Final countdown Part 2

This post is in continuation to one of my previous post.

Manoj Kumar has one more fan. The workouts suggested by this great son of Bharat mata have finally paid off. I have scrambled inside this cool category and somehow managed to run (oh really? Ok, 70% run, 30% walk) my first 10k marathon successfully on Sunday. The inspiration behind this run was there as well and she cheered me when I touched the finishing line. Well, the last sentence was a lie 😉

We waited outside the stairs of the main entrance in the Kanteerva stadium to run along with her. She came, she saw, but she didn’t run. What a farce, a lie and heartbreak for most of the Shahrukhs in making, who memorized the lyrics whole night and were ready to sing – “Aankhon mein teri, ajab hi ajab si adaayein hain“. She remained elusive amidst her monstrous bouncers and the Shahrukhs were thoroughly disappointed.

Instead of Deepika, I decided to chase one more hero.
“Sir, can I have a photograph with you”?
“Oh sure, why not”. And Prakash Padukone happily posed for the photograph along with me. After the photo shoot, we shook hands and exchanged pleasantries and wished each other goodbye. I have been a sports buff and though I never saw him winning the All England championship, I did read a lot about him in quite a few sports magazines. I have been his fan for his badminton prowess and not for the obvious reasons known to lesser mortals (for begetting Deepika, of course :-))

And that was a lie again.
“Sir, can I have a photograph with you”?
“No. I am leaving now”. Pat came the reply.
But I was determined and decided to chase him through the aisle. I managed to walk along and clicked one, with my left hand in the air. I was careful enough, not to walk very close to him, for he gave me very daunting looks. He obviously looked very peeved with this gesture of mine and would have broken my camera perhaps. So I decided to make a move from patli gali.

Here is one more pic that I clicked on the way. It is the Vidhan Soudha (known as Vidhan Sabha in other states) of Karnataka. I know most of you have hypermetropia, so I would read out the biggest democratic joke written on this building, just below the tricolor. It says – “Government work is God’s work”

Final countdown Part 1

Time: 9:30 am
Place: Traffic signal at Richmond Road

I see Deepika Padukone.
Well, almost.
OK, not really 😉

So, there is a big hoarding next to the signal and she is the brand ambassador for Sunfeast, and they are organizing a 10k marathon run.
It says – “I will run for Bangalore, will you?”

I look at her, see looks back at me. I look up again and she is still staring. I grin and she freezes. In the midst of this emerging romance, the light turns green. The game is still on, but my reverie is broken by the Beep, beep, peep, peep, along with the infinite adjectives that follow in different languages – Kannada, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, English, Hindi. I could feel the essence of few of the swear words. Yeah dude, Bangalore is truly cosmopolitan and we have at least different varieties of gaali to choose from 😉

I move ahead and reach office. Deepika is gone, but those words still linger in front of my eyes – Bangalore 10k run. I have never been an athlete in my life, but somehow these words catch my fancy. Not sure why, but all of a sudden I decide to bring that Kranti in my life and take the first step.
Yes, literally.
By the time I reach my desk at 6th floor with that silver colored monster called ‘Dell’ over my back, I have climbed 152 steps, each almost 10 inches high and I am panting heavily. Woosshh. It would take a couple of hours for recovery. I think of those days when I could trek for 20 kilometers in one go, with almost 8-10 kilos of backpacks. Yes, I have done that quite a few times in Garhwal Himalayas. Breaking your fingers in front of the computer screen and getting myopia are not the only rewards of working in an air conditioned environment. Added to that as a bonus are backache, headache, toothache, nose ache, whatever.

“Kranti“!!
I need Kranti in my life! Manoj Kumar comes up again and the hot blood flows in my coronary artery.

Manoj kumar is now inspiring me to get up early (yes, 6:30 is early for me) for my morning jog and Citibank is happy enough to lend me 215 Rs for the registration. Yeah, I have registered for it. Not for the open run though, but for the category called ‘majja run‘ which is meant for shallow people like me. The Hanes, the Crocodiles and the Adidas have already been obliged.
Come 31st May and I shall be there, perhaps chasing Deepike Padukone.