Morning Walk

Bliss, Shelters and Suburbs...!!!

I constantly marvelled at dad’s dynamism and excitement for something like a morning walk.  He went not on a daily basis though, but when he went it did make his day.   A group of middle aged and  predominantly old men,  but the invigorating energy that escorted them made them younger than us,  and  the panorama of it made me equally reviving too.   Not surprisinngly, they all come from affluent families with a thriving business, a handsome number of grand children each,  accept for my dad..!!(don’t worry dad, u too will soon be one among them).  They have toiled enough in their youth and now just making themost or rather  enjoying the fruits of the seeds that they had sown then. 

You can easily witness this assemblage of approximately 27 members,(25 now after the sad demise of two)placid and ageracian men in the morning @ 7, walking to gether laughing, cold  to the world around and lost in themselves.  The eldest member of the group is about 75, most of them in the late 60’s,and dad as usual the odd and the only one in 40’s.  Untold and ambivalent though, full and pure white is the code that they prefer when joining each other for the walk.  They now have their own little 10 year old farm house and a small gym, on the way to the other side of the village, and they have to cross a short area of hilly region for this. This is why the group is named as the Pahaadi group derived from the sindhi and hindi word ‘pahaad’,  meaning hills in english.

A group of about 5-6 of them initially used to go for the walk, but the escalating number of people and their regard and interest in favour of the walk helped them concieve the novel notion of this farm house.  They  all invested  sum of approximately 20,000/- each 10 years back, and are now enjoying its opulence and luxury.  The farmhouse is in the near by village at a distance of about 15 minutes  from our place and the watchman  stays there with his family in a small house which is a part of that area.  He looks after it and serves them all with a neem stick thus helping them stay hale and hearty apart from stimulating them.  He  also ensures that the place is maintained squeaky clean and immaculate before their  influx in the morning and there is enough water for each one of them. After finishing their exercise they return at 8.30. Depending upon their mood at times 9 also.  Their ‘adda’ (favourite hang out spot) is the  Vada paav centre which marks the end of the other village and the start of our’s. On Sunday’s they all have their breakfast there, and the usual days, they just have their revitalizing  cup of morning tea. They then advance to gether for their own houses. Some of them proceed to the vegetable market  with a white chit in the white shirt’s  pocket, usually handed by the daughers in law and at times the wife too. They carry it not that they want to dutifully buy everything told, but with the fear of  a good commotion if they forget to buy a tube of ‘fair n lovely’or the ‘parachute oil’, which men mostly tend to forget, or at times are shy enough to buy it due to the presence of an aquaintance at the shop..!!  Besides, who would want to foecefully come to the market again?

Enjoying their rest time after the walk along with awaiting for their refreshing tea...

This morning enjoyment is just not enough for these oldies.  Apart from all the fun in the morning, they take pleasure in atleast 10 first-rate extravagant treats a year for wide-ranging reasons like the birth or the engagement of a grand son or some times if somebody just wants to toast for their success, or possibly the accomplishment of a very old desire.  There is no compulsion or a rule as such. Hard drinks is their prime importance, to be precise: requirement.  Once they have that, everything else is fine.   Their trip to Goa once a year in the month of July is a big time urge and this something that they all have consistently  been following since more than a decade.  I am sure nothing in the universe can curb them from missing this trip with their most beloved ones, not even the most sombre business or family issue.  Not all 25 go for the walk everyday, or are able to join them for the monthly treats everytime.  But this awaited yearly jaunt is attained by the maximum no of them as long as it is something actually serious or inescapable.  Narayan uncle residing in the main city, has a jaggery factory and thanks to him!! None of the members have to ever squander money for jaggery for house use.  Every season he gets it in well packed polythins and gives it to each one of them, immediatly after the production. Such a unsullied fresh jaggery melting in the mouth brings in a different delight alltogether.

‘’The supreme advantege is that there are certain members who compulsarily go for the walk everyday, which is why the irregular ones are also obliged to join them.  When ever we want to go, or are late at times due to indolence, we have a satisfaction that atleast someone will accompany me.  And this is one reason why the group has stayed till now. Its 14 years for our togetherness now’’,  blissfully and proudly says dad. We are all very attchaed with no hard feelings, but only love and admiration for each other.  I cannot evoke of a single incident of misunderstang or unwanted issue  since  I’ve been amidst them. We may forget the world when together , but this inturn helps us to be ourselves, to recognize ourself better, we get an opportunity to   celerate  what we are as an indivisual. This also helps us  standoffish from the worldly tensions, he ended.

What say..?? Do you still feel that  people only in cities have all the fun and enjoyment in life..?? Just a bias contemplation pal! Better keep out of it...!

Monika Jasuja