A Marathon effort

This was it..months of preparation..step after step..mile after mile…weekend after weekend….mind over body…this was what it all boiled down to.. A marathon effort. This was going to be the biggest and toughest day of my life. A test of endurance. The tagline said “It’s tough, are you?”. I had to do it. I had to prove that that I was tough. That is what it all meant to me. It was not a race to be the No.1. It was not the race against the other 500 odd people that day. It was a race against my own mind, my own body! This was the Ultra – Bangalore Ultra.

In the weeks leading up to the big event, I had practiced hard. I had gone through the process! The long weekend runs, the diet, strength training, the mental preparation, motivation etc. The only thing that held me back was that I had not done a full marathon before. The longest run I completed successfully had been a 30K. Nevertheless, I was in it knee deep and I was not going to look back.

The trail was familiar. I had done the 25K race last year in the same course. I had also done another 25K a fortnight before the Ultra during a mock run. It was scenic, but you had to be up to it. The mock ran had been tough. The sun was harsh and the effort painful. The subsequent 30K run was tougher. The territory was familiar – Int. ring road, my backyard, but the effort left my body in shambles. At the end of it, the pain made me realize that I had muscles in the most strangest parts of my body. My nipples were bleeding because of the abrasion. I had not used nip guards. Yet, it was part of the process. It left me more confident. It left me more optimistic. If I could do this, I would not do badly at the Ultra. Everyone had to go through the process.

The race started on time and was efficiently organized. RFL guys are pros. They care for the runners and hence this event was “for the runners”, unlike the other commercial runs in most parts of the country. The 50K course was 4 laps of 12.5 K. This meant that the mind had to win the race by passing the start/finish point 3 times. The first 2 laps were a breeze. Come on, I had done this before and I could do it again in my sleep. I completed the 25 K in 2hours and 47 minutes. Then the body gave up. My legs felt like pillars, I could not bend the knees. My legs felt as if they had been tied to steel bars weighing a ton each. My hamstrings were stretched. The tendons were aching! My nipples were bleeding again. I slowed to a walk. Yet, I kept at it. Rajiv was with me and he was a motivator. Surprising that given his age, he kept at it and did not even stop running when confronted with steep slopes. Some determined guy! The third lap was the toughest. It took me 2h 15m to complete the loop. But I did not give up.

Towards the end of the third lap, I ran into Rahul Varghese from Running and Living. Rahul was attempting a 75 K run. Couple of years ago, I was a near-obese young man hitting 30. I happened to read some articles written by Rahul. He had quit a exec job at Motorola to pursue running and to encourage like minded Indians to run. Rahul was the reason why I was there that day. I stopped to shake hands. I told Rahul how much I appreciated his articles. He reciprocated, mentioning that he was motivated to write because of people like me. That was it! I had my moment.

The fourth lap was easier. The body had by now relented. It was waiting for the finish line and the ice cubes at the end of it. In the out lap, I crossed the 42 K mark at 5h30m. I looked up and thanked the lord for the first full marathon that I had done. We now turned back for the one last effort. I walked up the last slope and started jogging towards the finish line. The last 2 kilometers to go. I was now concentrating on the finish line. Step by step, I was getting there. I crossed the last aid post, took a swig and soldiered on. I turned into the resort and I could see the finish line. People were cheering me on. As I stepped across the finish line, I could feel the goose bumps. My chrono read 6h44m. There it was – my first Marathon, my first Ultra. I was in tears……….before I stepped into the ice tub!

Paradox of time

A friend of mine recently commented on Facebook – “is dancing alone and was reminded of those days when you had people around and not much possibility and not much places to go dance… Now, have both the possibility and places to go, but miss the people and the kinda dances.. – Life goes in cy…cles…!!! thankyou Lord for the learnings in both the times “

This happened around Diwali. I was looking out from my balcony the day after Diwali and I saw a teenager and his grandfather come out of their ground floor apartment to burst some crackers. I watched the youthful exuberance. The teenager was really excited. He placed his collection of crackers on the ground and set about lighting & bursting them joyfully. His folks were watching from their balcony and he was showing them the stuff. 

This set me thinking. I could immediately connect with this. I had done this many times. When I was young, I would take out whatever little pocket money/earnings that I had and buy firecrackers around the Malayalam festival of Vishu. I would get up early in the morning to burst them. I really got excited with the names like “Atom Bomb”, “Garland Bomb” etc. Those days I always wished I had more money to go and buy crackers. I would dream of the day when I would earn a good salary and buy enough crackers to satiate my urge. Some of the thoughts were also fuelled by my uncle, a merchant navy officer, who on his numerous vacations from work, would go and buy crackers with the most exotic of the names.

Now, in reality, I am working and can afford to buy a lot of crackers, but the reality is - I don’t do those anymore. Ever since I heard about “children being employed in these factories”, I took a conscious decision not to burst crackers anymore.

This situation seemed to be true for most things in life. The days we would go out for a drink and share a bottle of beer around cause we could not afford one each. Now all of us can afford to throw a party, but we hardly meet…………………. back to my friend’s post – “is dancing alone and was reminded of those days when you had people around and not much possibility and not much places to go dance… Now, have both the possibility and places to go, but miss the people and the kinda dances”

Waiters wanted – What skill sets?

A classified Ad seen for the job of a waiter in a restaurant

XXXXX XXXX  is looking for quality people to help us provide excellence in service to our customers. We offer competitive pay with regular raises, performance bonuses, convenient scheduling and a fun atmosphere. We are looking for high energy, service oriented people that love customers and have a positive attitude. Photography experience a plus, but we will train the right candidates. Must have used not less than two brands of digital cameras at least once.

I was surprised by the last two lines in this classified. Was this the dreaded “printers devil”? It had to be.. ever heard of anyone looking for waiters with exposure to photography? Later, it dawned on me that this restaurant was looking at a new and unique marketing/customer service strategy. Customers now visit restaurants with friends and family and always end up requesting waiters to take pictures for posterity. You might as well train your waiters to be expert photographers and hence provide excellent service and photography quality to their customers.

What has this world come to?

Whirlwind non-stop tour – A travelogue

Happened to travel to Delhi on a family visit last week. This was one whirlwind of a tour – spread over 7 days, inclusive of travel to and fro from Benagluru, accompanied by my wife, mom, sister and my 5 year old niece.

Day 1

We started off on a Saturday morning from Bangalore with a typical rough ride to the airport. The flight was at 8:40 AM, which meant that we had to be at the airport at least by 7:30 AM and that meant leaving from home by 6 AM, given the unpredictability of Namma Bengaluru traffic. As it happens generally with vacations like these, the cabbie reported late and then to our horror, stopped at the fuel station to refuel as soon as we set off. I could see my mom saying muted prayers to invoke divine blessings to make sure that we reached the airport on time. Blessings they did provide! From then on, it was a mostly incident free journey to the airport, save the rough ride!

I was surprised by the change at the Delhi airport, more at the fact that there was so much space, which I had never imagined possible at the cramped old arrival terminal. The fact is that the infrastructure in Delhi was a lot better, but that is something that I will talk about on another day.

The sun was scorching and heat close to unbearable. Bengaluru had also played its fair part by bringing down the tolerance levels! My uncle had come to pick us up and we reached our “adopted home” in no time. After lunch, we moved to Noida to my in-laws place.

Day 2

We visited Mayur Vihar Phase-I. Two of my father’s elder brothers live here and we had lunch with one and dinner with the other. It was fun to catch up with all my cousins and their better halves and of course all the kids J Had a gala time. Also visited the Mayur Vihar Uttara Guruvayur temple in the evening to pay respects to Lord Krishna. This was the temple where I had my spiritual awakening about 11 years back

Day 3

Wife had an interview for MBA at IIMK. This was done on video conferencing from the Noida Hughes centre. Thanks to the advancement in technology, we had set it up so that she could take it from Delhi and thus not affect our planned vacation.

 We set off to Qutab Minar in the mid-morning for some sightseeing. One thing that hit me, apart from the heat literally, was that Indians were charged RS 10 as entrance fee while if you happen to be a foreigner, you will have to shell out RS 250 or 5 Dollars to set your eyes on this historical monument. Talk about preferential treatment  I for one did not complain, it was fun to be a domestic tourist in Delhi.

After renewing the ties with the sultanate, we moved on to acquire some bliss - Chattarpur Mandir was not far away. Gratification was instant. No sooner had we stepped in and offered our obeisance, God showered us with his holy water. Yes, the clouds opened up. All of us had that look on our face that is a wee bit difficult to describe. Alas, little did we know about what was in store.

We moved on to Palam Vihar, a suburbs near Gurgaon, where the last of my father’s brother lived. He passed away last year and we wanted to meet aunty. After spending some time with them, we returned to Delhi. I started off on the drive back at 6:30 PM. I had the expectation that I would be caught in the rush hour, but the downpour had changed the equation. After numerous diversions, I managed to drop off my Mom and sister at Gole market by 8:45 PM and proceeded on to Noida, only to reach at 11 PM. A distance of 45 kms in 4.5 hours. Come on, you got to be kidding! That is the time I would take to run that distance (full marathon)

Day 4

A late night meant a late morning and after the sumptuous brunch, we proceeded back to Gole Market. This was becoming a set routine. Nights at Noida and the morning drive to Gole Market to pick up Mom an Sis! I could do this route in my sleep now.

Today we planned to visit the Akshardham temple. Before that, we had a date with a positive side of urbanisation…yes a ride on the Delhi Metro. I parked my car at Patel Chowk (Yes. The metro stations have parking and lots of them). After paying for travel up to Kashmere Gate, we moved underground. The stations were clean and under closed circuit surveillance. Though the entry system needed getting used to, I was impressed. This was my second sojourn, but I was as eager as a child awaiting for his first cycle ride. We hopped in to the next tube and enjoyed the ride to our destination. A voice over announced each station as it neared also letting us know which side the platform would be. This was awesome! Can this be done on Indian Railways? As someone who has regularly travelled in the IR system, you would appreciate this. We alighted at Kashmere Gate and then went outside, as if to make sure that this was indeed Kashmere Gate. Once we had established this fact, we went back in bought tickets for the journey back to Patel Chowk to retrieve the car and begin the second leg of Delhi Darshan.

 The next destination was Lotus Temple. We passed the pillar that had given away while under construction on the metro line. We reached Nehru place and I looked at Ansal Towers. This was the building where my career began. Who would imagine that I would be back in about 12 years like this. The Bahaian Lotus Temple, an epitome of silence, was impressive. The structure is built like a blooming lotus. The silence inside was deafening. NO – This is not an oxymoron

It was now time to visit another impressive structure – The Akshardham temple. I was impressed by the system at the entrance. No mobile phones and cameras allowed inside. The guards were efficient and frisking done ala airport style. The structure was impressive, apparently built without using any steel reinforcements. The temple was closed, but the cultural complex was open. The complex is truly something that has to be seen to be believed. It was like one of the monuments that will survive civilization and continue to awe future generations. We spend a good part of 3 hours inside and returned home. We missed watching the musical fountain and the audio-visual show due to time constraints.

Day 5

How can a vacation be complete without “shopping”! This was the day earmarked for that one dreaded activity. I dread this because I am told that I am ESTJ and like structure, something that you cannot associate with shopping. It is that most unorganized and unstructured of the activities. I told myself in the morning – Dude, you have to bite the bullet!

Off we went to Sarojini Nagar. My folks took to SN market like elephants taking on a sugarcane field (HA HA – for all the mallus out there try to transliterate this into what you hear frequently in Malayalam). The carnage lasted 6 hours and all the heat. At the end of it, I was one tired man.

My niece found the energy to go to India Gate in the evening and I obliged. We were all sweating profusely even at 8 PM in the evening, but in the end, I was glad to have gone there.

Day 6

 The last full day before I flew back. This was kept aside for some return visits and some socialisation. My folks took the opportunity to complete the pending shopping that they had to complete. How in the earth, can someone do so much of buying? Go to SN to find out!

Day 7

Mom was down with dehydration. The doctor paid a visit and gave her an injection. I was worried about her being able to travel! The flight back was at 5 PM and we had to get to the airport by 4 PM. I needn’t have worried since this was Delhi and not Bengaluru. I finished some last minute chores and set off for Gole Market from where we were to leave for the airport. My wife decided to stay back for an additional week in Delhi with her parents.

The new terminal 1D at Delhi IGI aiport was too good to describe. A far cry from the old 1A & 1B terminals. GMR had done an impressive job.

 The flight back was pretty uneventful and we reached Bangalore by 8:30 PM. It had rained here and the temperature was pleasant. What a change from Delhi. The traffic though was bad and almost had me wishing I hadn’t come.

That culminated a week long hectic, but enjoyable vacation. There were a lot more that I wanted to do – visit Haridwar & Rishikesh, visit Teen Murti Bhavan, Raj Ghat etc. Time was a constraint, but I hope to do this in my next visit. Till then, Adieu!

Test Cricket – Writing an obituary too soon?

Back to my favorite topic – Cricket! Pundits around the world have been busy the last month or so. They have been busy writing an obituary to Test Cricket. Not to blame them – The last 3 months or so have seen an explosion of pajama cricket. With IPL II generating the kind of interest that it did, it was an easy thing to do. IPL managed to successfully export its fan following outside India. This was followed by the T20 world cup in England. Though watching cricket in England is not the same as it is in South Africa, people will admit. All this contributed in a sense to the early “Obituary”.

ICC was busy getting its act together. There was a talk of cutting down the duration of Test matches to 4 days, increasing the pathetic over rates and even changing the color of the ball to Orange! What next?

I strongly believe that ICC has gotten it all wrong. Test Cricket is not dead, nor is it going to be gone that easily. Not if the first 2 test matches from the current Ashes series, serve as any indicator. The grounds were full and the quality of cricket did not disappoint. England managed to hold on to a narrow draw at Cardiff and then came up with a convincing win at Lords. ECB & MCC have always done enough to attract crowds to the test matches. Most grounds are very spectator friendly. They also have the big wide screen for people who missed the live action. Except for the famed English weather, watching test cricket appears to be fun. The other thing that seems to be helping – ECB is not eager to exploit ODIs and T20s. There is no overkill and of course, the stage actors (the players) get enough rest!

The other boards need to learn from ECB, especially the BCCI. BCCI created the IPL cash cow and is busy milking it. They better be careful, or the slam bang variety could soon be replaced by the T10 gully variety. Cricket in India could also end up like the story of the goose that laid the  golden egg. If they play it carefully, there is enough slice of the pie left for Test cricket and ODIs. BCCI needs to encourage the crowds at Test match venues. They can start off by reducing the ticket rates. They also need to improve the facilities for the paying spectators. This has to go hand in hand with the ICC initiatives aimed at improving the over rates and generally making Test cricket more interesting. Having a separate calendar will also help. The players need to be treated well and not be pushed to the brink! The BCCI also needs to rein in its state boards. There is a talk of KPL – Karnataka Premier League! I understand the intention is to give exposure to more local players,  but if this were to become another IPL?