The walking story

Keeping in shape seems to be high on priority with the Allahabadis. It is not for nothing that ‘Company Garden’ has become the toast of the city. Spread over many acres in the heart of Allahabad, this sprawling green patch was a witness to the martyrdom of Chandrashekhar Azad, one of the greatest sons of Mother India. But today the park is recognized by its colourful, avid walkers who throng it all day long. Early morning and evening is peak time.

The entire hullabaloo surrounding the spate of publicized diseases has propelled the denizens to take to walking. It has in fact contributed to a Domino effect where more and more are taking to it. The portraits of obese men and women with tummies ballooning out beyond the perimeter of their trousers, sick men coughing their lungs out and frustrated people with head in hands, depicted outside clinics, on hoardings, behind buses and taxis, in newspapers and on television, asking you to care about your health   have certainly played their part in pulling people to the park. Walking and caring about your body has become a status symbol and people like to flaunt it like an achievement in bold on a CV .You have relatives, neighbors and friends professing the benefits of walking and the magical makeover they went through within a few days. There is no escape. No matter how ambivalent your thoughts, how hard you try to ignore all warnings, you will one day find yourself in the park with sports shoes on, ready to reverse the cycle of ageing, ready to achieve the pink of health, ready to live once again. The conjure of the garden will do the rest. You won’t realize when you were sucked up in the scenery and became part of the ‘walking family’, the greater whole. So encompassing will be the effect that within a few days it will become the centre around which your rest of day would revolve. Soon faces will become familiar, the distances known and the breeze, a companion.

The garden presents a microcosm of the city in transition that we live in. Men and women, young and old, fat and thin all flock the garden. Especially occupied is the outer walking track along the garden’s perimeter. Hordes of women, chatting away (sometimes you overhear some crap), walking briskly is the staple site. Matching them are men meandering on the track, some panting, others taking it easy. Youngsters with headphones, detached from reality, tread harmlessly. There are couples too who mostly like to keep to themselves.  Once in a while comes a committed soul exuding   a sense of purpose, taking determined steps as if chasing some obscure goal. Seeing such individuals, others automatically make way facilitating him towards his eluding destination. Then there are the professional runners in congruence, overtaking others, from left and the right, not for a moment slowing down, having no time for the lovely vista. They remind you of a brand new car overtaking snail paced trucks on a highway. The most peculiar site is of the high ranking government officials with gunners behind them plodding cautiously as if on an official visit. Serene pride overflows from their faces. The gunner keeps all ordinary mortals at arm’s length from his deity. You will find students lying prostrate, books in front blending so well with the surrounding greenery that they become inseparable from logs of wood. Another is the romantic type. Generally in two (common sense), they search for the most obscure benches in the park. Smiling faces, hand in hand they tend to get alarmed at the fall of a leaf (You know why!).If you walk past them they look at you as if you were a wanted criminal with posters all over the city. A group of people laughing out loud, in the midst of the park, deserve special attention. There are children playing all sorts of games.

I will now tell you about my motivation to walk. A friend had taken me to the garden. After running for half a kilometer I slowed down to catch some breath. A man, in his late fifties (that is old) crossed me. After moving a few paces ahead he turned back and gave such a contemptuous look that I remember it even to this day. The look was potent than a million abusive words. He seemed to convey his haughtiness at having won an imaginary race .He challenged my youth, my manliness. A million volcanoes erupted in me. I wanted to show him who was the boss. I ran full throttle. But before I could cross him he exited from the closest gate. Poor me. I felt cheated. It seemed like after having bowled under the hot sun all day long, it had started to rain when it was my turn to bat. Every day I watch out for that man in the park but have not found him since. Perhaps he is too busy basking in the glory of his self-styled win. But I continue to run hoping that someday I will get my shot at glory.