First let me get the 50th birthday
out of the way. For me it is a great milestone – for anyone who has lived 18,
262 days (600 months or 2608 weeks) in our age and times especially with no one
around is a stupendous achievement. I was telling my friends that this time
translates to over 1.57 billion seconds and to have been a visitor to this
planet for this length of time is some grace at work. There are good days and
bad but what makes living a miracle is we get an opportunity to better
ourselves. Living is like a puzzle or a Gordian knot which we try to unravel; it
is a never ending exercise and the pleasure of living comes from experimenting new
approaches to old knots, being daring and courageous even in jail situations as
the mind tries to reach a modicum of
peace. This year Ashish Bansal called,
so did Ranga, Arun Kailasam, Neetu, Lakhina, Lalit Matai and Vivek apart from whatspp greeting from Deepak, Anu, Mani Sir, Shabd and so many really. That they remembered to
greet me on this occasion felt good
Last week I
signed for a one month swimming course at Raj Sundar Palace which is a 3 star
hotel in Adyar, opposite the famous Sathya studios. It is 4 feet depth and 15
metres pool which is ideal for me to walk for a knee therapy that SPARRC
insisted upon. First day, I did 15 laps taking breaks after every 3 laps; next day I
did 25 laps before settling to 30 laps in 40 minutes with breaks every 7-8
minutes. That I am in water for 40 min is good enough for me.
The
fee for using the pool is Rs. 2,700 and I tried to bribe the swimming coach for coaching me by
saying, “I will pay you extra.” He batted straight, “Please approach the
counter, the rate for coaching is Rs. 2,700 for 15 sessions.” I said, “I will
certainly sign up for it after this one month of walking in water.”
I
learnt this very important lesson in the pool that I frequent between 7 and 8
pm daily. They were a group of very loquacious girls in their teens making a hell of
a lot of noise in lifestyle English vocabulary, “Did you hear that Ed Sheeran
song?" And then go on sing a couple of lines or “how do you do the butterfly
stroke?” or “Is the Honda City your car? I saw your driver smoking beside it." to "I can't do bubbles in water for more than a few seconds" to cracking a joke that befuddles the swimming coach and reduced to asking, "Please explain so that I can also join in your laughter, "(poor fellow knows only Tamil) in English. Say
a team of 4-5 girls aged between 15 and 18 who are so full of themselves and a tribe that talks in shrill accented American accent that starts to grate
the nerves (maybe some of these girls could be here on a vacation from America, they certainly looked rich and without pretense). First day I bore in silence, second day I couldn’t control myself
telling a noise maker, “I know you girls speak in fantastic English but please
have a heart. There are others in the pool and your decibel levels are disturbing
us.” From then the noise did come down a couple of decibels and they grow silent
each time they see me passing by in the waters. I heard one of them whisper to
the others, “That was rude.” Next day, I greeted them as though nothing
happened and they had the grace to wish me back.
Then
there is a Social Media manager from Ananda Vikatan, a Tamil weekly. He is a
North Indian with a lot of smiles and I banter with him while advertising my
blogs, “You must read my thinksathya blog posts.”
Day
before yesterday a grandfather was teaching his two grandsons to swim with all
those tubes wrapped around them. I heard a little 5 year bleat out loud, “Thatha,
you please mind your own business and allow me to mind my own.” The young brat must have been irritated with those non-stop volley of instructions on staying afloat or
padding with the arms in water. This was so natural that I couldn’t resist a
laugh.
Then
there are two boys – say 9 year old and a 14 year old and they swim right
across my path when I am walking. I try to shoo them away; these kids have no
concern for others. It is then I realized that a swimming pool is a good
theatre for observation. The 4-5 teen girls who were too noisy were decent, at least
they knew that they were erring with their antics. They smile at me when our eyes meet. In contrast these two boys in yellow
caps were plain selfish. I likewise sport a morose face when I am crossing
them as I walk in the waters.
Two
days back there was a Christian family – a robustly built mid-30s man and his
two sons aged 5 and 8 while the wife watched from the sidelines. They kept
talking loud, “Mama, I can swim now without those pads” or “Dada, the little
one is struggling” and the commentary was non-stop to a nuisance. With passing years I realize that a young parent is the worst in a public place for their capacity for noise making is infinite. When I meet
such gross people, I am taciturn and sport a morose face almost sniffing air
and contorting my nose for a stiff upper lip attitude. Yesterday we got talking
as the man said, “I am a physiotherapist in Bangalore. I could sense that you
are walking in the pool for your arthritis.”We spoke more and pretty soon we
were smiling and bantering for a great lesson: Give time and patience and people
around you blossom. There was now a good flow of bonhomie.
Then
there is a 70 years old retired doctor lady and she advised me, “Take long
strides and try reverse walking, it will be good for your knees.” There is a
lesson here: smile at familiar faces, greet them and they open up to you.
I
have 27 sessions in the pool and I have finished 8 days in a row. I tell
myself: If I go 27 out of 27 then I am god, I will be happy with a score of 25
but anything less, it would reflect poorly on my self-esteem. I am going to
Delhi on 18th May for a week and on my return I intend signing for
the 15 days coaching class before I decide on a three months package or
something like that. Life gives you enough learning if you care to observe and
be open. Besides swimming, I got myself a 32 inch Smart TV and now can play my youtube files in the mobile phone straight to the TV. Life is interesting at this moment though I am yet to turn the corner as it were - my life could do with some josh but what the hell this noise from the swimming pool serves the day.