Mildly remarkable

I realized very recently that I need something remarkable to happen,for me to get some inspiration to write. There are two ways to remarkable things.

1. You either wait for it, or

2. As cocky as it sounds, do something remarkable yourself.

आग जुबां पे रख दे ,(Aag zubaan pe rakh de)

फिर चोट के होंठ भिगाएङ्गे। (Phir chont ke hoonth bhi gaaenge)

घाव गुनगुनाएँगे, (Ghaav gungunaenge)

 तेरे दर्द गीत बन जाएङ्गे। (Tere dard geet ban jaaenge)

These are lyrics from a song that I have fallen in love with... 'Zinda', from 'Bhaag Milkha Bhaag'. Here's, in my opinion, what the stanza means.

Let's set our mouths on fire. Then we'll quench the thirst of our wound's lips.

Lips of the wound will eventually start humming,

Then our pains will turn into songs.

Beyond anything, what is most striking is that, the literal translation of words, in a way , mitigates the meaning of the original lyrics. Anyways, I was onto something, which I felt, would be slightly challenging. I had done something very similar to what I was about to do today, something a bit milder, but that was a while ago.

By the time I had reached midway, I felt that I had just started. Things felt a lot easier. My breathing felt as though, I had been sitting for a while, My legs felt a lot easier to lift. I didn't have to control my foot while landing. They were on their own. And thankfully, the cloudy sky had shown me some mercy.

Today, for some reason, Indian Institute of Management-Kozhikode, rather, the thought of getting to it, didn't sound as daunting as it sounds on an average day. Pun intended, by the way. If there's a rule where you are to title every day of your life, today would be 'To IIM-K, And beyond!!'.

 I had checked my route on Google Maps. It showed the distance between me and my destination as 9.5 kilometers. So I had planned on a slightly longer detour to round off the distance to 10 kilometers. The skies were cloudy, I had already procrastinated for an hour with my start and... yeah, that's about it. I'd put my wallet in my pocket. When I started off, it was about 6. Quite precisely, it was exactly 6 pm. So off I was. My first few steps were the usual kind. Each one, calculated, each one with the thought of lasting, as far as I possibly could, without feeling too slow about things that went past me. I had this song 'Zinda' ringing in my ears, in my head rather, as I wasn't carrying a music player. I have a feeling that I hadn't gotten into the flying start I was hoping for. But it felt better than the last time. A lot more effortless. I had surely started enjoying the dumbstruck expressions I saw on faces of pinion riders.!

The route I was on, was, although not perilous, filled with ups and downs. I attacked on the steep rises, didn't push myself to injury downhill. Okay, this is where it gets a bit philosophical. I realized this on this run of mine today. When times are hard, ATTACK!! Because when the road ahead is going downhill, everyone will speed up without putting much effort. A component of gravity called 'mgcosθ' will be on your side anyways all the way downhill. I am yet to figure out what to do on flat straights. Maybe intersperse your normal efforts with small spurts of speed....

I was in the last 3 kilometers of my journey when a sudden tempo kicked in. This boost I felt was where, last time around, I had felt like giving up, even though I didn't stop. Now 'Zinda' was playing loud and clear, muting any sound/sensation that could have reminded me of any possible pain. I just kept my eyes and ears out for any errant on the road. And yes, now, I was finally loose enough to move at a consistent pace over any gradient. Just then, I realized that I had gone 'beyond IIM-K'.

I have a feeling that I will be greeted with rotten tomatoes by anyone who reads this, if I have conveyed the meaning of my last sentence clearly enough.

It was the last mile that remained and ...... things were going uphill from here. I sped up. It felt comfortable. So I was at it. I could see the end about 300 meters away. I saw this word in my head...SPRINT!!

I had reached the end. My destination. Done for the day.

The bus stop was close by. Got there, caught a bus back to college. Something troubled me on my way back. I had finished what I set off to do. But it wasn't satisfying. It wasn't like this distance had finished me off. It was almost as if I could have gone on. I could have gone a lot further.

But for a change from last time, the bus ride back...felt a lot longer...

Here's a line that still rings inside somewhere.

हिचकियों में क्या है मरना , पूरा मर ले। (Hichkiyon mein kya hai marna, poora mar le)

Don't die in installments. Die just once!

The song stayed with me throughout.

Here's looking forward to feeling alive!

I guess, I should start quoting a few Malayalam songs too..