MMMM = Madras  Marghazhi Music season Musings

Of Birds and Bs–from Kerala

Recently, had an opportunity to watch some birds from close quarters.

a few days away from the normal routine, some of my earlier understanding of birds changed.

that not all birds are angry..

some are lazy..

to get into the water to fish!

while some are patient, on the ground – close to action

 , others plan their strategies

   from a height.

and that not only birds of a feather flock together.. - maybe these are politicians,

were alliances are for short term convenience!

and then there were some as teams  

and some, loners..  

 .

in our enthusiasm to capture nature, , we forgot the schemes of men.

  - that our cruise boats got caught in a net once

and some plastic sheets the second time, we had to get help

  from local fisher folk and also some extra effort by the boatmen

to get out of the mangroves.. .

all these were in the backwaters of Kerala  

 

the bird theme was everywhere, including the way the towel in our hotel room was folded..

there were many ‘touristy photo’ moments.. ,

 or  

this blog is an attempt to capture just a little bit of the memories  

of the Birds and the B[ackwater]s of Kerala..