Biscuit is behaving like an
unpredictable lover by his ‘Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa’ for the morning walk. Yours
truly is playing a diffident suitor feigning detachment (to avoid
disappointment at rejection!) each day when I went to call him for a morning walk.
The strike rate has been a healthy two on three.
Elsewhere reports of runner
friends romancing the rain in their runs has been adding salt to the scuffed
soles. The day before last, being the Police commemoration day, saw my route
lined up with gaily caparisoned policemen. Police vehicles were screaming
through empty roads using the flashing light on top more for atmospherics than
exigency.
I have been meaning to report on
the Parle G lady for some time now. She after commencing the feeding operations,
delegates the rough and tumble of handling the hungry mob of dogs to her
minion. Her routine is a short jog after which she stops at various flowering shrubs/trees
and pins the flowers to her hair bun. She has had to compete with the devout that
are out in droves to make up with the Devi for the bad report card they are due
for the way her representatives have been treated in the last one year.
The Parle G lady fully decorated
resembles the lady with a headful of flowers mocking Lucky to ‘Get Well Soon’ in
the movie Lage Raho Munnabhai. I have been maintaining a distance from the lady
after the initial skirmish on the dietary prescription for her charge!
Yesterday when I was negotiating
the TTK bridge, two bikes with triple riders screamed to a slow pace next to me
across the divider. I was struck by the similarity in the method of celebrating
festivals by the Gen-Next! The lack of helmet and triple riding united the Eid and
Vijayadashami celebrants! Courting danger seems to be the new drug of the
younger lot. They seem to be absolutely secular when it comes to celebrating
festivals on the road.
Talking of secularism, I was
tickled when I saw a vehicle with the front bedecked with garlands and
vermillion and the back window glass proclaiming ‘Jesus saves’. Clearly, to be
able to drive safely in today’s traffic, multiple gods intervention is required
for ensuring safety!
The boys seemed to be in a mood
to rag the half naked old man. I decided to play along. When they asked about
my running so early in the morning, I countered with their riding at such an
ungodly hour. Their invitation for ‘Aaja meri gaadi mein baith ja’ was
responded to with an invitation for a ‘Run pe charcha’. One of the pillion
riders got frustrated and started mouthing what should have been bad words, by
lack of knowledge beyond elementary Tamil saved me the blushes and deepend his
anger. When they decided to part after the nerd of the gang tried his English
on me to say that “I look like a skeleton” to which I responded with ‘You have
enough for both of us’ (not my original, Bapu wouldn’t mind his repartee on the
King of England being used on Machiavelli’s successor in India!). What had
given me the courage to sledge them was that my friend, the security guard on
night duty at Saravana Bhawan was not far for me to make a dash and seek help!
After the kids departed, I calmly
took stock and really felt good. I reasoned that had I been wearing dry fit and
sporting earphones, the kids may not have engaged with me. I remembered
similar, if not as rough, encounters earlier after which I have got some die
hard young fans in other places on my running route.
If this was not
enough, the young cyclist who has decided to make me his ‘Uncle’, again greeted
me as if to confirm my vintage beyond any doubt. The only saving grace was a
bunch of kids on the pavement near the War memorial, one of whom made my day by
calling out ‘Bruce Lee’. Age like beauty seems to lie in the eyes of the
beholder!
If yesterday it
was ‘Mann ki Baat’ with youngsters, today a bunch of more senior vintage took
me on. I generally wave to people as I cross them to let friendliness overtake
any combative streak in the group. The group I am referring to was involved in
a serious discussion and from the animated faces, the subject could only have
been politics. The leader was being listened to in rapt attention. In the midst
of this national duty, my wave brought on a protective streak in him. He addressed
me in a manner reserved by the elite for the working class (my Gandhi attire
seems to have its effect!) and asked me to run on his side of the road. Already
late for my run, I reacted dismissively, telling him to mind his business and
if he was really interested in my welfare wait for my return to settle the
matter of which side was safer!
The leader clearly felt insulted
and wanted to be educated immediately. I stopped, went back to him and in
chaste Tamil gave him a lecture on camber of the road and small stones getting
accumulated to his side of the road. That seemed to satisfy him, but, his
supplementary question on why I did not go for shoes, I had to politely excuse
myself and tell him that ‘Barefoot over Shod running’ will require
philosophical discussion and this was neither the time nor the place. Luckily
for me a guy in a big car had stopped on the other side of the divider and from
his intentions it was clear that he would bat for me.
The last two days turned out to
be quite sunny and by the time I was near Gandhi statue after two laps and
still 10K short of the marathon (around 7 AM), Gandhiji offered me the light
meter and I gleefully accepted cutting short my run. The policeman outside the
commissioner’s office did ask me in the tone of ‘Lock kar diya jaye’ of Big B
in ‘Kaun Banega Crorepati’ if I was done for the day. I think I have exceeded my word limit for the
day, must remember to talk about the race with the young lady tomorrow!
As I go to press, weather gods
have opened up the skies and it has poured today. I am hoping that the good
weather continues and I get a full marathon in the rain on the next two days.
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