100km Walk: To Do List

As anticipated a lot of junta will give a shot @ 100km death walk next year. This is a TO DO LIST (lessons learned) for those who want to have a serious shot @ the event in the forthcoming years:

0. Practice & Practice:
The key thing is to keep practicing ahead of the final walk. This will help you to know your body a bit better. You can then anticipate problems you encounter for long walks and employ remedies to soothe the effort.

Notorious Blisters
Most of us are likely to suffer from blisters. It would be good to know which part of your feet are sensitive to blisters and protect the same. I, for one, am susceptible to blisters below the thumb area and the adequate protection in that area really worked wonders in my case. Those are very much sensitive to blisters should seriously think of anti blister socks. If you are using ordinary
socks, do change them every 20-25kms depending upon the sensitivity.

Change Shoes
Walking 100kms would exercise the same set of muscles for a long long time. Change of shoes in the middle would mean relax to some muscles and hence advocated. I, for one, changed a pair @ 50kms.

1. Change the Body Clock
Unless you are working in the night shift, it would really help to alter your life style slowly ahead of the walk. Practice to work in the night for a week or so. As the walk starts in the night, one feels really sleepy towards the morning. In our experience, early morning period between 35-50kms was most difficult for us when we had anticipated 60-75kms to be the most difficult period. One can possibly pull-off 12 hrs more but pulling 24 hrs is a daunting effort. Trust me.

2. No Bags Please!!!
You need not carry anything, absolutely anything on the walk. One Kg. weight on your back at the start would weigh 10 if not 100Kgs. towards the end of the walk. Moreover, the organization support is excellent as they pamper you with drinks, fruits, chocolates, energy drinks etc. etc. on the way. You absolutely don't have to carry anything. I would have loved to advice you to walk as you were born but as apparels are mandatory, I would advise you to walk only with them..

The organizers provide another excellent facility and carry one of your bags half way. Do utilize this facility. As the walk starts in the night, prepare only for the night keeping all the material required during the day (Shoes to be changed, caps, glasses required during the day etc.) in this bag. You can collect the bag upon your return.

3. Have a good fun group
Although I do like to travel on solo trips at times, this particular activity demands an excellent set of colleagues to motivate and cheer. Noorie, Sneha and Naveen were excellent with all the fun. It would require an ultimate motivation to surmount the challenge all alone. Moreover it would be rejoicing to walk in a group singing, bantering, cheering all the way...

4. Maintain your own pace
This is not a competition but a challenge for you and no one but you. At the end, we realized that many participants finish first 50-70 kms at an impressive speed but then give up for one reason or the other. I would recommend to maintain your own pace. Normally, human walks @ 4.5-5 kms and hour (Our speed during the practice sessions was 5kmph) and if you are able to walk 24hrs, most likely or not you are going to cross the finish line.

5. Never Give Up!!!
The crux of success probably lies in the fact of keeping all negative thoughts at bay. One of best things walking with Noorie was that the thought of Giving Up never ever crossed our mind. As anticipated, the things turn extremely hostile after 80kms. In fact, in my opinion, the last 20kms were equivalent to first 80 and one has to be extremely positive during the last phase. The only assurance at this stage is finishing the rest 20 is better than starting for 100 all over again, so no second thoughts, Keep Walking...

Hope the post aids your effort...

100 kms March of Death: An Experience

"आप के पैर बहुत हसीन हैं! ईन्हे जमीं पर मत उतरीएगा!! मैले हो जायेंगे!!!", एक हमसफ़र (Your legs are very beautiful! Never keep 'em on the floor!! They will get dirty!!!", a fellow traveler), I remembered Rajkumar leaving a note on Meenakumari's legs in Pakeejah while participating in the 100km Death March @ Bornem-Belgium. That kept me wondering if it would be apt to leave a similar note on the legs of all crazy participants,"Bravehearts! Appreciate all your courage!! But, do take a good care of your legs or else you won't have the pleasure to place your legs on the earth anyway!!!".

Honestly, I myself would never have fallen into this (death) trap. What I termed A stupidity upon that time was Once in a Life Thing for Naveen and Sneha and they really pulled me into this deal of walking for 100km. This is supposed to be the toughest walk in Belgium called Dodentocht (Death March in dutch) exhibiting "Walking for a Better World". Once it became our mission there was hardly any way out and we all wanted to give our best shot at the event and started training for it. The trainings went on rather well and we all geared up for the day or rather night of the event...

The start of the event (9pm in the evening) must have been etched in every participants' memory for a long long time. Amidst glittering lights and camera flashes, the flock of brave-hearts started ambling on a bannered road with spectators cheering up from both the sides. If you have no hopes of participating in the upcoming Olympics, World cup or Grandslams etc. and still want to enjoy a bit of cheer and adulation, want to locate yourself on a big video screen of a sporting event, I would strongly recommend you to participate in this walk. The night really comes alive with the barbecues, musical nights on the way and you really do not realize the monumental task ahead. With people eating, drinking on the roadside cheering you up, kids eager to shake hands with you, you start believing that you are indeed somebody special. You are raring to go...

Unfortunately, things don't stay that cheerful for a long while though. After midnight, the cheers start fading, roads become deserted and you along with your group comes up to terms with the arduous task ahead...75kms to go and start taking one step at a time. The only solace during this phase of the walk is amiable surroundings with cold breeze blowing along the lake side, in addition to the unfaithful companions like glittering stars and the shining moon. Eagerly you start looking forward to that upcoming pit stop where the volunteers and support staff are set to pamper you with food and drinks. Some of them offer you hints as to how to relax your legs and keep yourself rejuvenated.

Towards the dawn though, the romanticism of the walk is on its way turning into a bitter marriage. You start realizing that you have not had sleep for the last 24 hrs., the body clock starts to deviate and you sense a lot of uneasiness to continue further. Your legs become heavy, head becomes heavier and at heart you start cursing yourself and the rest who pulled you into it. Sleep on your eyes, you have no energy to have a look at mesmerizing sun rays penetrating the mist atop green fields. You just want the damn walk to end and end as soon as possible. Most of the walkers get convinced at this point midway that divorce is the only solution to redeem themselves from this brutal world.

A Brave Team
All of us, I must admit are very strong characters to start with. Naveen, I know was zilch in swimming when he came to Leuven and he persistently developed himself such that he now swims 1-1.5km nonstop, not an easy feet to achieve any day. Sneha, another courageous character is born to walk. I have witnessed her feet full of blisters during one of the training treks and believe me, I still wonder as to how she pulled off those 7-8 hrs (35kms) of walking on the training day. Unfortunately though, the hip injury sustained during the training sessions took its toll on Navin#. Neither pain killer spray nor Physiotherapy could subside his pain and he decided to call it off @ a remarkably well pulled 50kms. Sneha#, to her nature persisted. Small jogs kept her blisters quiet for a while but beyond a point when they started exploding, it became unbearable for her and she pulled off @ credible 57kms leaving me and Noorjahan* (alias Noorie) for the rest of the walk. Noorie had joined us from Rotterdam and I had known very little about her. The stories narrated by Sneha a priori suggested that there is a lot to admire about her.

Walking with Noorie
My first interaction with Noorie was through a group e-mail where she had listed 17 items essential for 100km walk. The mail left me in a huge dilemma, to laugh or to cry. I burst into a huge laughter as I could not cry. While I preferred to walk 100kms without any baggage and if allowed even without any clothes, it appeared to me as if she wanted to set up the entire family @ Bornem. During the walk though, she was full of zest, zeal and an unimaginable determination. With ~50km to go when Naveen asked her if she wanted to go ahead, she nonchalantly responded, "हां, कर लेंगे!!!"("Yes, 'll finish!!!") I have to admit, her nonchalance at that stage gave me a lot of confidence and trust during those sleepy times. With 43kms to be cracked in 10 hrs time, I suggested Noorie to reduce the amount of breaks on the way. Beyond a point of walking, you realize the importance of Newton and his contribution to science. Legs started up in motion, are better to be kept in motion and every re-start becomes a real ordeal to move an inch. We progressed at a decent pace during this phase as we could surpass some of the fellow walkers to get over our inferiority complex of being at the tail of the tail midway. Yeah, at the 50km mark, we were the last who persisted walking with the hope to finish. Meanwhile, the friendly weather during the night had turned into a nightmare because of the glaring Sun. The scorching heat was making walking more and more taxing and both of us collapsed on the ground as soon as we entered the shadow of a park. After 10-15mins or so, we were shaken up by the volunteers again, "Guys, Liten! you are at the end again. If you want to finish, you have to start walking and start walking now". With heavy legs we started again. The power of power nap came to our rescue and we found ourselves rejuvenated as if we had had a good nights sleep.

"Noorie, but what motivates you to follow this craziness?, Brutally walk 100kms in such a taxing weather?, Why the hell you want to walk 100km? ", I posed a question to Noorie and she slowly took the cat out of her bag, "Guruji, All I want is to see is my dream Prashant (her husband) witness me crossing the 100km finish line. I want nothing else. He said he would be here in Bornem around the finish time and all I want is to...". It's incredible what women can do for their men. I was awed as I could not control my laughter to pose another query, "But, what if he tells you to do 100kms again?" "I will divorce him", Noorie was spontaneous, "I will divorce him. Do 100kms again and marry him again". Incredible, simply incredible!!! I have never seen such a bondage before and probably will never witness the same in future. In the contemporary age of short lived marriages, broken relationships, strained lifestyles, it was indeed a pure joy to witness such a pious objective to accomplish an arduous task and was indeed an honor to be a part of accomplishment.

We finally have the Pineapple!!!
Slowly and steadily, we went ON and ON and found ourselves at the finish line @ 20:58 hrs, 2 mins ahead of the 24 hrs of prescribed time. On the chores of "Profeciat!!! Proficiat!!!" (Congratulations!!!Congratulations!!!) from the crowd, we received our Pineapple, Beer and Certificate and the Medal. Prashant with his eyes wide open was there to witness the accomplishment and I felt happy for both of them. I had to admit to Prashant during our first meeting itself, "Maaan!!! You have a very very courageous wife." Long Live the couple...

After the record breaking (when I broke my own record) event if television crew poses me the question as to why I did 100kms? Here is the list:

0. For the Pineapple: Yeah, I can do anything and everything to get the pineapple. I love the fruit so much that...

1. For this brave team & an excellent support: I think I owe it to them. It would indeed have been very unfortunate if none of us would have finished successfully. Not only we, all the walkers gave their best at the event, the support provided by Ruth, Laura and Akhil was fabulous and timely. Thanks a lot!!! In any drama team, they say, back actors are more important than the front actors. I stand by it.

2. For my grandchildren: Yeah!!! I believe they will be proud of having an adventurous grandpa....lol.

3. For That somebody: who I believe saliently admires this spurious craziness as and when it pops up as much as I do...
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* I hate the distortion of such a good name. Whenever you say Noorjahan, you yourself feel like a Shehenshah. No, I am sorry but Noorie does not offer that royal touch.

# If my reading is correct, Naveen and Sneha will give another shot at Dodentocht with vengeance next year. I will always be there to support both of them.

China Breaking India??

Political theories have always been rife and the current hot theory amongst them is the Chinese version of How to break India. If you go into the details, the theory is no different than Divide and Rule, a very well known theory employed and successfully executed by British while ruling India. So, the question is, will the proposed theory work in the present scenario as well? Pondering about this question while discussing with Anand, I was reminded of another story (popular in the Marathi literature for ages):

Once upon a time, a cap seller was on its way from one town to the another and he has with him a bag full of caps. On the way in a jungle, he decides to take a siesta under the tree but forgets to lock his bag. The monkeys in the jungle are very notorious (what else they can be?) and steal all his caps. Now, in an effort to get back all the caps, he tries everything he can. runs after the monkeys, climbs trees but all in vain!!! monkeys are too fast to him. Moorover, monkeys to their nature, start to irritate him. They start imitating all his actions one after the other and here the clever man comes up with a brilliant idea. He indulges all the monkeys into a game such that they follow all his actions. Whenever he sits, they all sit. Whenever he stands, they all stand. Whenever he jumps, they all jump. Whenever he laughs, they all laugh. Whenever he scratches his head, they all scratch theirs. Then suddenly, he fervently takes the cap from his head and throws it into this bag and all monkeys follow the act. The cap seller immediately locks his bag containing all his caps and runs away. Proud of his achievement, he narrates this story to all his friends and fellow villagers. Soon, the story becomes a legend to be narrated for generations to come...

The time passes and the grandson of the cap seller decides to pass through the same jungle. Confident that he can always get back all the caps from notorious monkeys, he decides to be nonchalant and on purpose decides to keep his bag containing all caps open. Monkeys come, take all the caps from the bag and wait for him to wake up. As he wakes up and sees all the caps being stolen, he is still confident. He laughs out reminiscing a DeJa Vu. Soon, he starts playing the same games with the monkeys as his grandfather did and they also start to follow him religiously. They all sit, whenever he sits. They all stand, whenever he stands. They all jump, whenever he jumps. They all laugh, whenever he laughs. They all scratch their heads, whenever he scratches his head. Satisfied as it has been proceeding the way it has been scripted, the grand son grows more confident and he takes his cap and throws into the bag. At the very next moment, the leader of the monkeys jumps, steals the last cap from the bag leaving the grandson a one liner, "Don't we have grandfathers?"

Moral of the story: Even monkeys learn generations after generations...lol.

Unfortunately, Indian history has not been encouraging when dealing with China. We had to concede a part of our land to China after the famous Sino-India war in 1962. Addressing the parliament after the debacle, the then first prime minister of India Pandit Nehru had defended, "Fellow countrymen, but we don't have to worry. It's only a barren land. Nothing grows on it." To which one of the Parliamentarion Govind V. Pant (I am not sure about the name) responded, "Panditji, Yeah mera sar hein. Ispe koi bal nahi. Kya aap chahate hein ki mein ye kisi aur ko du aur khush ho jau?" (Panditji, This is my head. I am bald. Do you want to me to offer it to someone and be happy about it?)

Given the fact that the younger India much more confident, dynamic and progressive, it would be non-realistic to believe that the "Divide and Rule" theory would work in the present scenario unless we screw up...screw up big time...screw up more than monkeys do :)

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Disclaimer: The post is not meant to offend any of the Chinese friends but to prove the fallacy of the theory. What states do and what people believe is more often than not very different. I am sure we all want peace and no more than peace.

NBH Hike 08: Sticky and Sweet Madonna Hike

"Oh, You also join these NBH hikes? Is it your first time?", Vaibhav, an UCLA intern in IMEC posed a question. "Yeah Dude, I possibly have missed the number of NBH hikes you have attended so far", I was about to quip but instead started wondering about the dynamism of the NBH Group. With so many new faces joining each and every hike, it's really difficult to keep count on who has come and who has gone. Stunningly, after missing a couple of NBH hikes, one might even feel like an absolute newbie.

Newbie or not, NBH is a lot of fun, specially for a hike when you do know that there is a special and secret destination. The secret event during this hike was Madonna's live "Sticky and Sweet" concert in Belgium. Tomas wanted to keep this as secretive as possible and wanted to show THE FINGER to all of those who missed it for whatever reasons. Out of generosity, I decided to share the secret with some who I thought might be susceptible missing this event. Dimitrios was one of them and definitely I did not want him to miss this opportunity to watch Madonna live. Excited after knowing about the secret on our way to Cafeteria, Dimitrios not only assured me of joining the Hike (and not letting Tomas know that he now knows the secret destination) but also went on to inform Tomas on a Luncheon table as to what a fantastic idea it is to include Madonna's concert as a part of NBH hike. As I reached the Lunch table, Tomas already knew who played the spoilsport and commented ,"You can't keep your mouth shut, can you?".

It was indeed nice that Dimitrios & Co. joined the hike and as a result we could also enjoy the Greek Cheese pie as a part of food testing event. I do not really remember what exactly was on the Menu but a variety of Pastas, Sushis, Puri etc. and above all Koen's dessert was a perfect beginning that started the Madonna's concert. Honestly, it was quite difficult to walk through the return path after sumptuous dinner but it was indeed rewarding to walk through the mist. The view of the Church midway acted as a catalyst to rejuvenate the entire group. One can tirelessly walk all the night if such a beautiful view is a companion all the way...

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

Jay sent this hilarious video to me and I just could not control my laughter so much so that a bunch of officemates passed by my desk to inquire what the hell happened. To me, the video aptly bolsters the view of the Jorden Actor that We Indians are really f****** English royally forever...

Laugh Out Loud with the Video: Punjabi Kids butchering English Nursery Rhymes

Update 1:
Sandeep just sent this fan-f******-tastic one. National representation of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star: Twinkle Twinkle Indian Desi Styles

Update 2:
Jay, Arul and Co. have found this amazing doctor: The Real Killer of Michael Jackson !!Exclusive Video of MJ's Killer !! making mockery of many many songs. It seems he has over 1300+ songs like this. Unbelievable!!!

Update 3:

Link to National Debate on ibnLive. I vote for Bi/Tri-Lingual education system. I think that's teh way to move forward: http://ibnlive.in.com/videos/99054/08_2009/sotn1108_1b/state-of-the-nation-english-
a-way-of-life-for-indians.html

Once a Camper, Always a Camper...

It's not everyday that you will be sleeping in a cozy sleeping bag inside the tent after a heart (and of-course stomach) filled barbecue gourmet during a rendezvous evening. It's certainly not everyday that you will listening to the melodies of the birds calling on you , "Wake-up, Wake-up!!!" and have a breathtaking early morning view of the neighboring lake. It's definitely not everyday that you get out of your tent in a flash to walk on a due wet grass as opposed to taking a bedroom to bathroom walk as a daily ritual. All these things make camping nearby a picturescue location not only attractive but also addictive. Honestly, very very addictive. In fact, you will never be satisfied with one and will always be looking for the next available opportunity to camp.

In my observation, there is a distinct difference between mass of the Europeans plan their trip and most of Desis' day out on a picnic day. While many Europeans are eager to spend their day just cycling/walking/fishing the entire day on the bank of a scenic river, along with camping, barbecue and chill out for the entire day, most of the Desis love to have a jammed packed itinerary as if we have no next day to live. Most Europeans prefer to spend time with the family and friends on a beautiful resort/bungalow to get rejuvenated during the time of the holiday, many Desis' choose to visit all the historical places, museums in the city/town. Accepting, it's not entirely a bad idea to glance through the entire region under purview during a trip, sometimes it's just wonderful and blissfully refreshing to just sit/lie down, relax and indulge in a banter with friends in a tranquil environment. A small walk or a short Kayak /Canoe during the day is just icing on the Cake.

During the last visit to UK (Manchester-Lake District-York), I ended up doing the mixed bag of both. As the first and the last day of the trip were hurriedly spent hunting down as many tourist spots in Manchester and York respectively, the days I remember the most are two memorable days spent camping in the Lake District. It was indeed refreshing and rejuvenating and I would recommend all of you to give it a shot at the next available opportunity. I have started to believe "Once a camper, always a camper..." and hope you will also second it...