Month: August 2024

The 5k Run.

~ Rishi ~ Leave a comment

I was panting. The display screen on the treadmill read 4 kms with a time of 24 minutes. A message flashed just then, ‘target set at 5 kms’…

After having stopped my exercise routine during the move back to India, I slowly got back to hitting the gym this past week. It was a welcome relief to not find myself out of shape. I could still walk at a good pace, lift weights, and do pull-ups and push-ups consistently.

Then, as the week was drawing to a close, and I pushed myself on Friday. What if I try and run a 5k, in 30 minutes? Can I do it?

There are many things that hold your fascination over a long period of time. 5k runs in 30 minutes or less are one such fascination for me.

You might ask, where is this coming from? To answer, I will have to take you back back to my academy days.

We were a bunch of boys with high adrenaline levels and much more gumption. The Indian Military Academy was however a no-nonsense place. You either fell in line or you fell in line!

As was the norm, for any deviation or mistake, punishments were doled out by the dozen. The smaller punishment was a 5k run, to be completed in under 30 minutes for it to be counted. The bigger one was a route march for 20k in under 3 hours. Mind you, with all the gear and a dummy rifle…

Some folks always bore the brunt, getting punished at the drop of a hat. They were constantly running those 5k’s and had become a champ at it. And then there were some of us, pretty lucky in those days, to have escaped any punishment. It seemed we had the golden touch.

Time however does catch up. And eventually I did land up with a couple of 5k runs and a couple of route marches.

I had heard from my friends how easy the 5k had become for even the slower runners, so I had confidence going behind me when I took the mark for the first time. However, as I soon realized, it’s one thing to talk and another to do!

Cutting to the chase, it took me all my might and the last ounce of energy to make the cut at just a few seconds shy of the 30 minute mark. The start had been fine but somehow I had trailed off in the mid sector and by the time I was on the last leg, my legs had started giving way. Until a batch-mate goaded me on and helped me finish.

Since then, the 5k became something of a mission for me to keep achieving. Even after I got out of the Army, I have kept going back to this run to time myself and check my fitness levels. Sometimes I have succeeded, sometimes I haven’t. And then I know it’s time to tighten the belt on the fitness routine.

Coming back to this week’s experience, I wasn’t sure if it was too early for me to attempt the 5k. But I wanted to at least try and see how I will fare.

So, there I was, on the treadmill. The target was 5k, the goal was to hit it in 30 minutes or less. I was going fine. Only if my legs would continue to support me and my lungs wouldn’t budge.

But as I neared the 4k mark, my feet started feeling a bit wobbly. I was panting a bit. I had it in my mind that I would stop if there was any danger sign but I didn’t sense any at that time.

I didn’t want to stop at that mark not just because of the target but also because I wanted to push myself a bit more. So, I chose to instead focus on my breath, count down the last 5 minutes, and the remaining distance to complete 5k.

Those were the longest 5 minutes for me in recent times. It took me all my running skills to make that last dash. Thankfully, my feet stopped wobbling and my lungs functioned well. I finished the 5k in exactly 30 minutes.

Mission accomplished! Time to continue the training!! Until the next checkpoint!!!

For those who help us!

~ Rishi ~ Leave a comment

We are spoilt. There are too many folks helping us all around. Be it at our homes, offices, or in general across the society.

And yet, we don’t pay enough attention towards them. We don’t care much about who they are or how they are, only about what they do for us. And if it is done well.

This past week, three instances threw me into this side of the brooding pond, with questions like these.

The first one was at the office, where my company celebrated the Independence Day by inviting the support staff at the office to take the limelight and showcase their talent. Quite something, I must confess!

As I served some of them during the ensuing lunch, it allowed me a closer look at who they really were. I believe I have always been respectful to them while at the office, but that afternoon gave me a chance to observe them from close quarters, cheer for them as they performed, and serve them to show my gratitude.

What I saw was normal, regular folks, who had the same demeanour, similar preferences, and probably same aspirations. They are just in the role they are in today because of certain circumstances. But they deserve equally the same level of respect and courtesy as others around us.

The second one was when I was going through the process of hiring a driver for ourselves. I went through trials with a couple of recommendations. Post that, when I had to finally make a choice, it wasn’t an easy decision.

I had to weigh in their performance behind the wheel, their behaviour while being around, and their soft skills. As I thought through the final choice, I realised my decision had a bearing on not just my experience in those 30 minutes but also had a bearing on the person’s life and of those associated with him.

In the end, I decided based on not only the overall driving experience but also the personality and the real person behind them, as much as I could gauge during my interaction.

The third one was the flag hoisting and celebrations within my community. I saw smartly turned out security guards and helping staff, putting together a fine assembly and ceremony.

During my interactions with some of them this week, I got to know a few of them better and realised they were doing all they could to deliver the best on their job. And took pride in how they do it.

It made me realise that the only reason I can be confident about my community’s security, smooth functioning, cleanliness, and so many other things is because of all these people. And they deserve to be respected and supported for what they do for us.

These experiences made me question myself about how I look at those who serve me, help me, support me through my life. Am I being a good fellow human being to them? Or am I considering it my birthright to be served and helped so?

Hopefully, I am doing the right thing. And hopefully, I continue to do the right thing…

Remember the Highs!

~ Rishi ~ Leave a comment

I was going through a dull moment. Feeling down and out.

My mind was racing down the spiral, into the nadir. And my demeanour had changed into a sobering, deflated one.

It was a low point. And I was thinking of all the things that had gone wrong. All those mistakes which I could have prevented.

As I gazed into the ether, my inner voice was somewhere egging me to get out of the slump. Trying to remind me of the good things that had happened or which were in store in the future.

But my mind had shut off the good side. The bad side was winning at the moment.

Seeing me lost, my wife came and sat besides me. And told me that when I had overcome so many bigger challenges in my life, what I was going through was relatively minor.

She added that she was fully confident that I would not only overcome this low point but come out stronger on the other side.

As I listened to these words, something stirred in me. I went back to those past challenges and compared those situations with the one I was in currently. I also recalled the success I had seen once I overcame those challenges.

And suddenly, just like a light bulb illuminating a dark hallway, my good side took over and started throwing light over the gloom, pushing the bad side away.

It was just a small statement by my wife. But meant so much to me in that moment when I was feeling low.

My confidence returned and my demeanour normalised. Positive thoughts started coming back and the feeling of I am not alone in this made me sit up with a resolve to fight.

Thankfully, I have her by my side, helping me avoid these pitfalls every now and then!

Present, Sir…

~ Rishi ~ Leave a comment

Monish was smiling. Sitting at the back bench of the class, he could see his classmates get up one after the other, as their name was called out to mark attendance.

Monish still had time, the roll call had only reached names starting with G. There were seven more students before him to be called out. He sat there bemused, watching his classmates.

His mind went back to the previous year, when he had more classmates after him in the roll call than before. That meant he had to be alert early on, as soon as the teacher started. It also meant he couldn’t take pleasure in noticing his fellow classmates, something he enjoyed doing.

There were instances the previous year when he had been late to the class owing to a break, which put him in an awkward position. While the teachers didn’t mind students rushing to the toilets in between classes, they sure didn’t appreciate having to go back in their register to mark a certain missed student again.

Once, the embarrassment had become too much to handle. That day, Monish had got stuck waiting in the queue, reaching the class just as the last name was being called out. He had got a scolding from the teacher for a full five minutes. Helpless, he had just listened to the rant and then sat down sheepishly.

Now however, he had a full army of classmates before him. So, he could take a longer break if he wanted to. It also allowed him to fool around with his friends for a bit longer.

This however, also meant he remained more distracted in class than the year before. Earlier, he would quickly finish whatever he was doing to get ready for the next class. Now, he started taking his own sweet time, sometimes neglecting the urgency needed. It had become a pattern, unbeknown to him.

In a nonchalant manner, smiling, he drooled over the setting. But not for long. His name got called out, and he had to stand up. His voice was rather casual, as if he was lost somewhere. “Present, sir”, he uttered meekly.

“Monish, keep standing. I have something to ask of you today”. The teacher asked him, seemingly in a foul mood.

Soon after the roll call finished, and he became the center of attraction of the class. Everyone was waiting in anticipation as to what the teacher is going to say or do. Monish was not sure why the teacher had called him out. He too looked intently.

The teacher came round to his desk and asked him matter of fact, “Can you tell me what was the class work I asked everyone about just before I started the roll call”?

Monish wasn’t prepared for this question. He was in the class but hadn’t paid attention to the teacher’s entrance or the first few sentences he spoke. He had been lost in his own world.

Looking sorry, he replied, “I don’t remember, sir”.

“Were you in the class when I came in”, asked the teacher. The reply was an affirmative nod.

“Then how did you not register what I was telling everyone”? The tone was unsettling.

Monish didn’t have any answers. Although it was a minor thing, he looked shaken. He had let himself be lost to the point of not paying enough attention. And the teacher had recognized this.

As if aware that he had made his point, the teacher turned around mentioning “sit down”.

Monish couldn’t fathom how it had happened. In his quest for observing others, he had let himself be absent from what was happening around.

The class ended. The school day did too. A normal one at that. Monish’s mind however had registered something significant.

He needed to be present in the present…