Citius,Altius,Fortius

Prelude : This post has been inspired by some of my close buddies who have, oft late, been bitten by the fitness bug. Partly, this post also stems from my own lack of interest (read that as inability) to join the fray. This is attributable to a host of reasons - sloth, sloth and even greater sloth. All incidents mentioned in this post are real and any resemblance to any event/person living are purely deliberate and not at all coincidental.The semester has just commenced. There is still more than a month to go before there is even a whiff of any exam. This translates into the students being infinitely 'lukkha' with not much (actually nothing) to do. Necessity is the mother of all inventions. And one of the most healthy and rewarding ways to utilise this unexpected abundance of time is to hit the roads. Not the way "hitting the road" is supposed to be, but the supposedly 'unpeppy' way - on foot- the Gandhigiri style. Most insti inmates prefer to hit the road anonymously - generally hitting the roads late in the evenings when its quite dark and the chances of your recognising another fella are really low until and unless you are hell bent upon doing otherwise. That is when you are straining/rubbing your eyes and posing this query to yourself "Woopsie !! Is it really (s)he who is galloping? GAWD!! i should get closer." But pretty soon you realise that (s)he is a tad too fast for you to do the catching yourself. You then console yourself with the thought,"(s)he sure did look like a raging bull. I wud rather be myself and not make an ass of myself .... gees" ! when deep in your heart even you want to play the raging bull :(. The cricket field has to be seen to be believed. There ongoings don't even come close to that gentelman's game. Some people are stretched out on the coveted 22 yards patch of land which is supposed to be a "pitch". The runners/joggers meanwhile are slogging furiously circumferencing the field taking care not to make an eye contact with anyone in the near vicinity. And i dont know why. Not to be left out are the people who have been inspired by the numerous art of living courses which are mushrooming faster than the coaching courses meant for getting through to the engineering and medical colleges. Alas what i terribly miss is having a Munnabhai inspired "laughter club" inside iit. That would have been beneficial in two ways - for those who joined and for those who refrained and still would end up having the last laugh. But my heart goes out to them who cycle incessantly from their respective hostels to the main gate and back; all the while timing out their journeys. Coming from a cycling veteran, who only recently gave his beloved bicycle a teary farewell, believe me this is the most gruelling and enegy sapping drill. But the sense of achievement and pride is something that has to be felt to be believed. However its the alpha males who are a sight to reckon with; who are far far above such petty running, jogging and aerobic routines. Gym is where the art is. These body brandishing insti inmates are the craziest of the fitness freaks; most of who consider themselves enlightened enough to show the divine light to the poorer souls. If you are unfortunate enough, the enlightment might go on for ages till the time you are rescued by some other unsuspecting innocent soul. Now its his turn to see the divine light.
By now, you must have realised that this post gives vent to my frustration on not being a member of this league of extraordinary ladies and gentlemen. So i am ending this post on a hopeful note .....