Sunday, July 7, 2013

The Summery WALK

I find it too lazy & exhausting specially in these extreme of weather conditions, having to have this walk. But then, excuses cant help you out, not doing away with what you eventually had to.

I had to do this work, for which I had to go out to the bank. I was on foot, & after walking few miles, and not finding any rickshaw-puller, I decided I would rather walk. My ears were glued to a sound proof headphones plugged to my cell, that was in one of my pockets. Music was all mixed, shuffled & jinxed. Beside that, I was carrying a burden of this bag hung on to my shoulders sideways. Walking down the road, in these heavy leather canvas sandals, though if I could have given a thorough thought before I left home, I could have slipped into my rubber chappals(floaters), that would have made my feet more airy & much at ease. With a cut sleeve t-shirt along with a full length lower (which I had changed twice, before I left home, from a shorter one to a full one & back & forth) ‘No idea, who was I to please?’

1.5 or 2 km of a distance almost covered, I was at the destination, & stood there with my token and took out a pen to fill up the needful forms etc. While I was trying to unplug my earphone off to focus on the work, it went from earphone mode to the speaker phone mode by default, & the song started playing 'Munni Badnaan Hui, Darling Tere Liyey' मुन्नी बदनाम हुई डार्लिंग तेरे लिए (Munni 'name of the dancer', she is referring to as herself), was ruined & she got defamed(became infamous/notorious), darling just for your sake.) Good Lord, without even turning up to notice who all heard it playing or what was there reaction, I closed it. I sat down on a chair, while I waited for my turn. While I was ducking my cell phone with the earphones in the bag, I noticed, a slim trim, middle lower class lady in a blue saree with a big red bindi() looking at me, as If I appeared weird to her or she found me strange.

A young school going boy (not sure if he did go to school or not) approached me & I thought, he would ask for the pen, and I would be absolutely fine, lending him one & would not even ask for it back if he forgets) but that wasn't the case, he said “Bhaiya ‘Ek from fill kardogey, Atm ka hai” '
भइया एक फॉम फिल कर दोगे, एटीम का है.' (Brother, will you fill this form for me, its for the ATM purpose), to which I sweetly responded yes of course but you will have to wait for a while, since my number was flashed & I had to get my work done. I approached to the counter. Waiting almost 5 minutes, to be attended, & then few more, while my account was being tallied/& form checked while I stood there. This person(bank official) would always tell me, ‘Please have a seat” & I always remember telling him no its absolutely fine, It was okay, I don't mind standing at all. I guess the more they ask you to sit on the chair, & get comfortable, the more time they take, delaying the work. Maybe they had it all figured out - They probably would make you seated & let you enjoy the chair so that, no one stood & danced on there heads, looking at there faces or blabber much in anticipation & curiosity as to whether things were okay & why were things getting delayed & so on. I always wondered why the heck, they took much time, figuring out things or being engaged in there personal matters, while attending customers, rather getting over with, what they were paid to do. It took about 15 minutes & I was though & lucky, that it worked real fast, else I assume it could have taken even half an hour to 45 minutes. My work here was done.

The going was decently easy! but returning wasn't. I had decided to fetch a rickshaw puller on my way back, but I just wasn't lucky enough. I asked few rickshaw pullers if they would do, one of them said ‘not going that way sir’, & the other one said, ‘it’s too hot, don't feel like going’! So that meant, I had to walk again!

I was almost closer to a half way now & was getting a little freaked up! with the sun tanning me up, the perspiring sweat dripping off my face. I thought, I wont think about it anymore & I moved ahead. My legs were burdened by this reluctant prejudice of wanting to get pampered & acted lazy & they were not willing to move a bit. Even the sandals, those I was wearing, seemed to have calibrated themselves & stuck on the Newton’s law of gravitation. They seemed to get heavier & wont just lift off the ground anymore. I somehow managed. For a moment I thought, I would walk barefoot & carry them in my hand, while I walked, but the heat would burn my bare feet & the passers by would consider me insane or mad. The music now seemed to be even slower, it wasn't thrilled either. More then a half way crossed, when I saw some rickshaw-pullers, but decided would walk - at least try to make it possible, to reach home on foot.

As soon as I came nearer to my house, I felt, I could faint any moment now & If someone could give me a lift to the little distance that was left to be covered or else carry me home. If only, I could have got wings (imaginary or real) that could suddenly appear from no where miraculously in a blink of an eye, I would be in my house. I was like half dead - in my over exhausted senses & I only could feel these burdened legs doing the walking(needful). I felt as of I was detached from everything or anything else & the only thing I was attached right now to, were these pair of legs that would lead me to my destination at the end. The music that flowed, might have been energizing me somewhere in between, carrying the flow and helping me to keep moving - keep going.

Two - three people must have honked, passing me by in there cars or bicycles, I could not notice or hear most of it, since I had my eyes & ears almost closed, I did not wanted to see how far it was still left for me to reach home sweet home. The heat & the tiredness made everything within & around so small as if it never existed. One man in his car even stopped(not actually bumping right into me, but pretty much close) & called me to his car & he said, ‘With your eyes closed & ears covered with headphones, what do you think you are doing, where do you think you're walking blindfold to!’ - '
बेटा... कानों पर तुमने यह लगा रखा है, आंखें तुम्हारी बंद हैं...हो क्या रहा है?' Beta, Kaanon Main tumney, yeh laga rakha hai, aankhein tumhari band hain, kya ho kya raha hai! He politely hinted me in his own way, & I understood what he meant ‘you gotta be kidding me, come on kid, grow up.’ I said sorry uncle, I know what you mean, I will take care of it from now on. He went away & so did I, cautiously moving on in slow & steady baby steps.

A little more closer, near to my lane, I energize my self again, (& this peppy number came up, on my music play=list) & I was in speed again! As soon as I approached the gate to my lane, crossing over it seemed so promising to the core & as I moved ahead, now the only thing that could ease me out was looking at the gate of my house. ‘One gate to another, & then finally a gate-less one’. I was by now building up imaginary things in my mind, thinking how wonderful it would have been if there were fans running outside the houses, deployed with guarded hosts sitting outside welcoming you to take in a shelter, offering chilled glasses of water. I saw a guard with a hand fan, sitting outside of a house, with a smile I passed by, & said to him, It’s too cold, he smiled & said yes it is.

Just few houses away to reach my place, I wondered if someone could open the door for me, and stood at the gate welcoming me with water, & turned on the air conditioner or water cooler & fans of my room, while It took me a little while to be there in person then spirit- wholeheartedly. Alas I was inside the gate, What a feeling of content & relief - sigh. Pulled out my earphones, while searching for my keys, meanwhile stepping closer to the door, opening it up, barging straight in, reaching out to the refrigerator for a glass of chilled water‘Home is where the fridge is’. I took a bath & threw myself on the bed! It took my ten to fifteen minutes to get normal.

Delhi saw its first Monsoon rain today at almost 17:00 hours! That made me forget all the pain in vein that I had to undergo via strugglesome-walk(couple of miles to & fro - a stretch of 6km almost - approximately). I stood there in the balcony wiping off the raindrops of my face, getting wet. Though a small shower of rain, but was worth it, changed the weather for no matter how long. Away from the scorching heat - the sun had almost hidden behind the clouds in the sky. - Anonymous, 35, Delhi, India



No comments:

Post a Comment