The Dawn Of The World

It's been ages since I last wrote here, and I'm mainly going to blame it on the brute force trauma of a rapidly approaching exam. However, it's equally important to catch up on my writing (as frivolous as it may be) and so, here I am. Not much new has actually occurred this month, apart from a few surprises and an amazingly therapeutic walk one early morning. 

It was completely fortuitous, i.e, not at all planned: Saturday's mechanics class was abruptly cancelled early in the morning. However, luckily, Aman managed to wake up and groan over the phone to warn me. At 6:37 AM. Two minutes after I got ready and reached downstairs. Just my luck.

So there I was, standing meekly in my school uniform, suddenly with nowhere to go on a freezing cold morning. While I paused to think about what to do, I waved meekly at the early morning walking enthusiasts in my complex, happily trotting about the place, silently laughing at my predicament. 

It's simply astounding how many people walk around outside in the mornings. On the streets at this time, the strident bellows of horns are replaced with wonderful silence and the whole world seems a little different. It's a little more secretive, a little more interesting. And thus, inspired by the lines of people chugging along at steady paces around me, leaving behind wisps of frosty breath marking their paths, I decided to join my parents as they went for their morning walk. 

I didn't bother to change my clothes (all right, laziness speaks for itself here), so I pulled on a jacket, changed my shoes, grabbed my phone and headphones and set off. We walked to a large park, boarded the surprisingly long walking path, and started the journey with our hands stuffed into pockets to avoid the chilly wind and the difficulty of finding something to do with them. Admittedly, I spent the first few minutes admiring not the serenity of the outdoors, but the alluring display of my phone with its hundreds of albums of songs ready to be played. Music matches moods and I was determined to find just the right album to fuel my brain as I floated along. Seconds of deliberation passed by, and I walked with my head down, murmuring distant apologies to people who brushed pass me and trees who indignantly whacked me with branches, thick soggy leaves and other carefully chosen artillery. The leaves were especially nasty.

At last I choose. Coldplay's 'Mylo Xyloto' (was there ever any question about it?)  followed by a custom assortment of peppy songs. Finally, I look up, ready to be dazzled by the world and it's beauty... and find myself staring at a wall. Somehow, I strayed off the path and walked straight into a clump of trees near the boundary wall. A quick backtrack shows me that I've marvelously lost my parents, who must have thundered on ahead. Of course, being young still, I did the first instinctual thing that came to my mind: clenched my fist, punched it upwards and shouted 'yes!'

Deciding to walk in the opposite direction (of course to reach them faster, not maximize alone time), my songs start to sound better and my pace picked up. From a brisk, slightly sluggish walk, I started to become a little more energetic. All right, fine. I'll elaborate. By energetic, I mean people began to swerve out of the way when they saw me coming, head bobbing along to my music. Walkers walked quickly to the side, a couple racing on a bike screeched to a halt and peered quizzically at me, and a jogger saw me, picked up his pace and ran flat out in the opposite direction.

Honestly speaking, it was amazing. Nobody was in my way when tried to act out the orchestral masterpiece of Charlie Brown with my hands and nobody tried to kill themselves (actually, can't be certain) when I tried to act groovy to Gangnam Style. Of course, while walking and bouncing I did enjoy the calmness of nature (which I essentially ruined for other early morning enthusiasts) and the tameness of nature, but what really made this a great outing, was the time I got alone to myself for a while. Much needed; much appreciated. Of course, I eventually did meet up with my parents, and ignored their horrified looks as their son shouted 'Hello' from 3 feet away to be heard over his music. But then again, their expressions weren't as bad as the other people standing/walking/lying down, completely stunned at the 6"4 menace romping about their morning paradise. Trust me when I say this: walking - c'est magnifique!