The Constant Runner

I move. I run.

I’m on my way.

I am rhythm! I am life!

I flow, I glide, I fly away.

Through an open road,

A wide expanse,

I start to savour,

Life’s own romance.

Through fields of green,

Through trails of grey,

I run, I run,

So far away.

To the ocean shore,

The empty space,

The miles galore

I lovingly embrace.

I run through stony roads,

Past endless trees,

I look ahead

And tread with ease.

I run where I like,

I do what I please,

I’m a constant runner,

In the constant breeze,

One with nature,

I run like hell,

Am I real, am I dreaming?

O’ who can tell?

Under a sky so vast,

And a land laid bare,

I run my worries

Through the open air

Huffing and puffing

To a rhythmic beat,

I’m lost in the melody

Composed by sand and feet

In nature’s sounds I lie immersed,

A rustle, a tweet, a bush, a bird

Nothing so simple, yet so musical

That I’ve ever heard.

Far ahead, where land meets sky,

A gorgeous horizon I see.

I am rhythm! I am life!

I’m happy to just be.

My heart’s content,

My mind’s at ease,

I’m a constant runner,

In the constant breeze,

And curiously I ask,

“Why do I run?”

Is it to win?

Or just for fun?

Or is it the breeze,

Or is it my love

For the empty space,

And blue skies above?

Or is it the pleasure,

Of mental walls to break,

Or physical limits to push,

Such pleasures I willingly partake.

Or is it for her,

Who waits for me?

Enduring my absence,

Patiently,

Such thoughts, in my mind

They impulsively flow,

Like dunes in a desert,

Or flakes in the snow.

I run where I like,

I do what I please,

I’m a constant runner,

In the constant breeze,

Running along

A course I hadn’t charted,

My mind, my thoughts

Are now all departed.

Effortless in motion,

Effortless in thought,

Where am I? Or where I’m going?

I happily forgot.

Gliding like an eagle,

Flowing in the air,

Here a tree, there a hill,

Glorious nature, everywhere.

I run alone,

But all of nature’s friends I meet

The sun, rain, grass, stones and all the rest,

This tryst with fantasy, Oh! Can I repeat!!

In busy times, this feeling I’ll recall

A part of life that I can’t rewind,

But remember and reminisce

When I see the footprints I left behind

I ran many a-mile,

I did what I pleased,

And now I lie, a constant runner,

Comfortably numb and totally at ease.

Run!!

The time has come; it’s marathon eve and preparing for the race,

In 24 hours, I’ll be a different person, wearing a proud smile on my face,

A few final hours leave me reminiscing about the months I’ve trained.

 ‘Cause no matter how I do on race day... I will have risen in my own eyes, yet again.

Because, it doesn’t matter how fast I run, or how quickly I cross the finish line,

It doesn’t matter if I lose steam half way, or my legs begin to give up before time,

It doesn’t matter if my energy starts to dwindle, or thoughts fade from my mind,

It doesn’t matter if my friends get ahead of me, or if I get left behind,

What matters is that I stepped up... I challenged myself with the daunting task, another hill to climb,

What matters is that I stuck to the task, I focused, I looked 10 feet ahead, and tread... one step at a time,

What matters is that despite the energy drained, the aches and pains and splints and cramps, I heaved along determined to shine,

But what matters most is the "spirit" with which I ran... and crossed the finish line!!

(Composed by Vikram Idnani, with some really creative inputs from Juhi my 10-year old daughter, Kush my 11-year old son and my "always young" darling wife Krishna)

The forgiving city, Mumbai

It is June 30th 2013, 5:40am and my alarm rings. Have purposely kept my alarm for half an hour later than normal as I’ve once again slept at 2:30am after pubbing last night.

I conveniently turn my alarm off and continue in my state of eternal peace. Missed call from Leelamma at 6:05am… then 6:29am my phone rings again. Twice. Man, this time she’s determined to wake me up.

My mind starts thinking about all the possible excuses to stay in bed – 6:30am, it’s too late now… it’s dangerous to run with such less sleep… do I really want to get wet today… should I just cuddle up and get back to bed… I can always make up tomorrow… but my conscience overpowers everything and tells me that if I am really passionate about this, I should get up and run. So, with 41 reasons “Against” and 1 “For”, I drag myself out of bed, mechanically put on my shorts, t-shirt, grab a slice of bread, a couple bananas, a glass of water and I am off.

As I am getting into my car on Peddar Road, I see my good friend, fellow runner Rajesh Shah running down the slope. On the way to Marine Drive, I see more and more and more runners…. Boy, I am so glad I got out of bed. Just seeing so many runners and knowing I am going to be one of them soon gives me a high.

I reach Marine Drive and realize the rest of the runners from my group have left. So, I do a quick stretch and am on my way. As I run by the coastline, I feel the cool monsoon breeze. My body feels great. Can’t believe I feel so good with just 4 hours’ sleep. The pavement for a change looks white and clean. As I run over the tiled pavement, I do a mental check on my body – my chest and back are upright, no stress there. My legs feel good, though I feel a little niggle in my calves. With my experience, I think that’ll go away in 3-4 kms. Body check done, breathing is good, no huffing or puffing. Sounds like a good run ahead of me.

Seeing the clean pavements, thoughts run through my head about Bombay city. This city is so beautiful on an early morning. Just a couple days back, I was at my sisters’ for dinner where my friend, Narain Mahtani, showed me a Google map of Mumbai’s coastline. The coast has a dark outline which lightens up as one goes away from the coast. What is this dark outline? Well, it’s the filth that we dump into the sea every day of our lives. It is so evident, it’s even on the map now. I feel Mumbai is such a forgiving city, which just keeps giving and giving while we recklessly spoil, or should I say, rape and pilfer it. I just want to say, don’t’ do anything for the city, just stop being reckless about your waste.

As I see Tahsheen returning from her run with a smile on her face, I realize I am starting my run late today, at 6:30am. I go a little ahead and I cross Suvir, shoulder tilted to one side and chugging along quietly. You know, one thing that’s unique about runners is that they always look “happy” when they are running. Never will you see an angry or a frustrated runner. They will be tired as hell, but they will always, always smile if you get eye contact.

As I pass Peddar Road on the way down to Mahalaxmi, I take a few seconds to just look up at the sky. Wow, it is so blue. The clouds are sparse, white and broken apart. That makes the sky look so…. What’s the right word… all-encompassing. As I look up at the sky and continue to run, I just feel so consumed by it. Under this infinite sky is this one small speck on earth, me, doing my Sunday run.

I see the NSCI gate approaching and turn around there, my halfway mark. As I run, my head continues to hum one of my recent favourites “If I lose myself” by OneRepublic. Of all the groups that I have heard recently, I believe this is one set of guys who will last longer than the others. I’ve heard a few of their songs including “Good Life”, “All Fall Down”, etc. They have this amazing music that really lifts me up. As I continue running down the Haji Ali coastline, I just let my mind free of all thought. Everything that flows through my mind… literally…  flows through. There is no emotion, just recent memories that float through while my mind continues to hum “If I lose myself tonight… it’ll be by your side….” like a broken record.

As I touch Mahalaxmi temple my mind starts playing games again, like a warning that Peddar Road is here. I get the thoughts out of my mind, shorten my steps look 4-6 feet ahead max, and chug up. I don’t care when it will end. What matters to me is that I land my next step, and the next, and the next, till I reach Gamadia Road after which there is a steeper gradient for about 100 feet or so. More concentration needed here, though it’s a short distance. I continue running, uneventfully, sub-consciously humming my tune, till I hit H2O again at Marine drive.

Looking at the sea, once again, the selflessness of Mumbai city comes to mind as I see a single wind surfer in the sea, navigating his way through the waves. What a wonderful sight.

I am well-received at the flyover by some clapping from my fellow runners and my trainer, Leelamma. An 11.5k run in good time, I am ready for my stretches. That’s the most satisfying part of the run, the stretching, and then to realize that I still have the energy to do my stomach exercises.  Awesome feeling to just sit on the Marine Drive parapet, drained of all energy, hands on knees, head on my hands, and watch time pass by so slowly.

And as I sit, I think to myself, this city could very well be like Hawaii. Mumbai offers the same wonderful ocean as does Hawaii. It has the same long coastal roads, the beaches, where we all can enjoy a run, a walk or a picnic with the family. Then what is different….?

Well, the only thing that is different is us – you, me, everyone who is a part of this city. The rampant grab for ocean-view space, the casual trashing of a chocolate wrapper, the spitting, the show of strength in throwing a banana peel as far into the sea as possible, etc., etc., etc.

And I come away from my most satisfying 11.5k run with some happy thoughts and some regretful feelings of a paradise that’s getting lost - bit, by bit, by bit…

A rainy Sunday morning...

It is Sunday, 9th June 2013. Slept at 2am last night, but I must go for my run. 4 weeks of nothing has made me soft. Woke up at 6am. It is a rainy morning. I drag myself out of bed and off to Marine Drive I go.

At Marine Drive under the flyover... it is the most beautiful sight to see the vast Arabian Sea, relatively calm, the waves lashing gently against the shore. I do my warm-up stretches. I start to run and within minutes the light drizzle turns to a heavy rain. It is the most glorious feeling to be running in the rain. Drops of water hanging from my eyelashes, threatening to drop any moment with the thud of my foot hitting the ground. My t-shirt is drenched. Thank god I’m wearing a dry fit, so it’s not as heavy as what a cotton tee would be when wet. Oh, I am so happy to be running again... even with just 4 hours’ sleep, my body feels great.

Getting to the halfway mark, Haji Ali juice centre, is a breeze. Haven’t had enough water to begin the day so my body is beginning to warm up quickly. But forget it, I’ve got a slope to climb. I turn around and trot towards Peddar Road. I forget the warmth and try to focus. In the 4 years I have been training, Peddar Road never ceases to challenge me. Today too, Peddar Road slows me down quite a bit. After all, I am doing this without even a kilometre of running in the past 4 weeks. But I get past it. My body is good and holds up well. I just need to control my mind from letting me believe I am tired. After Peddar Road comes the gentle Kemps Corner hump. This one does nothing to resist me, has never done. My arms are moving from my shoulders and with a few thrusts of my shoulders, I’m past this hump. It’s now downhill all the way.

Turning around to Marine Drive, my body is very warm, my forehead is warmer. I know there’s a water boy at Wilson College. I will ask him. As I reach there, he has turned around and is busy talking to someone. No one looking in my direction, so I just decide to move on without water. Not a good decision - why am I torturing my body? Guess I just want to see how far it can go – a sub-conscious challenge I throw at myself every once in a while. As I get to Chowpatty, there is a gentle breeze from right to left. Feels lovely on my skin. As I enjoy the breeze, I realize that the breeze is cooling me down and the air is giving me a lot more oxygen to breathe. That’s a good alternative for water. Serves the same purpose. This raises my morale and I am running better again. As I come to H2O, I decide to stop focusing on the road in front and take in the beauty of the wide open space above the sea. I look at the vast sea on my right. I see a grey cloudy sky merging with a brown-grey ocean far, far away. Forming a sort of lagoon is the land at Cuffe Parade on one side, and Walkeshwar on the other. It all looks so aligned, so much in harmony, so calm. I make sure to open my eyes more than I normally do, to take in the beauty of this beautiful rainy morning. In Mumbai, one doesn’t get a chance to open one’s eyes above the horizontal because it is a concrete jungle, tall buildings everywhere. There’s no reason to look higher than straight ahead.

After Taraporewala Aquarium, I am suddenly running faster. My hands are moving like the axle of an engine, front and back, round and round, my back is straight and my legs are feeling strong. I am in a zone for the last kilometre of my run. What a feeling! I see nothing around me, just the fluid motion of my hands and legs and a conscious effort to keep my body upright and reduce the strain on my quadriceps and calves. I finish my 10k run. My timing is not great by my standards, but great considering I’ve had zero practice and a bit of binge boozing and partying in the past 4 weeks. I hear Leelamma’s clapping and that of my friends encouraging me to finish well. Feels so good to finish the run. I am at Marine Drive under the flyover now. As I look around on the parapet at the bodies of my fellow runners lined up, doing their stretches, I notice my good friend Aarti there too. It’s probably the first time she and I have met during our runs, given that she started almost 4 months ago. She’s got the passion and desire to do the 21k this year and I hope for her good sake she does it. As I get down to my stretches, Leelamma helps me do my initial stretch. I do the rest with Shyam and then crunches with Vishal, or Chhotu as he is called.

Stomach exercises are another pain in the... gut. I finish them but Chhotu pushes me to do more. I then sit quietly for a few minutes, legs folded upwards, arms on my knees. And I listen to the sea – I listen to the waves and I connect with the environment. Wow, I really am lucky to be a part of this wonderful universe in the form God has given me. For a change, no car horns, a handful of people around and the waves of the sea lashing ever so gently on the shore. There is a palpable calm in the air. Natural human voices and the sound of the waves going shhhhhh every 10-20 seconds, dying out before they even reach the rocks. This is so beautiful. This is what God brought us here to enjoy... I am at peace, so much at peace... I forget everything around me, no people, no work, no appointments, nothing... nothing else matters right now except this beautiful morning between me and the sea.

I am so much at peace that I stop at every signal on the way back home at 8:30am on a Sunday morning. Everyone around me looks at me like I’m nuts. But it just doesn’t matter. I am so happy to stop at every signal and enjoy this breeze through my open windows. Some people actually feel guilty and stop at the signal with me. Now I’m not only happy, I’ve also made someone realize the need to stop at a signal. The morning continues as I reach home and pour myself a big cup of milk. After a long run, I need calories. I just naturally look for high calorie stuff. I then go and give my beautiful wife two pecks on her right temple as she slumbers through the Sunday morning in bed. I hear a purr from her which tells me she’s at peace too.

I am happy, so happy. If life were as simple as this, we’d all live till we were a 100 years, and enjoy a lot more of this planet that God has brought us to experience.