You and Me

I walk into the house. You are still asleep.
I tread cautiously. You murmur.
I dim the light. You are undisturbed.
I eat some food. You open your eyes.
I look at you. You seem lost.
I walk towards you. You are unaware.
I reach out to you. You flinch.
I hesitate. You turn away.
I try small talk. You are preoccupied.
I hold your hand. You pull away.
I retreat. You do not care.
I am lost in my thoughts. You eat.
I try a conversation. You make no sense.
I get up to leave. You tug my sleeve.
I look at you. You reach out to me.
I take you in my arms. You widen your eyes.
I pull you close. You coo.
I hold tight. You rest your head on my shoulders.
I pat your back. You dribble on my shirt.
I am powerless. You conquer me.
I have to go. You are stopping me.
I do not have a choice. You do not seem to mind.
I will be back. You need to be here.

Anatomy Of A Workout

Preworkout blues: Shoes. check. propel check. Jitters check. Change in the locker room. Stow your stuff. Smile at the cute girl waiting outside the door. Make small talk. Turns out this is her first outdoor session. Winner. It also turns out she did three of the indoor sessions earlier. Bummer.

6:00-6: 15 PM: Assembling at the entrance to the gym, John calls out to run towards the courthouse. A slight wind chill permeates the north end as the 12 of us jog in place not to lead the cold get the better of us. John leads the way, breaking into a slight jog down Valenti way, crossing Merrimac street, as we enter the courtyard of the courthouse. A sheen of sweat appears on my arms as John makes us line up on the grass to commence our warmups. Buttkicks, Squats, hops, stretches and fast paced walks follow.

 

6: 15-6: 30 PM: John instructs us to run to the Boston Commons. Running along Cambridge Street, my breathing quickens while turning onto Tremont Street. As my heart starts pounding harder, I gaze at the ugly excuse for the Mayor's office, while avoiding the people on the streets. The run is harder than expected, I think, as I cross the Granary burying ground, where Benjamin Franklin was laid to rest and gaze at the lights of the Beantown pub across the street. I feel the beginnings of a snitch on my left stomach, but I keep running. I cross the lights at the intersection of Park Street and Tremont St, almost getting hit by an eager denizen on his way home.

We arrive at the base of the Soldiers and Sailors Monument, where John instructs us to drop down and give 20 squat thrusts and then run on top of the hill to do 30 jumping jacks. This is followed by mountain climbers, pushups, dips and other profanity spewing workouts which pump the juice out of your joints with every step up and down that hill.

We pause for a water break. A long 30 second break to replenish lost fluids. We file up and jog around the corner along the length of Park Street where we do army style sprints. Your lungs fill out as you huff and puff and my legs are about to give up and I can taste the bitter bile at the back of my throat, then its my turn to sprint.

6: 30-6: 45 PM: We cross the Boston common to Walnut street and run up the hill. My snitch is getting worse as I cross the state house and descend on to Cambridge Street, where we turn left and reach St. Russell Street. 3 runs up and down the steepest slope of the hill leaves you wanting for more.

6: 45-7: 00 PM: We run across Cambridge street back to the court house where we do two laps up and down the 4 flight of stairs. We reconvene at the base to do another high intensity squat thrust routine and stretches before  John tells us how horrible a job we have done and asks us to scram. I scram, my lungs hurting, my legs heavy and a heady feeling of accomplishment. 

Lessons From The One

We progress through life, shaken, stirred, hurt and depressed. We still get back on our feet and move on, because we learn. You see, learning is such a lifelong process . We all have our shares of teachers who have thought us so much and yet we have learned so little.

Apart from the usual suspects in my formative years (parents, school teachers, experience and pornography), I have had fantastic mentors in my Karate Sensei and Yoga Master, who have guided me in much more than just Kata's and Asanas. There have been other significant presences in my life who have taught me a lot.

We lost one recently. The one gloved man, the king of pop. My First pop album purchase was MJ's Dangerous. My obsession towards his videos made me make my grand uncle watch " In The Closet" in between his afternoon movie sessions. For the uninitiated, it is that video where vest clad MJ makes finger gestures and pelvic thrusts towards scantily clad Naomi Campbell and we are supposed to keep it in the closet. MJ gave us moral lessons on racism by not worrying if our loved ones are black or white, told us how to run away and beat it, deny infidelity by telling billie jean that its not his son and serenading Rio De Janeiro about how they don't care about us.

The other big daddy whose theories shaped up my perceptions is someone the entire state of Tamilnadu reveres and the other states..well can't quite keep upto. Born Shivaji Rao Gaekwad in Maharashtra, coordinating public transportation in Bangalore to lighting up the silver screen and the faces of many a tamil movie goer, Superstar Rajinikanth is the ultimate philosopher.

Rajinikant's movies are a festival, which makes everyone from the 2 year old kid who claps when he appears on the screen to the producers who make millions of his movies very happy. In case of recession, get Rajinikanth to do a couple of movies and see the country hoisting back on its feet.

The highlight of a Rajini movie is his "entry" song which regales the wholesome goodness of the character he plays along with a lot of worldly wisdom interspersed. The best singers compete to sing this song which is supposedly the "highlight" of the movie, featuring fantastic stunts/fight sequences/ intense build ups before Rajini makes his characterestic entry and breaks into song. A lot of the things said in these songs have made sense to me over considerable periods of time.

This post is the first in an ongoing series where I attempt to transalate some of Rajini's theories on life and its meandering intricacies to a global audience in order to restore peace, order and calm in this world.

The first song I hope to make sense of is from the movie "Padayappa" when an inebriated Rajini bursts into a classic song and dance routine.




and here is an amateurish attempt in making sense of the great one!!


Oh !! I am getting high.
Oh!! I am becoming shameless
Oh!! I am becoming smarter
Oh!! I am overflowing with honesty

The dude who ate porridge for lunch is under the ground next to the dude who ate gold dust!!
This life is supposed to be lived..and we leave this earth the same way we came in.empty handed.


You can lock diamonds and gold, but can you lock away life?
Tell me someone who has peace of mind apart from a kid or a sage ?
"Our life is ours as long as we can breathe" said a smart man.
This Earth is the same for all of us, but why do we still keep fighting?

You cannot choose your dad and mom.
You cannot choose your face or color.
You cannot choose your birth or death
The only choice you can make is the way you live your life.