Pawan Verma
ALTHOUGH I have been taking morning walks for ages, I have never been able to decide whether, while walking in a circle, it is proper to walk from right to left or left to right. While the great majority walks from left to right, I prefer to walk from right to left. Walking anti-clockwise does not make me anti-establishmentarian in any way. I also know that moving from right to left these days is sheer foolishness because the left is fast getting out of relevance now. My friends also tell me that in this complex world, quite often, left is right and right is wrong. Therefore, while in Delhi, I should do what the Delhiites do.
However, I prefer not to walk along with the large majority for the simple reason that with so many beautiful ladies walking around the circle, walking behind them always gives the impression that I am following them. Honestly speaking, my job requires me to be a leader of men. Hence, I think, it is unbecoming of me to start my day as a follower of women. In fact, it is a catch-22 situation. Since all of them walk at a brisk pace, if you happen to be behind them, you appear to be chasing women. If you are ahead of them, you appear to be being chased by them. Interesting propositions by themselves, no doubt, but I would like to leave these pastimes for my teenager son to pursue.
Walking in the opposite direction, no doubt, deprives me of the great fan following available on the other side. Yet, it does offer some definite advantages as well. Seeing all those beautiful faces twice in completing a round is not a small consolation. It could motivate one to walk faster to complete the round quickly. The consequent benefits to one’s heart and physical fitness are the other welcome by-products. In addition, one can also benchmark one’s speed against a fellow walker from the opposite direction. Every inch of space gained in a round can inspire one to walk still faster.
For those, who come to Rajiv Chowk at Connaught Place more for morning watch than for morning walk, it provides a spectacle of sorts. Apart from the morning beauties, you also have walk-enthusiasts like the power-walker who would be walking briskly even in the rain, with an umbrella. Then, there is this man and his dog, both pulling each other continuously. Sometimes, the man pulls the dog and, the rest of the time it is the dog which pulls the man. One wonders whether the man owns the dog or the dog owns the man.
But of all the morning walkers, I like the man with a walkman, who enjoys his musical walk, oblivious of everything else. I don’t envy him even a bit, since I walk with my own walk-woman, my sweet and lovely wife, Neelima. Short of singing to me during the morning walk, she does everything else, like updating me on the latest in neighborhood news, film gossip, political commentary, and the like. With such a sweet morning, who is afraid of the day?
(First Published in the Times of India, Edit Page, on 24.02.2001)
ALTHOUGH I have been taking morning walks for ages, I have never been able to decide whether, while walking in a circle, it is proper to walk from right to left or left to right. While the great majority walks from left to right, I prefer to walk from right to left. Walking anti-clockwise does not make me anti-establishmentarian in any way. I also know that moving from right to left these days is sheer foolishness because the left is fast getting out of relevance now. My friends also tell me that in this complex world, quite often, left is right and right is wrong. Therefore, while in Delhi, I should do what the Delhiites do.
However, I prefer not to walk along with the large majority for the simple reason that with so many beautiful ladies walking around the circle, walking behind them always gives the impression that I am following them. Honestly speaking, my job requires me to be a leader of men. Hence, I think, it is unbecoming of me to start my day as a follower of women. In fact, it is a catch-22 situation. Since all of them walk at a brisk pace, if you happen to be behind them, you appear to be chasing women. If you are ahead of them, you appear to be being chased by them. Interesting propositions by themselves, no doubt, but I would like to leave these pastimes for my teenager son to pursue.
Walking in the opposite direction, no doubt, deprives me of the great fan following available on the other side. Yet, it does offer some definite advantages as well. Seeing all those beautiful faces twice in completing a round is not a small consolation. It could motivate one to walk faster to complete the round quickly. The consequent benefits to one’s heart and physical fitness are the other welcome by-products. In addition, one can also benchmark one’s speed against a fellow walker from the opposite direction. Every inch of space gained in a round can inspire one to walk still faster.
For those, who come to Rajiv Chowk at Connaught Place more for morning watch than for morning walk, it provides a spectacle of sorts. Apart from the morning beauties, you also have walk-enthusiasts like the power-walker who would be walking briskly even in the rain, with an umbrella. Then, there is this man and his dog, both pulling each other continuously. Sometimes, the man pulls the dog and, the rest of the time it is the dog which pulls the man. One wonders whether the man owns the dog or the dog owns the man.
But of all the morning walkers, I like the man with a walkman, who enjoys his musical walk, oblivious of everything else. I don’t envy him even a bit, since I walk with my own walk-woman, my sweet and lovely wife, Neelima. Short of singing to me during the morning walk, she does everything else, like updating me on the latest in neighborhood news, film gossip, political commentary, and the like. With such a sweet morning, who is afraid of the day?
(First Published in the Times of India, Edit Page, on 24.02.2001)
