Close encounters of the furry kind

Having not been able to complete my run mileage the previous week, I was very determined to get it done by hook or crook. And the events of the week further gave this run a whole different meaning.

So you find yourself in the early morn, quickly doing your warm up while others (with the exception of runners) are fast asleep tucked in their bed, enjoying their Sunday sleep. 

You patiently wait for the gates to open , and when it does you scurry through it and into the dark park.

Darkness immediately engulfs you. Ok, it’s not that dark. There are those few street lamps (can you even call it that, or should it be park lights) that try their best to keep the darkness at bay. Luckily you have your headlamp, which would help you navigate through the darkness till dawn lights up your way.

You start off cautiously not wanting to trip on potholes or speed breakers (cause falling in the park is what your burgers and fires does best, and you don’t want to add to the craters in the park).

Your headlamp does its best to light up your way through the light drizzle and mist. You squint to see what’s ahead of you.

As you slowly make your way through the darkness you note a couple of dots that light up as you look at them, glowing in the dark.

You know what they are and are not perturbed by their presence. Well they too don’t seem perturbed by your presence. They just glance your way wondering what type of strange creature is this who’s running at such an odd hour when they should have in fact be in bed (you could the same thing about them too). But then they are used to seeing such crazy fools in the early hours. So they just glance and return to what they were doing before the light shone on them. There was no way you disturb or distract them from what they were doing in the dark, which was eating grass (what did you think they were doing in the dark!!!).

You continue on your run and come up to Gandhi Tekadi. Wanting to cover it at least once in the morning so you don’t have to slog through it in the heat of day, you take the turn up the Tekadi.

So up you go, running slowly up the slope cause hills and slope have never been kind to you. Somehow you have this feeling that  you struggle with them, but then this is not always true. You try your best to avoid being smacked in the face by the branches of the overgrown shrubbery which have thrived in the rains.

Then suddenly out of nowhere you see another pair of glowing eyes that quickly scurries away across the path ahead and into the shrubbery, making you wonder what exactly was it.

It wasn’t a deer cause it didn’t feel like it or moved like one. It couldn’t be a cat cause it was bit bigger than the usual stray feline that you have notice in the park.

And then it comes to you causing your heart to skip a thousand beats. Could it be the furry one? But you didn’t hear any calls to indicate its presence, and then there were the deer that were grazing at the base of the Tekadi. They wouldn’t be there if they knew it was this close.

So you look in the direction that it went , your head lamp lighting up the area. And then you see a silhouette of it, on top of the ridge. You can make out a shape that’s a little bigger than a common cat, and those glowing eyes staring at you, watching you from high ground, almost as if it was stalking you.

And in the moment you wonder if you should be brave and continue running up that hill, or do the wise thing and slowly turnaround, without showing any signs of fear (which in the moment is the most difficult thing you could do), and go back down to the safety of the road below.

You choose to do the later, slowly trying to make your way down, but  your insides are all terrified of what you’ve seen and what could happen. But then considering the week you had this wouldn’t be the worst thing that could happen to you.  

As you slowly make your way back (cause your trying hard not to go into full panic mode and burst into a sprint) you see this elderly gentleman on his morning walk without a flashlight with just a stick in hand, unperturbed by the darkness.

You stop and try to warn him about what lies ahead (or you think lies ahead). However, he seems agitated by you and screams at you. Thats when you realise that you’re actually blinding him with your headlamp. You quickly switch off your headlamp but he doesn’t seem to heed your warning and continues with his walk.

You wonder should you continue doing what you were doing which was getting the hell out there as fast as you could, or do the so called gentlemanly thing and follow him to ensure he’s safe.

You being you, you decide to do the later and follow him a little behind as he waddled his way to the top.

As go past the place of your sighting of those glowing eyes stalking you from its perch, you nervously look around and then look ahead for any sign of what lay hiding in the darkness. You are anxious and in full alert mode, trying hard not to panic. Somehow the presence of this elderly gentleman ahead of you gives you reassurance and calms you down to a good extent.

You realise though you were trying to do the noble thing and ensuring that this person was safe, but in reality it was the other way around. It was his presence that reassured you and made you feel safe.

So you quietly walk behind as he continues without showing any sign of anything.

Suddenly you see this other gentleman coming down the slopes, probably doing hill repeats in the dark. 

He gets scolded by our gentleman as he had squeezed through the gates even before time and the security was whistling for him to stop.

After this brief conversation your knight in shinning armour continues on his walks while the other gentleman continues with his runs while you continue to walk silently behind your knight.

When you finally reach the top you go round the monument like you always do while your knight checks if anyone is there.

You realise it’s finally time to part way and continue with your run and complete your mileage.

You thank your knight for his company and to your surprise he thanks you too.

It’s finally time to go on your way, so you cautiously make your back down the hill in a nice  and slow jog, looking all around wondering what’s lurking in the dark. 

You breathe a sigh of relief on reaching the base and you continue on your run.

The rest of your run proved to be quite uneventful , if not boring as you brave the elements of the initial rains followed by the heat and humidity later in the morning.

Though you managed to complete the mileage you set out to do, the events, or if I could call it adventures, of the first hour would stick with you more than your achievement of completing 29k mostly on your own.

Trekking Through the Park

As I took a step into the place I loved the most, but this was in an area I had never seen before, an area I had never been to before. Nonetheless it still had my heart, it still made me feel at peace, it still felt mine.

I take a deep breath and take in the beautiful, crisp, fresh air. Probably the only place in this city where you can enjoy pristine, clean air, that fills you with you joy.

Though you can hear crackers in the distance, you know it will never disturb the pristine nature you are in. And you are happy it’s far, far, away.

The smell of wet grass fills my lungs, intoxicating me, taking me high. And no, before you assume me to be smelling another kind of grass, I would never permit myself to pollute myself with it.

The sun has been kind, and not harsh, and creates perfect picture postcard moments as it burst through trees, illuminating our path. Causing the grass to glisten from the dew that settled on it.

As I trudge along the kaccha road, along with my fellow trekkers, many of whom I have greeted a number of time during my run in the park, but who were now my fellow trekkers.

We trudge along the route, occasionally stopping to form a circle and hear what Srini sir has to say, a speech, a message he has delivered a numerous time but one that always remains poignant and important on how we are blessed to have a green lung within our city, how now, more than ever, we need to protect it from the greed of men.

You also learn about a beautiful soul, Machindra, who from his own experiences and struggles, has been striving to uplift his little community, give them the resources and life that he didn’t have, that he had to work hard for, with the support of many generous souls, some who were with us.

As you walk over kaccha roads, trails, and dried up stream beds, you wonder if you are being watched  by the original inhabitants of the park, to whom the park rightfully belonged, and we in a way were trespassing on their territory. You wonder if they were observing you from the trees and grasses.

You continue to walk, discussing every topic under the sun, literally and figuratively. 

Low and behold you reach the small hamlets, after all the detours, and all the pictures you tried to click.

You marvel at the Warli Art that adorns the house. You admire every inch of this beautiful red wall, and the white figures painted on it.

You meet Machindra, who’s truly a beautiful soul, a son of the soul. Humble, kind and dedicated, working tirelessly for the upliftment of his people.

You snack on the wonderful Diwali faral laid before you, and pour over the albums that the villagers have shared.

You visit the study area that has been built for the children, marvelling at the artwork created by the children, which is beautiful, and I would not be exaggerating if I called it stunning. 

Once again you click a group pic, visit their mandir, which has tree that bears the marks of the original inhabitants.

We say our goodbye with a promise to visit again, and will be back bearing all the supplies that would be needed. 

As you walk back, you can’t help but smile, you can’t help but feel this joy in your heart, you can’t help but feel blessed, hoping you can too, in your own way contribute to help Machindra and his community.

Indeed it was morning well spent, trekking through the park, a walk to remember.