Just Walk and save a pill

As a kid who grew up in a middle class family I wasn’t used to the luxury of cars those days. Not even a two-wheeler till I was 22. Auto Rickshaws used to fascinate me as a kid. And MTC buses (the local transport in Chennai) and the sub-urban trains are the modes of transport preferred by us. Hired Cars and Taxis were perceived to be expensive and they were used only while travelling to other cities on vacation. So my aspirations were limited to Auto-rickshaws.
Anything more than half a km, I would prefer Auto then. Only when all the above options i.e. bus, train, motor cycle and auto weren’t available, I would think about walking. On the other hand my parents used to walk comfortably.
Fast-forward – 15 years. Now my dad is 63, is fit and can still cover 3-4 km in his morning walk. I am less than half his age and I hate to get up and walk. In the last fifteen years I had been spoilt by two-wheelers, Cars, Auto-rickshaws, Call Taxis, Cash, Credit Cards, etc. I never understood the need for walking till I was diagnosed to be “potentially diabetic” with traces of Sugar in blood and urine, thanks to my grandparents and my crazy eating habits. Since it was not a major cause of worry the doctor didn’t prescribe any drugs rather advised me to walk atleast 4 km everyday for a month.
Isn’t it strange? Suddenly a person is diagnosed with some illness, simple things like walking, fresh air, yoga, exercises, faith in god, etc gain utmost importance and he starts looking at life in a different way. All the materialistic desires vanish and health gets top priority.
So I started my morning walk with a cell phone (and earphones) with some mp3 songs in it (Of course, you cannot change everything overnight). It was difficult for the first few days but I managed, thanks to those Illayaraja’s songs. I was shocked to see atleast 50 odd people walking between 5.00 pm to 6.00 pm in the route that I chose to walk. I also understood that walking is one of the least expensive ways to reduce the body fat, control cholesterol and become fit. Jogging also helps to burn fat but for me that was too much at that point. One day I forgot to carry the cell phone and that was the day I realized apart from above said benefits, morning walk is the best way to relax your mind and think fresh. Though the legs, eyes, hands and body were focusing on the walk, direction and speed, my mind was thinking about the day ahead. I was trying to visualize how best my day could be and how positively I could start the day. I started feeling happy. It was as if I used the time to work on my “to-do-list”. The only precaution I took while doing so is I never thought about the past and blocked any other negative thoughts.
From the next day I ensured that I started finding solutions to all those unanswered problems in life, one a day. I started enjoying the morning walk more than anything else. The best way to describe it was I had a feeling that there was another me, a more powerful one accompanying me during my morning walk.
When I consulted the doctor after a month, I was surprised that the sugar levels were normal and also my weight had dropped to the optimum range. I continued the morning walk for the next three months.
As they say, the devil in the mind never stops from distracting you. Indiscipline crept in and I stopped my morning walk. Family commitments and other petty problems became my priority and I have become lazy. Every night I pledge to go for a walk the next day only to wake up at 8.00 am and rush to work.
For all the younger generation, this is just a thought. I am neither doctor nor a great writer. Walking is the best medicine that I would suggest because not only it cures the physical discomforts but it also makes your mind problem-free.

Howard Roark….My Hero

Ayn Rand will always be one my favourite authors not just because of Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged, not just because of the power with which these books transformed the thoughts of millions and millions of people across the world, not just because her books gave a new insight to “objectivist”, ”Egotism” and “selfishness” in the right sense but because she introduced Howard Roark to me and the world.

Before starting Fountainhead a lot of people warned me about its strong philosophical content and that I may get stuck at some point. To be frank, I never felt so. I read the book like any other fiction eagerly turning pages. Of course it took some time for me to complete the book because I reread few passages again and again admiring the characters, especially Howard Roark. From the time I finished reading Howard’s reply to the dean in the first chapter, I have started recommending this book to every colleague or friend of mine. Whenever I visit a book shop along with a non-reader I open this book and read the passage in the first chapter that starts with “I have, let’s say, sixty years to live.” to them so that they get impressed. It impressed me and one of my classmate used to add the statement “I stand at the end of no tradition, I may perhaps stand at the beginning of one.” in all his presentations.

Who is Howard Roark? He is talented individual, hardworking, passionate about whatever he does, in this case designing buildings. These may be common traits found amongst many successful individuals, but what sets apart Howard Roark from others is his attitude towards work, success, people, life and love.

I often relate myself to Howard and the way he handles various situations. Many argue that it is impossible to be like Howard and is impractical too. That is what sets him apart, he is an ideal man every individual want to become. I became a crazy fan of Howard that in 2005-06 I almost lived like him. When I quit my first job as I wasnt satisfied with my work there, I almost had a debate with my superior as to the reasons of my leaving and I was proud that I did a Howard thing.

Howard Roark also added lots of values to my life. I started living for myself and I started working for my satisfaction. Ofcousre in the process lot of people started hating me. I was labelled as arrogant and a person with a bad attitude etc. (typical Howard thing). Such was the impact Howard Roark was having on me then.

It is a free world today but we all have our own limitations, which in most cases we bring upon ourselves. Often our decisions are influenced by Family, Peers, Society, Money etc. How many times we have found that we need to work to impress our bosses or employers rather than what the work demands? I still admire Howard Roark for his courage, self belief and an attitude that says “I care a damn”. 

It is always debatable. In fact many of Ayn Rand fans still like Atlas Shrugged over Fountain Head. Howard Roark is one of the fictional hero whom I look up to and most of the opinions mentioned here are my inferences from the Book and its protagonist.

Addicted to Cricket

Like many other fellow Indians, of all the sports and games played across the world, I follow cricket closely. I have friends and relatives who constantly criticise the game are ready to pounce on an opportunity to write anti-cricket blogs or send those anti-cricket forwards. Everytime I listen to them or read them, I genuinely make an effort to understand the reason behind their outrage. But at the end of the day, I still go back and check the current test match score or open the sports page in the newspaper to see the latest updates on Cricket. After all I am an Indian who grew up playing street cricket, watching Sachin, Azhar, Kumble play for India. I don’t feel ashamed to write that cricket is indeed more than a religion to me.  I think there are few things in life you get addicted to without any reason or logic irrespective of your background, personality or behavior. Cricket is one such thing for me.  If you want me to stop watching cricket and take interest in following other sports, I can only act so.

A close friend of mine who is a crazy football fan often used to remark “Watching a cricket match for 5 days is probably the lousiest thing that a person can do”. If Cricket has made more than a million people like me in India mad about the game, kindly note that it has developed some  enemies too.

How many times we have heard athletes and other sports bodies cribbing due to lack of funds and lack of sponsorships. I think more than that it is the lack of fan following. It is a fact that will be very hard to accept for a football fan anywhere in the world: For a crazy cricket fan in India, IPL is much more interesting than a FIFA world cup final. Cricket world cup will be enjoyed across the country irrespective of the geographical boundaries.  Dhoni is not only popular in Jharkhand, but in Chennai, Bangalore and Mumbai too. Football is not as popular in other states as it is in West Bengal or Kerala or Goa.

One more reason that people often cite is the mindset of the parents in grooming their kids to become cricket stars. Again here the parents needn’t be blamed. For kids, playing cricket is easier. At three, you can play cricket with your grandpa or a grandma just throwing the ball at you. All you need is a piece of wood and a plastic ball to play cricket on the terrace or on the verandah. Even 2 can play decent cricket at home and 4 can play T20 match on the streets. Please note that all the above formats can end up as interesting as an India – Pak match. Cricket is there everywhere, we cannot run away from it.

What we all understand is that no individual or organization or government can make any sport popular. It is the fans who follow the game make it popular. Nobody can make a football or tennis as popular as cricket.

Oh just forgot! Want to see the highlights of Pakistan’s 2nd innings in the Aus-Pak test match thriller.

Hello world!

I have always beleived that human actions are derivatives of thoughts driven by their ability to think. “Ability to think” is probably the biggest strength possessed by humans and this is what differentiates us from other living beings. However often we allow others or others’ opinions or perspectives to interfere in this and that to an extent supresses our thoughts and hence the change in our actions. This may even have an effect on the end result. In some cases this may very well be the difference between success and failure.  Though we tend to take the credit for the success we are always ready to blame the “Others and their opinions” for the failures. People also pass the balme on to fate, luck and in worst cases God. So it becomes all the more important to understand the power of “Thinking” and more importantly “Focussed thinking”. STOP. Please don’t conclude that my blogs are going to be some philosophical gyan etc etc. I was just trying to justify the title that I have chosen and express my interest and belief in the “Human Thinking Ability”.