Weekend morning walks at Bengaluru Lalbagh.

It has been almost a year since myself and Ravi ( my brother in law ) had started our weekend morning walks at Lalbagh. I have been always a regular morning walker but used to walk on our tar roads and it came as an idea to me to go Lalbagh for the morning walk during weekends and I discussed with Ravi and he immediately agreed and the immediate motivation for him was to take out his Bullet bike which he had just then purchased.

We went one weekend and we got immediately hooked and we have ever since been going. On some weekends we miss but not due to lack of motivation but due to some other family commitments.

We start around 5.45 am on Ravi ‘s Bullet and in about 15 minutes time we zip to Lalbagh.

We make one full round of Lalbagh in about 25 minutes time , walking on the inner periphery of the Lalbagh wall.

The vast expanse of 200 acres with more than 4000 species of plants and trees opens its arms to us and immediately sweeps aside all tensions or worries if any existing from our normal day to day life.

The walk is pretty brisk but at the same time the eyes are savoring the surroundings having the eye catching greenery.

There are a pretty huge number of morning walkers of all shapes and sizes to give us company.

Observing the walkers is an experience in itself.

There are some walkers who seem to be regulars and carry a strict demeanor and do their walking in a serious fashion and are focused to complete their rounds in a stipulated time. It looks like they have brought their goal orientedness from worklife to inside Lalbagh, nevertheless they act as motivators to other walkers.

There are some jay walkers who come in a group of 4 or 5 and walk together literally arm in arm and keep discussing loudly about usually politics or any other topic in an usually animated way.

Everyone in the group seems to have some or the other opinion on the topics discussed. The Lalbagh seems to be melting pot where they can freely exchange their opinions but I get a feeling that as they are walking out of Lalbagh, each one is pretty much retaining their own original opinions.

There are middle aged couples walking silently and at a leisurely pace. Some of them seem to be on the heavier side. At the pace they walk, it may take ages to melt away the fat or it may get added if they visit MTR for breakfast on their way back home. Some people visit MTR after the walk which I consider sinful and self defeating.

There are young couples in colorful track suits with shapely figures doing the rounds at a good pace and showing lot of zest for life. These people are the envy of people with barrel shaped figures. Nevertheless the young people inspire us to become young at heart.

There is another group of people who are over 60 years and literally over the hill. They seem to be spending little time doing the rounds and more time sitting on the benches and chatting away to glory. They seem to be really enjoying their hard earned leisure in the final lap of their journey in life.

There are some individuals walking with their mobiles blaring loudly the morning devotional songs. They seem to be disliking the quite inside the Lalbagh and hell-bent on increasing the decibel levels. They seem to be type of people who can excel only in noisy surroundings.

You may be all wondering whether I go to Lalbagh for doing rounds or keep watching people.

You see it has been drilled inside us that we can excel in life by only multi tasking. I am doing the Lalbagh rounds and at the same time don’t miss an opportunity to look at some beautiful things I mean the ducks in the lake and the birds on the tree and not the birds doing the rounds.