Decoding 828...!

Decoding 828

A friend of mine gave me a magical weight loss formula. For seven days rice, dal, parothas were replaced by fruits, boil vegetables and soups. Waking up in the morning with sugarless tea and going to sleep having boil vegetables was not only tough but painful too. Every minute seemed to last longer than an hour.  Desperate to lose few kilos, I sacrificed my taste, hunger and above all my piece of mind. At the end of the week when the weight machine showed some impressive results there was temporary satisfaction.

Next, came the month of festival. It started with Durga Puja and by the time it was my birthday I was almost back to where I started. Then came the surprise birthday gift from my wife which reached home a week late. Seeing the courier guy, helped by the security guard with the biggest parcel ever, I wondered what must be inside. As I was opening the huge parcel, the curiosity was more towards the likely financial liability (credit card bill) at that time than the gift. Inside my thought process was   “a tunay kya kiya ”  and outside my facial expressing was “I just love your surprises”. The first thing to come out of the parcel was a chain, then a frame, then a handle and finally a pair of tyre …..…it was a by-cycle. This time she really surprised me, more because it was not much expensive.

I was hoping to buy a cycle since long and the 26’’, non -gear, BSA Hurcules came as a pleasant surprise. A local mechanic assembled it and I cycled back home in the evening. Our society neighbours admired my new possession and all took turn to test drive the machine. After the initial josh, the ownership of the cycle was taken over by the dust. Every day I plan to cycle few kilometres in the evening and finally I postpone it for the next morning.

One fine morning, getting ready for office I decided to wear jeans and sports shoes. The shoes gave me a sporty feeling. Getting down from the lift, I saw my dusty cycle parked beside a pillar. All of a sudden I felt like the poor machine was seeking my attention.  I took a piece cloth from the guy who was washing the cars and cleaned my cycle. I pushed it along to “Jagdish Tyre Puncture” shop near our society in Rajnagar Extension, Ghaziabad to pump in some air.

Next, I was in the highway. I was feeling is if the cycle was taking me on a ride. It was moving effortlessly. The sun was still rising, the mist were yet to dry and the gentle breeze from the opposite direction gave me a liberating feeling. I was enjoying the vast openness and continued to cycle. There were some cycle hawkers carrying small carpets, duster, one among them was carrying different kinds of broom. His business must be booming after the swach bharat abhiyan and Aam Admi party. There were others like me who were simple cycling to work.

A dog started barking at me, I increased the speed, the dog continued to chase me, I stopped, he stopped, I continued again, he returned back. Before I could realized  I cycled 6 km and reached Mohan Nagar. It was an awesome 20 minutes, which I enjoyed to fullest. Not, like the minutes I passed following my friend’s  diet chart. I parked the cycle in the cycle stand which charge Rs5 and boarded a tempo to reach Vaishali Metro station.

It’s been almost three weeks now, I am cycling regularly from home to Mohan Nagar. Cycling has now became  my constant companion. I made new friends, learned new facts and discovered more energy in me than I thought I had. Morning is the time when the wine shops are closed and makeshift flower shops near the temples are open. It is the time of hope and positivity.

I made friend with one Shri Nand Kishor ji. Every morning he cycles more than an hour to reach his work place. When I asked him don’t he get tired, he responded by saying “my wife feed me two large size gobi ka parotha with Dahi every morning”.   “How can I get tired” He counter questioned me. He is quite content with his life. He ride an old style cycle, like the one our father used to ride. But you will find no other cycle in the highway as trendy as his. New seat cover, beautiful back reflector lights, colourful frills in the spokes, acupuncture fitted handle cover and shining bells. He is a plumber by profession and take pride on his expertise.  He informed  me that his only wish is to see the ocean and he had already saved enough but he will go once he get his two daughters married.

The dog who barked at me on my first day, is my friend now. I named him Laika, after the first dog to visit space. He  follows me for more than a kilometre till he gets to eat his share of Parle G. Few  thing what I found good about cycle is that I need not have to take the vehicle for servicing, nor do I need to fill fuel. Neither the policemen ask for my licence. The best part is, I became fit cycling regularly. It is not only about my weight but the complete experience which had rejuvenated my lethargic hormones. I am feeling healthier, confidence and above all happy.

I realized cycling to be far better way to feel fit than following my friend's magical weight lose diet chart. After all cycle don’t torture our taste buds, it just liberate us from all our worries. If you had already read so far, you must be wondering what the mystery behind decoding 828. Actually I just tried to create a suspense through the title, so that I can share my cycling experience with you all. After all we all know life is not always about mysteries but also about sharing happiness too. Moreover it is the journey which is more thrilling than the actual destination. "828” is nothing but the code number of my cycle lock or it may looked upon  as unwinding from our 8am to 8pm lifestyle. I am sorry for disappointing you but please do give cycling a try, I am sure you won’t get disappointed, ever with Life.

Abhijit Bhattacharya

(This article was written in December 2014)