Shying away from the outdoors

A visit to any of the City’s parks, which have a path for walking or jogging, can make a lazy youngster lower his or her head in shame. It is hard not to notice and admire the tremendous stamina and willpower of the middle-aged and old men and women, who routinely frequent them to maintain good health.

One question repeatedly comes to mind, though — why are there hardly any youngsters around? Is this generation of youngsters too lazy to get out of their homes or are they only dedicated to a mechanical treadmill instead of the great outdoors?

There are some who start off exercising in parks but eventually switch to gyms, for convenience’ sake.

“I started going to Cubbon Park when I moved to Lavelle Road two years ago. It’s an exceptionally beautiful

and clean park with lots of fresh air. It was very de-stressing for me,” recalls Hirachna Pandya, a young professional.

“But, I stopped going to parks when I moved to Koramangala. They are much smaller in this area and get pretty crowded in the mornings. So now, it’s back to the gym for me,” she adds.

For others, it helps to have a more intensive set up, which a gym provides. “Unlike in parks, the gym has a controlled environment and a trainer, which is what I need to make myself work out. I can be quite a lazy person and in parks, nothing drives me to run the whole circle. I’d much rather pay and give my body the level of exercise it needs in a gym,” shares Vinay, a student.

Of course, the youth have not deserted the parks altogether. There are still a few youngsters who cannot get themselves to jog anywhere else, because of their need for fresh air.

“I frequent a park beside Madiwala Lake, which gives a grand view of the lake and has a patchy grove of trees. There are fishermen in dinghies and large birds in the lake! The path is unpaved, unlike the monotonous treadmill. This and the cool air have been kick-starting my mornings since last year. I’ve witnessed an equal ratio of young and old people at this particular park,” notes Fibinse Xavier, a data scientist by profession.

“I personally feel that the brilliant Bangalore mornings would be wasted if you jog in a gym,” he wraps up.