This morning I was up before six to take my daughter to the nearby Priyadarshini Park (PDP)…It’s by the Sea
You see,my daughter has to run 35 rounds at the Sports Track at PDP this Saturday morning as part of her Physical Fitness and Endurance Test for her upcoming Black Belt Karate Examinations….so this morning was a training and preparation session
While she jogged around the Park,I sat quietly on a cement bench,timing her each lap and observing hundreds of people of all sizes and shapes walking and jogging around…Some clearly ‘Out of Shape’ and some very, very shapely indeed !
It was fascinating !
Some like to walk in a clockwise direction,some the other way around…some jog,some walk,some walk and jog….some clearly yet in sleep mode !…..some love company while walking,others prefer to be alone….some love jabbering away in rhythm of their steps…some were literally arguing,again in rhythm of their steps and not even sounding out of breath !, about politics and politicians,the flavour of the times as we’re into general elections..My ears caught the names of Rahul Gandhi and Mayawati ….Other popular flavours are the Stock markets and Cricket….I am told this habit,or call it a strategy if you will,clears toxic waste more smoothly in more than one way ! from the Minds and from the Bowels !……others prefer solitude…some walk focused on the path below,avoiding eye contact and the need to acknowledge others while some actually scan for people who they may know…some walk fast,really fast,some simply are prime examples of a slow replay of slow walking….some have earphones,even headphones, glued to their ears listening to music…some,for medical reasons, have Bands glued to their waist….some in groups struggle to keep up with the others,missing a step or two…you can clearly observe who the leader in the pack is…he walks briskly in the centre…and dominates the rhythm and jabbering too
Oh ! and the Footwear….range from rubber chappals ! to sandals to generally sports shoes….You can conduct a Brand Study !…
Oh ! and there is no discrimination visible..there were a few ‘Bais’ and ‘Mausis’ in their Nine Yard sarees,taking their morning walk too…..Great to see that this is a Public Park in Mumbai,in Maharashtra,in it’s true sense….
There were numerous really ‘Senior’ Senior Citizens and interestingly a few greeted each other with our traditional respectful ‘Namaste’ or a chant of ‘Hari Om!’ or ‘Jai Shree Krishna’ when crossing each other….I never saw any of the younger generation doing this to the Seniors !…Clearly visible Generation Gaps !
Oh ! and the clothes !….From shorts to trackpants to T-Shirts to kurtis to sarees to salwar khamis to pants and I’m sure one was even a night suit !…a whole range of attire and colours was visible….The elderly really were not too bothered about colour combinations and attire…you could see an old man with a khaki short and a ‘yellowing’ white shirt which had seen better days, actually tucked in with brown socks and simple canvas shoes…and an old ,grey haired, dark complexioned, South Indian Lady in a White Saree draped in the South Indian style and walking very, very gingerly…..though I did notice a definitely 60+ lady making a fashion statement with colour co-ordinated Grey and orange track pants and T-Shirt
Squirrels were playfully scampering around and the calm sea was gently washing the shores just a few metres behind me….a cool sea breeze was beginning to blow in….. and a few meters away on the side, on a grass mound, there was the morning session of the local Laughter Club…it’s 15-20 odd members were standing in a circle and exercising their throats in clinical laughter
I did not jog or walk !…just sat there and observed ! despite being goaded to do 50 rounds ! by a close friend,away from Mumbai on work,who had smsed me a Good Morning at 6.30 am from Kolkata and found on my reply that I was at PDP…and I am also following my wife’s instructions to “Sit!”… when she yells this out,I don’t honestly know it’s to our new puppy ‘Zoey’ or to me !..and I’m not taking chances !
Good Morning Mumbai ! and PDP !…you’re the vital green lung in South Mumbai,amidst this claustrophobic Concrete Jungle…Thank God the Builder Lobby could not get their hands on you !
I’m now planning to go to PDP late evening and night…I’m told my observations would be quite of a different hue ! I wonder why !…the only way is to find out !