It was one of the chilly wee hours in the month of December 1992, as decided, myself and my cousin got up for jogging for the first time in our lives.My mother was already up and putting that big Kolam(that month being Margazhi, nice day chosen for jogging isn't it??)My cousin was already in his mid teens and I was barely a 7 year old kid by that time.I am still unsure of his motive as why he came up all of a sudden with an Idea to go for jogging..Hmmph so clad in a full hand shirt and a full size pant, and a sweater + scarf + BATA white canvas shoe(no nike, RBK those days) to wad off the cold we started off. My sister knew already that it is not going to take us any where and she didn't bother to join us.(In fact she doesn't involve in anything that is done before 7 AM :) ) We saw to it that we woke up everyone in the house, Grandfather, father, paternal uncle et all.
They all stood by the door as though they are flagging off an marathon event, and finally we started by 4:45 AM amidst the downpour of advice from all sides.At that time we were staying in BHEL Quarters, Trichy. Our aim was to reach the Training centre,(a place in BHEL) By the time we turned round the corner, our pet dog spotted us and he had a quizzical look in this face that could only mean "What the HELL are these two BOZOs up to in this unearthly hours?" Eventually, two runners became three and we moved on..Whenever any yelping of any other street dog came through, our dog used to cut that off with a sharp bark.
By now we had reached my school and I was no longer jogging and my cousin was grudgingly walking along with me after his morale boosting vehement encouragements failed to move my leg any faster. It was those days when not many used to go for jogging(when you have office(BHEL) by 7:40AM who would?) The milkwallas and newspaper Boys were whizzing past us to supply the commodity.When we were somewhat nearer to the Park in the double garage road I could no longer bear the brunt and I started pestering my cousin to return back.My cousin and myself settled for a rescheduled destination to reach ie, the present Thiruvalluvar Roundana in Double garage road.
Finally, after some umpty number of Pit stops on the benches by the roadside, and my cousin's continued persistence we reached the rescheduled destination.By this time, the Sun was rising(6:25AM), and it lighted up the sky in varied hues.Enjoying the Sun's first rays falling upon us and much to the disgust of my cousin, I started collecting the flowers that had bloomed on the central divider in the double garage road and also on the road side exposed, low hanging branches from the residence quarters. If we are caught plucking the flowers, the inmates of the house would obviously leave off the 7 year old cute kid from scolding, but not the 15 year old. Keeping his heart in his mouth, he watched tensely as I collected different varieties of flowers.When we finally decided to turn back home, it was around 7:15AM. My cousin was relieved that we had not been caught by any for plucking the flowers and he looked forward for a nice walk back home.
But fate extinguished his desire, my paternal uncle and my father had come in their scooters looking out for us. I enjoyed this not very expected Free ride from the back of the scooter and clearly avoiding my cousin's glaring eyes. By the time we reached home, my grandfather started scolding my cousin for taking so long to return back(It is always good when one is not the oldest). For a change, now it was my Mother's turn to add up some ginger to my cousin's plight. she had made sorasam (a juice made from Ginger etc, good for health, but the taste really sucks!!!) We were forced to gulp that down to maintain good health. That afternoon, after lunch my cousin went to bed to take a small nap, I dutifully followed him and asked "Super ah irunthuthu da inniki kaathala!!! Naalaikum Pollama?? (It was really super today morning, shall we go tomorrow too?)" But the reply never came.
In the next part, I would recount my next jogging session when I was in college!!!
They all stood by the door as though they are flagging off an marathon event, and finally we started by 4:45 AM amidst the downpour of advice from all sides.At that time we were staying in BHEL Quarters, Trichy. Our aim was to reach the Training centre,(a place in BHEL) By the time we turned round the corner, our pet dog spotted us and he had a quizzical look in this face that could only mean "What the HELL are these two BOZOs up to in this unearthly hours?" Eventually, two runners became three and we moved on..Whenever any yelping of any other street dog came through, our dog used to cut that off with a sharp bark.
By now we had reached my school and I was no longer jogging and my cousin was grudgingly walking along with me after his morale boosting vehement encouragements failed to move my leg any faster. It was those days when not many used to go for jogging(when you have office(BHEL) by 7:40AM who would?) The milkwallas and newspaper Boys were whizzing past us to supply the commodity.When we were somewhat nearer to the Park in the double garage road I could no longer bear the brunt and I started pestering my cousin to return back.My cousin and myself settled for a rescheduled destination to reach ie, the present Thiruvalluvar Roundana in Double garage road.
Finally, after some umpty number of Pit stops on the benches by the roadside, and my cousin's continued persistence we reached the rescheduled destination.By this time, the Sun was rising(6:25AM), and it lighted up the sky in varied hues.Enjoying the Sun's first rays falling upon us and much to the disgust of my cousin, I started collecting the flowers that had bloomed on the central divider in the double garage road and also on the road side exposed, low hanging branches from the residence quarters. If we are caught plucking the flowers, the inmates of the house would obviously leave off the 7 year old cute kid from scolding, but not the 15 year old. Keeping his heart in his mouth, he watched tensely as I collected different varieties of flowers.When we finally decided to turn back home, it was around 7:15AM. My cousin was relieved that we had not been caught by any for plucking the flowers and he looked forward for a nice walk back home.
But fate extinguished his desire, my paternal uncle and my father had come in their scooters looking out for us. I enjoyed this not very expected Free ride from the back of the scooter and clearly avoiding my cousin's glaring eyes. By the time we reached home, my grandfather started scolding my cousin for taking so long to return back(It is always good when one is not the oldest). For a change, now it was my Mother's turn to add up some ginger to my cousin's plight. she had made sorasam (a juice made from Ginger etc, good for health, but the taste really sucks!!!) We were forced to gulp that down to maintain good health. That afternoon, after lunch my cousin went to bed to take a small nap, I dutifully followed him and asked "Super ah irunthuthu da inniki kaathala!!! Naalaikum Pollama?? (It was really super today morning, shall we go tomorrow too?)" But the reply never came.
In the next part, I would recount my next jogging session when I was in college!!!
