Catch me if you can

Walking is one of my favorite activities. Even though I am not able to devote time for a morning or evening walk, I enjoy whatever walking I am able to accomplish during a day. I do not mind parking my car further away and taking few extra steps to enter my work building.

I think in any other part of the world except USA, people would do this activity, more out of necessity if not by choice. Seeing people walk also increases the vibrancy of a place. No wonder New York City and Mumbai are so electrifying.

In my younger days, I have walked 5 miles from a cousin's house to mine. In a nice evening, the walk would be gratifying and I would enjoy the small markets, parks and the residential complexes that came along the way. As a kid, I and my brother used to walk to school. I used to carry a school bag on my shoulders, holding its large strap/holder across my neck. According to my brother I used to walk so slow that he had to drag me with the strap. I think they stopped making those school bags now, which is good – reducing torture from elder siblings.

Years later, when I started working, I had a manager, who would zoom past like a breeze, actually tornado would be more appropriate. I could never figure out if a slow moving manager was better than a faster one. One can at least be prepared once a slow moving manager approaches one's desk. In case of the faster one, all you experience is a gust of wind in your way. But I assumed if he is zooming past, he would have little time to grasp what is shown in my screen. Now all these do not even matter.

Few months back, I watched the “Walk Marathon” held in New York City in the TV. The lady who came first had just become a new mother. She enjoyed walking so much that not even motherhood stopped her.

Recently people have told me that they see me only as a flicker as I go past them. To the extent that one of them asked me if I was a sprinter in school and if he can call me "PT Usha"! I never realized the increase in my gait. In my family, I know people who walk faster than me. I believe I picked up speed while trying to keep pace with them. In any case, if I can accomplish some exercise by just walking, I should be far from complaining.