Life comes full circle. All those kids that your parents ask you to follow the example of, Sharma ji's son, Verma ji's daughter or any random person they get to hear about are the people you hate while growing up. But you never realise when your transition to the other side happens. Although I am blessed with parents who did not make me follow other 'smart and intelligent' children, except for the annual disappointment with me when the UPSC results are out and they read about all the 'smart and intelligent' people, especially girls, making through it. It was their dream to see their daughter as an IAS officer (and at one point in life, mine too!).
But this circle is not about education or career or the mundane stuff that everyone gets to deal with. This is about something far more simple but far more liberating.
My parents, who are early risers and regular morning walkers, used to go to the neighbourhood park and come back with "That girl runs 10 rounds of the park" or "That guy does yoga for an hour".
Imagine my plight, I just did not want to do any of it.
Back in my school days, I never ran or played basketball/ volleyball/ handball, not even kabaddi :P. There! i said it! I hated sports or anything remotely related to sports. And I was sure I'll hate it for the rest of my life.
But life changes, so do you. That's the only thing you can be sure of. And it changed me.
I started running in 2014. It was difficult in the beginning to go beyond 100 meters without stopping to catch my breath or cheating with 'i'll walk fast, maybe it will be as good as running!'. But slowly I was getting better and I was liking it, which was a surprise to me.
I've been running on and off since last summer and have been regular for the last one month. I dont know how much distance I cover because kilometers sound scary to me and I dont want to compare it with anyone. I just want to be better than what I was yesterday so my unit of measurement is the number of rounds I run of the nearby park, the same one where the girl used to run 10!!
Honestly, I still haven't reached 10 (my target). I did 9 today.
Coming back to the circle, I saw someone notice me running. An uncle, around 45-50 years. 6th round he saw me, 7th round he smiled. At 8th, he showed me a thumbs up and stopped me to ask how much did I usually run. He seemed impressed with 9! :P He then asked me if I was into professional athletics. Imagine my happiness. A girl who could barely run 100 meters without panting being asked THIS!
And then he went on about importance of being physically active and how he is going to go home and tell his daughter about me!
But this circle is not about education or career or the mundane stuff that everyone gets to deal with. This is about something far more simple but far more liberating.
My parents, who are early risers and regular morning walkers, used to go to the neighbourhood park and come back with "That girl runs 10 rounds of the park" or "That guy does yoga for an hour".
Imagine my plight, I just did not want to do any of it.
Back in my school days, I never ran or played basketball/ volleyball/ handball, not even kabaddi :P. There! i said it! I hated sports or anything remotely related to sports. And I was sure I'll hate it for the rest of my life.
But life changes, so do you. That's the only thing you can be sure of. And it changed me.
I started running in 2014. It was difficult in the beginning to go beyond 100 meters without stopping to catch my breath or cheating with 'i'll walk fast, maybe it will be as good as running!'. But slowly I was getting better and I was liking it, which was a surprise to me.
I've been running on and off since last summer and have been regular for the last one month. I dont know how much distance I cover because kilometers sound scary to me and I dont want to compare it with anyone. I just want to be better than what I was yesterday so my unit of measurement is the number of rounds I run of the nearby park, the same one where the girl used to run 10!!
Honestly, I still haven't reached 10 (my target). I did 9 today.
Coming back to the circle, I saw someone notice me running. An uncle, around 45-50 years. 6th round he saw me, 7th round he smiled. At 8th, he showed me a thumbs up and stopped me to ask how much did I usually run. He seemed impressed with 9! :P He then asked me if I was into professional athletics. Imagine my happiness. A girl who could barely run 100 meters without panting being asked THIS!
And then he went on about importance of being physically active and how he is going to go home and tell his daughter about me!
No comments:
Post a Comment