Last Saturday morning, I set out to Kanteerava Stadium with my husband and daughter to take part in the exercise programme organised by the Nike Run Club. There were quite a few people already assembled - some, who looked like first timers (just like me) and some who were really fit, lean and well muscled. Reeth Abraham, the national sprinter was also there. She was tall, athletic and looked smashing in her running gear.

Well, we started off with a few jogs around the car park - just to loosen ourselves up. Our trainer then lined us up and started on the actual workout. The first few minutes were great - it was easy-going and I sailed through smoothly. Subsequently, the exercises became slightly intense. I continued on, breathing hard and letting out loud gasps. Our trainer then increased the pace of the activities - the combination of high speed and intense exercises sustained over a longer time period had all my muscles crying for mercy. Some muscles that I didn't know even existed in my body, started howling in pain! It was such a relief when our trainer ended one set of exercises and gave us a few seconds respite before he started on the next set. Finally, after 25 long minutes, our trainer blew the whistle. I felt like I had been tossed and turned around in a washing machine -completely drained of all energy.
Our trainer, (he must have been a sadist!) very cheerfully commented that we were now sufficiently warmed up to go for a long run! I was aghast! I had thought that the so called "warm-up" routine was to be the sum total of that day's workout but apparently it was not.

Reluctantly, I headed to Cubbon Park with all the others to begin the long run. My husband, who was already ahead urged me to follow quickly. My legs screamed and refused to move. It felt like as though heavy stones were tied around them - just raising and moving them seemed like moving a mountain.

At this point, I was giving up all hope of even running half a kilometer. That was when I saw the image of Reeth Abraham in my mind's eye. Reeth, standing so tall and looking extremely fit, and going about her exercise routine with such ease and litheness. I held on to that image and huffed and puffed my way across the park. I was probably one of the people who came in last but at that point, it felt just great to complete the run! I felt a great sense of achievement and and was brimming with fulfillment, forgetting all the aches and pains in my body!

Thanks Reeth, for being the inspiration!

Classmate or friend!

Some days back, I was with my daughter in her basketball class when it suddenly started to rain. So, on the spur of the moment, I decided to drop in into my friend's house that's near the basketball court. I introduced my daughters (the younger one had also come along) to my friend, met her son, chatted for a while and returned home. My daughter was keen on knowing more about this friend of mine - after all, she was meeting her for the first time.
I told her she was my classmate from college. She then wanted to know if this classmate had been a friend then.

Now, this really set me thinking. Back in college, in a class of about 60-odd students, I was part of a group of 8 friends - the close knit group that only school or college kids can form - meeting each other daily, sitting together, having lunch together, bunking class together or giggling and laughing together at our own jokes. All the others in the class were, well, classmates, I guess; or simply put, 'plain' friends and not 'close' friends.

But now, after several years out of college, all classmates seem to be like good old friends. Isn't that strange? I guess a lot of that has to do with the fact that we have known each other for over 5 years, have shared the same classroom, have spent the same time growing up and of course have a lot of common friends and common experiences. The memories of things we did and enjoyed as college students wipes away the imaginary boundaries that we had earlier created when forming groups in the class. Now, we think of everyone in the class as just one big group of friends!

Also, having moved on in life, we collect and make more friends - so they are now broadly categorised as friends from school, from college, from office, neighbours, etc..

So, coming back to my daughter's question, I told her she was a 'classmate' then but now she's a friend!!

A surprise treat!

Two days ago, my daughter Manasvi (the elder one who is 10 years old) surprised me. She said, "I'll cook dinner tonight -you relax!" I was overwhelmed, and hugged her. I had just come back from a walk and her idea of "you relax" was most welcoming. But then leaving the kitchen to a 10-year old is not an easy job. I tried to hang around and help her but she was very vehement that I would not be doing any such thing - I was worried about her handling the gas stove and using the kitchen knives (even though they are a little blunt, things like these in her hands are definite weapons of mass destruction!!). She literally pushed me out of the kitchen and repeated again "RELAX".

Okay, fine. I said to myself. Let her learn, she will probably call out to me in a few minutes asking for help to light the stove or to chop some vegetable. But no, she finished everything - prepared dinner, set the table and then called out to me. I was stunned. She'd made tomato soup (thanks to Knorr). She tried to be a little creative. She boiled pasta and added it to the soup and not to forget the "vegetables", she put in some corn and peas (her most preferred veggies!) And lo, we had a wholesome dish to eat and drink for dinner! Her younger sister loved it as well and in fact the next day she asked me "Will Akka be preparing dinner again today? It was so nice yesterday"!!

After the pleasant dinner, my daughter added "okay Amma, I cooked dinner tonight; now how about you doing my homework?" I was speechless!

Walking in the park

Every morning, for the past several months (thanks to quitting the job and being a full time housewife), I have been visiting the neighbourhood park to get my few minutes of exercise. Its nice and pleasant in the mornings, when there is a slight breeze blowing and the Sun God has not got to be at his harshest.

Over the last one year, I have come to know the regulars - we usually greet each other with a smile, a good morning or a hello, how are you? I have come to associate each of them with their unique mannerisms and habits.

There is this group of 5 over-sized ladies in their late forties who do more talking than walking! And I once heard one of them complain that despite all the walking, she has not been able to shed any weight.

And then there is this ever-smiling and ever-laughing 50-something 'young' man - always ready to greet you boisterously and spread his laughter. Mind you, he is not one of the actual Laughter Club folks. They are a different set altogether, the LC folks - they bring you out of your reverie with their loud bursts of "HO HO, HA HA HA" and their sudden and energetic guffaws accompanied by vigorous clapping is sure to waken the Kumbhakarnas in the neighbourhood!

How can I miss out the elderly couple - the husband comes to the park to get some physical exercise while the wife gets her 60-minutes of "grievance sharing time"... well, its a different matter that her grievances are mostly centered around their daughter-in-law. I have heard the lady say in chaste Tamil ' "aval lesu pattaval illai" meaning "she is no ordinary girl - she's a mean one"! To make matters worse for the lady, the septuagenarian husband is a little hard of hearing and uses a hearing aid. Quite often, he forgets to switch it on and the lady after cribbing for a while, realises that he has not heard most of what she's been haranguing about. Now that gets her real upset - and she doesn't know if she has to be more cross with her husband or her daughter-in-law!

And then ofcourse, there are the folks who are serious about getting their speed, rhythm and style right. These exercise freaks are totally focussed on their walk / jog , and will tolerate no disturbances - not even a smile or a hi. They have i-Pods sticking to their ears and manage to enjoy both the sweat and the music!

I guess my walk in the park is made interesting thanks to this nice medley of people!

First day of school

My younger daughter started school last week. She is 3 years old and now goes to Pre-Nursery. Am I happy or am I sad? Its hard to say - my feelings are mixed.

On the one hand, I am happy for her - she'll get to meet new people, make new friends and learn a lot of stuff. But at the same time, I am saddened by this new phase in her life. I have got so used to having her around me- calling out to me at every step, every minute and every hour of the day; following me around like a faithful little puppy. I will miss those small, warm hands holding mine, the cute eyes filling with wonderment, and the happiness and surprise that fills her face at the silliest of things! Oh, I will miss all those small moments that I shared with her over the last 3 years.

Apart from missing her, I also feel bad that her life will now be more governed by the round device hanging on the wall - the clock - day in and day out, she'll have to get up by a certain time, get ready, rush to school, get back home, take a nap,....

Oh well, such is life. Anyway, on the positive front, she does not cry when I drop her at school. The first few weeks can be a torture for both the child and the parent (and of course the teacher too!) but luckily, she has taken to school like a fish to water. I guess the second child is more eager to see and experience what the elder brother/ sister gets to do at school!

Again, such is life!

The First Step

Well, after a lot of thinking and rethinking, after a lot of going back and forth, I have finally managed to start blogging. Now that the pen has hit the paper (or I guess it should be the fingers have hit the keys), there is no going back!

Why is it that the first step is always so difficult? Why is it that as adults, we hesitate take the plunge? Is it starting trouble or is it just fear that holds us back- fear of being judged by others? Or is it the inability to overcome our inhibitions? Anyway, whatever it is, it definitely has a strong influence!

In this front, I guess we need to learn quite a bit from our children. They are able to say and do things spontaneously. I experienced this at the Theatre Workshop that my daughter attended during the summer holidays. On their last day, all the parents were invited to a presentation put up by the children to understand and appreciate the various learnings from their Arabian Nights workshop. We watched them perform a few scenes from Aladdin & the Magic Lamp and Ali Baba and Forty Thieves. The children did a wonderful job and towards the end of the session, their instructor asked them to share their experience at the workshop. Without hesitation, (and even before I could blink twice), my 10 year old daughter raised her hand and spoke about the great time that she had had at the workshop and went on to thank the instructor and her parents (that's me and my husband) for enrolling her in the workshop!! I was stunned and amazed! Similarly, after quite a few children had spoken, the facilitator asked if any of the parents had anything to say. Well, you can guess what the scene was. Pin-drop silence - I was busy ironing out a non-existent crease in my dress and I don't think I even heard my neighbouring parent breathe lest she be selected to speak! It was mind-boggling to see how a simple sentence as "would you like to say something" evoked frightening reactions in us parents while the children opened up beautifully!!

Well, that's the first learning - keep the mind open and do not fear to make a mistake (or a fool of yourself). The idea is to just have fun!