The sun had almost settled. The sky was crimson red. Birds were flying back home(i guess). My watch read 17.45 as i entered the round,swivelling gate of Salt Lake stadium, my heaven for the last 4 years. Ever since i joined college and moved to Kolkata, this place has been my mecca. Here ,i cry, i laugh ,i jog , i walk & i talk to myself.
The stadium bristles with athletes throughout the day, but at this part of the evening when everyone returns back to the YMCA hostel after a day long of intense practice, there are only few who start theirs. I happen to be one of them and its out of choice not compulsion. The stadium is outstandingly picturesque at this hour of the day.
I did some pre-jogging exercises, punched my stopwatch and started my jog. Some of the passing athletes gave me a cold look, and it took me a while to realize that its not because of my weird hairdo or wacky beard but because i was jogging anti-clockwise. Well, this is a long established habit due to some innane psychological reason. Its only, after i see the ramshackled hotel 'the Stadel' that i realize i have come come half way through my 1st lap. the next half is naturally beautiful. But, here i felt my breaths becoming heavy. I realized that i have come to the first hurdle.
1> The first hurdle, is the first feeling of numbness and weriness when your body has utilized the avaiable oxygen and now requires you to breathe heavily to satiate the need,(nothing scientific, its my logic :O).The best way to cross this hurdle is to just neglect it. The body adjusts itself to this need and soon breathing heavy becomes the norm. Just before my completion of the 1st lap, i came across the picturesque hind side of the 'Hotel Hyatt'. The brightly lit edifice with the green untrimed grasses at the back seemed to be a palace hung from the (yet)blue sky.
After 1 and half laps the first trickle of sweat came rolling on my cheeks through my temple. This gave me a tingling sensation. I love to push it further only after i see the changes. And the beads of sweat on my forehead just give me the thumbs up to go. I come across many evening walkers and a few joggers too, and somedays if i am lucky, i have a few girls hitting the road and passing innocous whispers and giggles.
2> I was comprehending my speed and timing when i came across the figure that i so greatly admire. I don't know her name but i know the serial number of her wheel chair by-heart. After all i have been reading it from behind for the last 3months. She has the sweetest smile i have ever seen, she is a married lady of about 40 years of age. i don't know if she belongs to the stadium or is an outsider exercising her arms rotating her wheelchair. But, whatever, i love to wish her good-evening to which she gives me her priceless smile. It is when i see her pushing her wheel-chair and yet managing to smile an ear to ear that i consider myself to be immensely lucky and all my anguish vanishes. Life is beautiful as long as i can feel my lungs gasping for air while my limbs work their way.
3> I completed almost 3 laps and my stopwatch glowed 29.58 when i had to open my mouth to take a mouthful of oxygen. My landmark had come and i had completed my pre-destined 3 laps. But,here again my brain toggled between 'rest' and 'the best'. i wanted 'the best'of workout and so i continued. I was breathing through my mouth and increased my speed. The sweat beads had by now coagulated and were continously flowing down my spine. My t-shirt was soaked, my limbs were numb, my heart was beating very fast but i could'nt care less. I came across all the distractions i have mentioned before, but i did not even notice. It was only when i could not carry anymore that i stopped and after frantically panting for about a minute i realized that i was 5 steps ahead of the landmark. Yipee!!! 4 laps,well within 37minutes, was an all time best feat.
this last lap taught me 2 things: 1>Determination and2> aiming high(
I believe your destiny flows in a projectile motion, so always aim high to claim a little lower).
Later in the night when i was writting this article i realized, how many lessons a simple jog can teach you. Its only up for the mass to grapple.
So,next time ,have a happy and educative workout !!:)
सपनों की आहट अब भी गूंजती है कानों में ,
