2020: Story 12: Walking with my Friend

This is story number 12 of 2020 - and as I type out the title, I'm reminded yet again that this year is drawing to an end. A year that threw the entire world into the chaos that we're still learning how to deal with. 

The prompt for this month's story was "Hyped". 

Young people often use this word to indicate the feeling of being ecstatic, pumped up, or extremely excited.  

However, the dictionary definition of the word 'hype' is given as "To publicize or promote something intensively, in a way that attracts interest, often by exaggerating the benefits." This is the context in which I set this story.

Happy reading, and waiting to hear your thoughts!

“Rama, I won’t be joining you on our morning walks from tomorrow,” said Shalini on the phone. Was that a note of diffidence that made her sound different today?

“What happened, Shalini? Hope all is well with you?”

“Oh yes, I’m good. It’s just that my daughter got me signed up at the Hot Reforma Fitness Center that’s come up in town recently. Their slots are fast filling up and I could only get an early morning batch and that’s around the time when we usually take our walk. I agreed because even I have started feeling that our so-called walking is of no use as real exercise. You know I haven’t been able to lose even a single kilogram despite walking every single day for the past three months.”

I bit my tongue and stopped myself just in time from commenting on her love of sweets and carbonated drinks that were probably to blame for the unchanged weight. After all, it is a free world and we all have the right to make decisions that seem correct to us.

The next morning, as I walked alone on my regular walking route, our milkman passing by asked, “You’re alone today, Didi? Is your walking friend unwell?”

“Oh no, she’s good. She has joined the new fitness club that opened in town last week and her session is at the same time as our walk. So...”

“Ah, ok, I understand now. You take care, Didi. Walk carefully around the Jayprakash Road, the water works department has dug up the road to lay some pipes.”

Thanking him, I walked ahead.

As I passed by the temple, I looked at the Lord’s idol from afar, bowing my head and folding my hands in silent prayer, asking that He take care of things for me and everyone in the world. The temple priest hailed me and came out holding garlands that had adorned the Lord’s form the previous day. It was a practice we had gotten into, and I would take the garland home as divine sacrament and hang it at the entrance to my home to sanctify the premises.

“Here, Rama ji, this is for you and ....” he looked around as if searching for someone.

“Shalini won’t be coming from today. She has to go to the new fitness center for her exercise,” I explained.

The priest nodded silently and bid me goodbye.

I went on towards the market and completed my purchases of vegetables and fruits for the day. I remembered Shalini again as I did my shopping. She would haggle with the sellers and get us items for lower price although I didn’t really like depriving the poor villagers of a few rupees. When I tried to intervene, she would say, “You don’t know these people, they expect customers to bargain and so, they hike the prices.” The same Shalini justified buying clothes at the label price at her favourite boutique when she went on shopping trips to the city. She would gush over the material, the quality and the tailoring and justify the high prices she paid.

“Didi hasn’t come today?” asked the vegetable vendor. Was that a smile I saw on his face anticipating a better profit margin from me unprotected by Shalini, I wondered.

I explained again about Shalini’s other engagement at the fitness club and finished my purchase. Needless to say, I handed over the exact amount of money the vendor asked me to pay. As I was turning away, he called out to me, and thrust a sizeable bunch of coriander and curry leaves into my hands, saying, “It’s free, you don’t have to pay.”

Pondering over how unexpected human behaviour sometimes is, and at the human spirit where generosity springs up in the most unexpected places, I made my way back home.

My life continued as usual, and I occasionally talked with Shalini over the phone. She was full of praise for her trainer at the fitness center who encouraged her to try all the equipment and even gave her a diet plan to follow and monitored her progress with great alertness.

“You know, Rama, I lost half a kilogram in three weeks already,” she gushed.

I felt happy for my friend.

After about a week of this conversation, I got a call from Shalini’s daughter.

“Aunty, will you come home to see Ma? She’s been asking for you.”

“What happened to her? I hope she’s not ill or something?” I asked, and immediately felt foolish. After all, how could Shalini with her new-found fitness fall sick?

“Err...actually, she’s got a muscle tear, and has been advised bed rest for two weeks. She’s feeling bored with nothing to do, and says talking to you for a few hours will help her feel better.”

I visited Shalini the next day and was shocked to see how haggard she looked.

“Why, you’ve lost so much weight, Shalini!” I couldn’t help exclaiming.

“Yes, Rama,” she replied with a wan smile. Then she changed the topic to ask about my son, and we spent the next few hours talking of all the things we had not shared with each other ever since Shalini had stopped her morning walk with me. We joked about the fact that my latest health check up showed that I was in normal health, but there was no loss in my weight.

After I returned home, I couldn’t help wondering if it would be a good idea to join the fitness club like Shalini had done. I wasn’t getting any younger, and it was probably time to start thinking about losing some of the weight that had accumulated around my hips. I had seen so many elderly women struggle with knee pain because of their weight.

A fortnight later, Shalini called.

“Rama, what time do you set out for your morning walk these days?”

“Well, actually, Shalini, I have ...”

She didn’t allow me to complete my sentence.

“Rama, I now realized the mistake I made in going to that fitness center. I didn’t mention it to you the other day, but the doctor told me that the muscle tear was due to over-exercising.”

“Oh!”

“At first, I was obsessed with losing weight and wanted to do all the exercises that my trainer taught me. Well, later, I began finding it a strain, and wanted to reduce my routine, but by then, the trainer had decided that I should continue the same set of exercises. He was using me as an example to encourage the other ladies who came to the fitness center.”

“But that’s not right. How can he force you to do something against your wishes?”

“Well, that’s exactly what he tried to do. When I tried to talk about my problems to the other exercising ladies no one even wanted to listen to me. So I quit. I’m coming walking with you from tomorrow and that’s final, Rama.”

“Great! Be here at 7.00 am as usual, Shalini.”

After saying bye to Shalini, I made another phone call.

“Hot Reforma Fitness Center? I’m Rama Gupta, and I’m calling to say I changed my mind. I won’t be joining your classes.”