Morning Walk

A few days back, I started going for a morning walk.

I walked down the stairs of my apartment and found another walker coming out of the lift. He waved at me and I smiled back. But I had a mask on and so he couldn’t see me smile. He thought I was giving him a blank stare. So he looked elsewhere, cursing me for not returning his greeting.

I turned the corner of my block and I saw a few walkers stand in a line with folded hands facing the east. I realised that they were praying to the sun. I slowed down and did the same, but I ended up getting awkward stares.

On the long stretch at one end of the complex, I saw a flurry of walkers in both directions. I felt like asking if there was a particular direction that I should take while walking, for the sake of uniformity, but quickly realised no one had an answer, and it didn’t matter.

A lot of walkers went past me as I walked slowly. Everyone walked at their own pace. There is no competition, except with your own walk of yesterday, and that too is optional.

There were all types of individual walkers and there were all types of groups of walkers.

Among the groups of walkers, I saw some strolling along, some pacing through, some chatting among themselves, and some walking together in silence focused on their step count. The chatting groups discussed different topics based on who was in the group. Politics, cricket, jobs, bosses, economy, money, cooking, maids, children, in-laws and, of course, covid – pick your poison.

Among individual walkers, some walkers smiled when I crossed them, some looked elsewhere when they saw me approaching from a distance, while some gave me a blank glare when I smiled. I couldn’t make up my mind whether smiling was ok on a morning walk.

I decided against smiling at unknown walkers after one elderly gentleman stopped and asked me if I knew him when I smiled at him out of courtesy. I had to confess that I didn’t. He wasn’t amused.

Some walkers had sticks in their hands. I didn’t realise why till I saw one of them shooing a stray dog away. But soon after that, I saw a walker with a bagful of food stopping to distribute it to a bunch of stray dogs. One man walks to avoid the dogs, while one man walks to meet them.

I realised that the dogs, both stray and pets, are active and noisy on morning walks. The pets bark and jump when they see a new walker. The strays bark and run when they see a new pet. I quietly took another lane avoiding both new dogs and new walkers.

I used to think that people who go on morning walks do it mainly for health. I soon realised that not everyone walks for health. In fact, very few walk for health alone. When I saw the manner and pace at which some walk, it was clear to me that health was not in their list of reasons to walk.

Some walk because they have company. Some walk because they like the solitude.

Some walk because they can’t stay at home. They don’t really want to walk as much as they want to get out of the house. So they walk for a while and sit most of the time.

Some walk because they have been asked to walk, either by their family or their doctor. It is clear that if given a choice they would prefer being wrapped in a blanket.

Some walk to walk their dog. That also includes many other things that the dog does, about which other walkers often express their displeasure. The dog lovers don’t seem to care and keep walking.

Some walk to get flowers from the plants. Many of them pluck the flowers right in front of the notice that says ‘don’t pluck flowers’. They are oblivious to them. They walk to get flowers for God.

Some walk simply so that they can tell others that they go for a morning walk. It is a good boast.

I met a walker who walked to find customers for the health drinks he was an agent for. Another man, who I later realised was an insurance agent, walked to find takers for his insurance policies.

I found that there were many walking couples, but they didn’t keep pace with each other, especially the older ones. I found the husband walking ahead of the wife, and the wife on the mobile a few feet behind dragging her feet. After a couple of rounds they lost track of each other. I hoped that the morning walk didn’t become a reason for a day of arguments.

Some walkers jogged between walks or walked between jogs. I found this type of walkers when I went outside my complex after a couple of rounds. They needed a broader arena, so they stepped out. They were the serious exercisers among walkers. Many of them wore shoes that matched their attire. Some had a mobile phone clamped to their arm or a band on their wrist. They had targets. They didn’t seem to enjoy the walk as much as the ones who walked without targets.

There were all types of walkers that I saw during my long morning walks. It didn’t matter what type they were and why they walked, as long as they walked. The morning welcomed all of them.

I hope I added some variety to the mix of walkers on the days I went for a morning walk.

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PS: Check Grandpa’s Pet and Other Childhood Stories