Frankly speaking, I am a plain morning walker. I neither jog nor run nor do any extra physical exercise to keep myself super-fit. A few years ago, before I was detected to be a diabetic, I like many other idle friends had a strong aversion to waking up early in the morning. Actually, I was envious of those of my friends and acquaintances who would rise early, go regularly to the nearby fields or parks for a morning walk, and take physical exercises to shed extra adipose tissues deposited in various parts of the body.
I never advocated early rising. Rather, I tried to dissuade others not to sacrifice the serene comforts of lying in bed late, preoccupied in anticipation of a plethora of ailments in our old age. There are a number of septuagenarians and octogenarians personally known to me, who are still hale and hearty despite being late-risers and non-morning walkers.
But I am not among the clinomaniacs, that is, ‘bed-addicts’ who find it next to impossible to get out of bed. And no amount of sleep is considered enough for them, sans any concern of responsibilities in the living world.
Before the introduction of my morning walk expedition, I was a normal riser. However, the term ‘normal’ varies from person to person. The popular nursery rhyme, “early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise”, never cast a spell on me. Thanks to Mr. Diabetes, I am now an early-riser. The doctor has prescribed for me regular walking at least for half an hour a day. Rather, it may be said that I have been compelled to become so. For my students start turning up in my coaching centre a little before 6 in the morning.
The reputed diabetician whose treatment I am still under told me candidly that medicine alone is not enough to control my sugar level. I had to follow a diet chart. Last but not the least, I needed regular walking, at least half an hour a day. According to my diabetician’s advice I started walking in a ground.
Fortunately, our small town is spotted with a number of open grounds full of greenery. Most of the schools of the town have more than one sprawling ground of their own. The ground that I choose for my morning walk destination is of the Mission High School. The ground is dedicated to multipurpose games and sports.
The ground is so big in size that it can swallow three standard football grounds comfortably. What attracts me most is the natural landscape of the ground. It is surrounded by a variety of ancient trees of known and unknown species, some seemingly belonging to the Jurassic Age. They remind me of the scene of Stephen Spielberg’s Jurassic Park, when the big and gigantic vegetarian dinosaurs, extending their throats/pharynx, feed on the green foliage of the huge trees. It is a three-minute walk from my house to reach the ground.
Above all, the tremendous sight of a variety of people attired in a variety of garments and showing a variety of physical gestures to keep themselves physically fit, still attracts me. Little boys are engaged in playing ping-pong cricket or seven-side friendly football matches or running to and fro and frolicking. Stout young people who are preparing for marathon races held in our town every winter run around the ground like the hauler drawing bullocks whose eyes are bound with clothes so that their attention cannot be deflected.
The elderly persons’ efforts to do physical exercise are most interesting. Someone raising his hands with the fingers creeping seems to pluck flowers from imaginary trees in the air. Others with both hands flapping side by side look like a nestling undergoing its first flying training. However, women, being a little shy, concentrate on walking slowly or briskly. And the young ones just hop with skipping ropes. A bevy of girls, perhaps inspired by a popular TV serial whose heroine is an ardent footballer, were found practising football with their unskilled legs. But their desire to be women footballers did not last long as they perhaps perceived the difference between reel and real.
A retired IAS officer holding one of the side goal posts just stretches his limbs and other parts of the body in different directions and angles. An extremely fat middle-aged person plays the role of self-proclaimed physical trainer and advises others on how to reduce their tummy sizes. However, a few lecherous, good-for-nothing fellows, to the utter disgust of the genuine morning-walkers, only pretend to walk, just stalking young girls.
The tremendous sight of the ground in the morning seems impressive enough to me to leave the bed early in the morning and go for morning walk. Now I have been quite accustomed to walking before daybreak because of my compact schedule in the morning. Wearing a cotton T-shirt, track suit and sneakers, I just walk briskly half an hour at a stretch. My banker friend cum well-wisher advises me to walk without shoes on the green leaves soaked with dew drops. Therefore, I started walking barefoot to gain the full advantage of morning walk. I was absolutely contented with my morning walk expedition. I repented for having ignored such a good habit for about 50 precious years that I have left behind.
After three months I went to the doctor to report my progress or regress. Medication and a new diet have reduced the sugar level as the clinical test report reveals. But what impressed me most was my morning walk. I rehearsed myself in detail to talk about my morning walk before entering the chamber of the physician lest I should miss any detail of new expedition. My obsession with morning walks seemed to overwhelm me so much that I almost forgot about my diabetes.
The doctor appeared satisfied after going through my pathology reports. Then he enquired about my new food habits. I became impatient to impress him with a detailed description of my morning walk. At last, I got the chance.
The doctor heard everything with patience and shook his head frantically. To my utter disappointment, he commented, “You should not walk in a place surrounded by trees at dawn because then the entire area is over concentrated with carbon dioxide. Secondly, walking barefoot is strictly prohibited for a diabetic patient and it may also invite hookworm infection and other problems. A diabetic should use shoes with firm heels, solid arch support and thick flexible soles to absorb the shock. Last but not the least, brisk walking all along is not good. It may hurt your heart. One third of your total walking hour should be brisk walking. It should be preceded by an equal period of warm-up, followed by an equal duration of cooling-down. Better you consult a qualified physical trainer.”
My exhilaration over my morning walk turned into disappointment.
