9th Walk and Beyond

I have completed 9 long walks so far, this walk being the longest one, about 22 KMs. I walked from Masab Tank to Narsingi Village and back to Mehdipatnam. This was on the 11th of July 2009. Very tiring, the plan was to return to Masab tank which was only 2 KMs away. I could not make it as I was completely drained. I took an auto rickshaw back home. Unfortunatley, I ran out of battery in my iPod which tracks the distance and pace. so the recorded distance in iPod was only 17 KM :(. After this marathon, I did not go on any walk as was busy with my work for more than a month. On Monday, that is the 17 August 2009, I went to the gym impulsively and paid Rs. 1350 and enrolled for a month. I told the instructor that I would only be doing the treadmill which the instructor agreed for. I did 8 Kms in 1.2 hours on the treadmill. As soon as I completed, the instructor walked to me to tell me that it was too much of a walk and I should not exert myself so much on the first day. I told him about my past walks and he was fine with it. I went to walk on Tuesday, again for 8 KMs in 1.2 hours. Again the instructor came running and told that the treadmill cannot be blocked by one preson for so long and also the treadmill is not meant for such continuous long walks, then I told him that I joined the gym with that condition and if this is not ok with the gym, the gym should return my money. Instructor went and spoke to his boss. Instructor came back and we both had an arugument for about ten minutes before we decided on splitting. He gave back my money and I was happy that I got my money back which I paid impulsively. This weekend Ramazan starts and I could not have really got the worth of the money during this month.

My Nike Plus

4th Walk

4th Walk, Masab Tank to Shamshabad.

This time the walk was not really planned, I was supposed to go swimming with my kid. Since my son did not wake up and I did not want to wake him up forcibly, I decided to go on a walk.


I put on my shoes. Shireen, my wife was still asleep. Made a two egg omelet and a glass of Tropicana and I was all set to leave. Bid Shireen goodbye and left for a good 20+ KM walk. It was 6.58 AM.


I started pretty much with the same kind of pace and rhythm, but this time I had that last walk's injury in my mind. I had had a severe pain, might have been a muscle pull or tear on the right side of hip which made me discontinue the walk abruptly, I had walked about 20 KM from Mt to Risalabazar. After some self diagnosis, I figured out that the cause for the pain could have been the thick wallet I was carrying in my back pocket. From then I stopped carrying my wallet in the back pocket.


So, that pain was there in my mind, I was giving extra attention to that muscle, I could feel that it is not 100% fit but it is just fine and not hampering my rhythm or my pace.


I cursed myself like I did during the last time's walk, why do I have to carry my spects along? I did not see any reason. The next walk I am not carrying these, I promised. I prefer to carry very few items. I had a baseball cap, sun glasses and some cash, this time not in a wallet.


So I covered about 5 KMs without any hitch and the pace was more or less the same I started with. I was still worried about that recovering muscle. Now, I was feeling a slight pain in the muscle on the backside of the right knee joint, I thought that it is not a major pain to be really worried about.


I was moving and realized that I had to drink water before my body starts demanding for it, so I was on the lookout for a store where I can buy a water bottle. I did not find the store but I found a banana vendor, I knew banana was a good source to rehydrate, I used to see these tennis players having bananas during their breaks, also I thought that the banana is rich in sugar which can give me some instant energy, I bought 3 for 5 rupees and ate one.


Moving ahead, I found a store and bought a water bottle, now the heat was picking up. It is summer in Hyderabad, India and it gets really hot even at 9 AM. It can easily reach 40 degrees under direct sunlight.


Unlike the earlier walks, I was more careful this time. I was drinking water regularly and also ate another banana between 11 and 12 KM mark. Thought laterally, am I overeating? My body was not complaining, the ailing muscle was not troubling much. I reassured myself, it’s better to be well-nourished than under-nourished,

I could feel the pain at the back of the knee is slowly mounting. Sun was hot. I had to bring the cap's flap on to my left to protect the burning cheeks. I felt better.


Shireen called me to check whether I am doing fine. She did not understand the reason behind all these painful walks nor did anybody else.


I saw a big girder (part of the flyover bridge) carried truck has hit an electric pole bringing down all the wires on the road. I had to run under one of the wires which could still have been live. My pace has come down and I already emptied the 1 liter bottle I bought earlier. I was once again on the lookout for a store to buy water bottle. I found one and bought the water bottle. The pain at the knee was getting worse. I ate another banana.


I realized that the pace is better if I am looking down at the ground. I think it’s because of the concentration otherwise I was feeling tired and slow.


Now I saw the sign “Shamshabad International Airport - 6 KMs”. I knew, at the rate I was moving it will take almost 1.5 hours to reach. I wanted to track the speed and found that it took around 25 minutes to finish 2 KMs. That was not bad for me, about 5 KMs per hour.


I reached the Shamshabad village exactly are 10,40 AM. I boarded a bus which arrived only after 30 minute wait and reached the Welfare bus stop near Masab Tank. The moment I got out of the bus I could feel the severe pain in the muscle behind my right knee. I limped my way home about half a KM.

I told my wife and kids that I was erally tired, my 3 year old daughter said 'koun jao bola?' who asked you to go? :).



I am planning to buy a Nike's sportband to track the speed and some other useful metrics. In India, I think its going to be launched in May '09.

Planet Mechanics

Yesterday I was watching this on National Geographic, this is the kind of stuff I enjoy most on TV. The programme was about coming out with a moped which does not pollute the air and should be good enough to carry a person a few KMs within the city's traffic and most importantly should not use any fossil fuels.

Two guys Dick and Jem who design, build and anchor the show. The frame of the moped which they picked I think was from a nearby junkyard, it only had the frame and wheels, no engine or chains. These guys mounted two cylinders on either side of the bike. The air is pumped into these cylinders, the pressure each cylinder can hold is greater than 300 times of atmospheric pressure (thats what I remember).

These guys designed the sprockets and mounted chains on them and on the day before the D-Day they wanted to test this and Dick was all set to take off, the bike was making all sorts of sound but would not budge. Both men looked very disappointed (I dont know whether they really were or just doing Steve Irwin) and redesigned/alligned the sprokets and then it happened, the bike started moving, Dick rode it first being a skinny among the two and then it was Jem's turn, it could move and can carry a person more than 100 Kilos.

And then they went to the experts and did all sorts of tests to prove that it works.

The best part I liked about the program is that they did something which people only can think of. Its so satisfying after hard days work and it comes out as planned. I also loved Junkyard wars on Discovery, I would love to be a part of it someday.

Catcher in the rye

I read this book, it was kind of funny. I dont know what made me read this book. Before I took this book to read I did not know any thing about it, I just knew that it is one of those all time hits.

I found this very interesting initially, as I progressed, I thought this is one of those wierd books, and then I realised that this book is about nothing except for explaning the angst and behaviuor of a teenager.

Later I googled to find about this more, this book is one of the most tabooed books America has known in the 60's and 70's, later this book became one of most read books. Now, this books is studied in schools. Hmmm, now who is wierd?

Two Minutes

He woke up slowly… It was as if he had slept a very long time , but when he checked the bedside clock ,it was just 8.30 AM. He reached for Sophie but she had already got up. He ambled into the kids’ bedroom. No one there. Maybe they had all gone out for an early morning drive and just let him sleep.



Gary had a terrific job , a great wife and two wonderful kids. There was a war going on somewhere but it was still far far away. It was all contentment here , happy families in their suburban paradise.



He walked leisurely into the kitchen and fixed himself a cup of coffee. Mmmm, it tasted wonderful. He flicked on the TV , he never missed the morning news roundup. There was nothing new , they were still covering the war and nothing else… He wondered when it would ever stop , would they ever have peace in their lifetimes ? The thought was depressing - he’d better get dressed and leave for work .



Gary munched on his whole wheat sandwich and sipped his orange juice . Oh , he had not seen today’s newspaper. Usually , Sophie brought it in and he would wake up to find it in bed.



There was a pile of newspapers on the doorstep. That surprised him - there was more than a week’s supply lying there. Panic overwhelmed him – what on earth was going on here !!!! He rushed to the telephone – there was a normal dial tone , nothing out of the ordinary.



Gary frantically dialed Sophie’s mobile number. No response . He went out into the street. Everything was absolutely ordinary , the sun up , the lawns mowed , the road swept – but not a soul could be seen. Nothing moved , not man , not animal nor bird.



Something was really strange… He leant over the fence that separated their yard from the Hardys’ and hollered for Bill at the top of his voice. Bill Hardy, retired dentist, was an avid gardener who was usually tending his flowers at this time of the day. But there was no sign of him anywhere. Gary jumped over the fence and rang the Hardys’ doorbell. No answer. He tried the knob. The door swung open. He went in and called out for Bill again – there was no one in the house. It was as if everybody had just decided to disappear into thin air.



He walked down to the next street – there was a small park there and Sophie usually took the kids there. The park was absolutely deserted and so was the street.



Panicking now , he ran back to the house. He must be either dreaming or dead. He slowly pulled himself together, he must not allow panic to overpower him. . Just then he heard a faint ring of the living room phone. He rushed back inside and picked up the receiver.



“Hello, Hello, Helloooo”, it took all his willpower to stop screaming into the phone. But there was no answering voice and he heard the decisive click of the phone being put down. Gary checked the caller ID. It was his cousin, calling from the East Coast. He called back ,,the phone kept ringing and ringing….. The terrifying thought flashed through his mind - Was he the only one alive on the whole face of the earth ? Gary could feel the bile rising in his throat - fear was overwhelming him.



He told himself he was just being stupid. Sophie would call him any moment now and tell him she had forgotten her cell phone somewhere. She had always been absent minded. There must be a simple explanation for all of this stuff. He was simply imagining things.



Gary checked his watch – it was high time he went to work.



The car started smoothly enough. It no longer surprised him – the electricity was on, the phone was working , so was the TV and everything else. The only problem was every living thing had disappeared from view .



The roads were deserted , not a car could be seen as he drove to work. Surprisingly , all the shops were open. He stopped in front of one and went inside. Everything was in place , but there were no customers and even the salesmen had disappeared. Gary could no longer contain his terror. Where was everyone ?



More through force of habit than anything else , he drove on to his workplace. He was no longer surprised to see that there was not a single car in the lot as he pulled into his usual parking place.



He jogged up the flight of stairs and pushed open the office door. Usually a beehive of activity , the office felt more like a crypt today. There was no one , absolutely no one to be seen. The thought crept unbidden to his mind – he must surely be the only person left alive in this town . He was nearly senseless with horror and fear. Then he told himself there must be someone whom he could reach. He started calling everyone he knew -Sophie repeatedly , all his friends, his parents , in laws , the police , the fire department….. There was an identical response to his calls – the phone kept ringing and ringing,.,,,



No , he must not lose hope……..Gary decided to drive down to his cousin on the East Coast - he knew , somehow , he would find someone alive there – After all , had he not received a call from his cousin that very morning – even though Gary had not been able to speak to him , it was surely an indication that life still thrived there.



The fuel gauge read nearly empty. He pulled into the nearest gas station. Again , not a soul to be seen , though everything else was in perfect order . His finger caught in the door as he slammed it shut to fill the tank. Gary swore. The pain racing through his body was the worst he had ever experienced. It was as if he was on fire .He stared at his hand - just a tiny bruise on his ring finger…. He couldn’t make sense of it – but nothing made sense anymore…..





He had been driving now for over two days. Exhaustion was taking his toll on him. He could barely make out the road ahead , but he kept on , hope pushing him on , driving him on ….

Crash !!!! The air bag hitting him woke him up with a jerk. He looked down . There was blood everywhere….He staggered out of the car – it was a wreck , it would not be going anywhere soon. He started walking down the nearest exit. Then it hit him – he had absolutely no pain…..Too tired now to even be shocked , he just plodded on.



It was then he saw them –a group of teenagers hanging out near the drugstore. Wild with happiness , he ran towards them,. But as he drew near they seemed vague , insubstantial … he passed right through them. When he turned back to look at them , they were still there .Nobody seemed to hear him -it was as if he had become invisible. He could make out other vague shapes too. People on the sidewalk , a child skipping down the other side of the street…But they were all faint as if he was looking at them through a fine mist.



He just kept walking…. He suddenly realized that people were looking solid now. Somebody turned around and saw him , really looked at him. The man started running towards Gary . He could hear him saying , “ Are you ok?” And then Gary

blacked out.



Gary was dead. Sophie let out a sob. She had been holding him in her arms for over an hour now. But for the last two minutes he had been staring wildly at her , as if he could no longer see her. He seemed to be calling for Bill Hardy , their neighbour. Then he kept shouting “ Hello” at the top of his voice. She tried to talk to him , soothe him but he no longer heard her. Then he suddenly screamed as if in great pain. A range of expressions flitted across his face , terror, pain and then finally relief . Then he slumped in her arms. Sophie tried to revive him , but his heart had stopped beating. Her beloved husband was no more. Grief gripped her heart but it was also tinged with relief. Relief that Gary was finally out of his misery . Two years after a stroke had left him completely paralyzed and immobile, Gary was finally free. .