A Daily AMwalk... Good for the Body and Great for the Soul...

When in New York, I loved going walkabout, either in Central Park or along the river or just within the city as well. A typical day's walk was about 3-4 miles. I thought I'd continue a similar tradition here. However, walking in Bombay is a whole other ballgame. There are so many more things a pedestrian needs to look out for and pay attention to. Footpaths (sidewalks) do exist along most major roads though they either tend to be taken over by street vendors or are in disrepair, forcing people to then walk on the streets, which in turn places congestive pressure on traffic. The whole thing is rather messy and I haven't yet been able to figure out why a more orderly and coexisting pedestrian and vehicular traffic pattern isn't possible here.

Friends of mine suggested that to avoid heat and traffic, I ought to walk in the early mornings. They usually visit Shivaji Park, Dadar then and asked if I'd like to join them. I was ready willing and able. I started walking with them Wednesday Sept 8th. Walking at 5:00am is a welcome change to the otherwise busy crowded noisy streetscapes. At that hour, nothing stirs. The dogs lay asleep, tired or lethargic from the heat. The traffic is slow to nothing, except for the one major north-south thoroughfare (Cadel road) that has some traffic all the time. Even the rooster that used to crow at ungodly hours, is silent. Only the bane of most cities, rats, are about. I usually came across dead rats and the weird side of me had to document these sightings.

The above rat was a meal for the crows later that day. A full circle of life.

And this poor thing was completely squashed...

One round at Shivaji Park is approximately 1/3rd of a mile (1/2km) per the pedometer reading I got. Not too far round. Walking on the streets tends to be slower than on treadmill so I'd do 4-5 rounds in an hour or so. The heat (yeah, even without the sun being up) and humidity alone made me sweat gallons...

The walk home, another 1/2mile or so, was more pleasant than earlier. The sun about to rise brought out colors in the trees, leaves, and flowers that earlier looked like dark shadows. With the monsoons almost coming to an end, the city is green everywhere. Even concrete garden walls cannot escape becoming covered in verdant moss.

The walk home meant going via streets damp but shaded with big green trees.

For the past week now I've decided to use the treadmill instead of walking in the park. I wanted to walk more without being outside for 2-3 hours. On a treadmill, pace is twice as fast than walking on the streets... I will miss my daily rat sightings though.