Friday, December 07, 2007

Do One New Thing - Third Week



By Gaurav Parab

I walked in with a special feeling to office today. A feeling that can be traced back to a decision I made last night to go ahead with what I had wanted to do but never got around to doing it - As part of my plan of doing something new every week,

Before I started for work today, I was secure in my knowledge that I had already done my thing for the week. (But unfortunately, some part of me did not want to share it with the world) so I quickly decided to scout for another opening.

There were many ideas floating in my head, and I was considering some fantastic suggestions given by friends. But the thing that had come back to me again and again was a personal demon that remained to be slayed since the past 7 years. Since I had already done something similar in my first week of the plan, the voice in my head (Which incidentally sounds like Bappi Lehari speaking through a megaphone) kept on suggesting that going for a walk again does not really count.

But thankfully, I realized that the voice was just another excuse for pushing back my plan of walking all the way from home to office. (A distance of around 12 Kms I think)

A plan which I had first made while in college, when I had thought about walking from home to college But as is the case usually, life happened - I discovered women in the first year, twisted my knee in the second year, got locked in a toilet during the entire third year, and nearly got kicked out of home in the last year. So I forgot all about the plan till I joined Infy.

The last couple of years, as I drove from my new home to office ( Near Chandni Chowk, Pune to Hinjewadi Pune – Distance around 12 to 13 Kms) or took the company bus I heard the kid inside beg me to get out and walk.

So finally, I decided to do it. I drove to Aundh for a burger.

I got in touch with a friend and we decided to walk last week. But somehow, fate played its hand and we never went ahead. Again, the little simple dream in my head moved on like it often does for so many of us as we move on with the big things that scream for attention.

Last evening, the friend asked again – but I was dead tired after a long badminton session and I almost decided to scuttle the dream again. As I took the bus to home, and looked outside at the beautiful darkness filtering through a long line of street lights – I just wanted to get up and walk home. Simply to find out how it feels like.

So I called up the friend and we decided to leave early at around 5.30 in the dark – hoping to catch a little of that mystical darkness, the early signs of light and all the wonderful shades in between.

We took our time, and walked at a comfortable pace to make sure that we arrived at work around 8.15 (I might be crazy to do this, but not crazy enough to arrive at office early)

I will not bother you with the delightful details of the long walk.

What I will briefly mention is the feeling that surged inside me as I walked through the building 1 gate at the end of my walk.

A perfect score in a maths exam, hitting the sweet spot at the tee to see the ball sail gracefully towards the green, or the joy in writing a line which can bring a tear to someone’s eyes. It felt how it feels to be alive.

I thought that a long walk like today would leave me dead on arrival in office today, but I found myself to be surprisingly rejuvenated! (and in need of a shower)

The Plan
First Week
Second Week


2 comments:

Anonymous said...

the 12km walk ...inspiring
reaching office at 8.15...not me...:P
A huge reply by GUP for a small comment, well....:):):):):):)

That was a nice feat though...

P.S. Hope you were not offended by my previous reply, coz i didnt mean any, it ust came to my mind, and i said it....:)

Anonymous said...

Oh well seems like the marathon had an effect on you...was that the thing u didn't wanna share?!?! Oops!

So longer distances enhance the pleasure, can't agree more! Taking a bus from Pune to Mumbai, an auto to the airport, a flight to Kolkata via Nagpur, a 2 1/2 hour cab ride to my final destination and back to Pune by a 35 hour train journey in the time that seemed like eternity, I felt more alive than I last remember...we as humans have this inherent nature of being nomads..like a good friend of mine says "It's not the destination that matters, it's the journey"

-A