Running....

Adam and I have taken to playing tennis and running in Bangalore. The idea of recreation through sports though seems to be quite foreign amongst most people here. It’s mainly because it is difficult to get access to sporting facilities, and at some level people might not be exposed to the very idea of it. This is all the more evident when we see kids in the school next door being forced to do the high jump....they run up to the bar, and pretty much karate kick their way across it...hilarious to watch...but you also realize that no one is taking the time to teach them any technique....and its most probably a yearly activity that they are forced to participate in!

The easiest way to run where we live is to run around the apartment complex that my parents live in. Each loop is about 300 meters. It might sound boring, but it can be fairly entertaining. There is always the odd “aunty” who gives you a thumbs up, and the usual randomness of what people do on their balconies every morning. I always imagine some of the construction workers, security guards, and maids are probably wondering why we take to running so much, especially constantly around the building….like we are doing parikramas around a temple! And then there are all these notions of staying fit, being slim, etc., that must be so foreign, I almost feel like saying it’s such a rich-person thing to think, cause you are constantly over consuming calories that you need to burn, whereas the average Indian who sees us is probably just happy to have 2 or 3 good meals a day, if that. Lots of food for thought as I finish loop 15… - V