Walking in the park amid Covid-19

The local park is a vibrant place in the morning, in spite of the coronavirus scare. ‘Maintain social distancing,’ a board at the entrance gently reminds the walkers patronising the park. A more apt command would seem to be ‘let’s come closer.’ The fact is, one can hardly walk peacefully, let alone meditate, in a world of crowds. While a sizeable number throng the park on their doctors’ orders, there are those who come just to soak up vitamin D from the sun—for free. If only they could take away a bucket full of sunshine.

The park starts humming with activity as soon as the gates open and the early birds troop in. Soon, one can hardly stick to the pathway without bumping into a shoulder or two. At times a walker comes down so fast that one has to step away from the pathway— or else get bumped off. Discretion is the better part of valour and so one yields readily to the rampaging bull. The day may not be far off when one will leave the park not invigorated but battered and bruised.

What’s the true intention of walkers coming to the park? It’s not for their health or for the sunlight. It’s gossip. So loud is their yapping that it puts the sweet tweeting of many a cuckoo in the trees in the shade. Some walkers are so deceived by the innocuous-looking park that they decide to give it a go-bye and explore the nearby bylanes instead.

Recently, when I was advised by the doctors to go for walks, the responsibility of escorting me fell on a friend of mine. I followed him like a lamb to be slaughtered. No sooner did we enter the park than my friend grabbed hold of a pole and started to demonstrate a few exercises. A gentleman tried to warn us that the electric pole may be charged due to leakage. My friend became so charged himself that he retorted with a snap, “what’s that to you? Is this your father’s property?” The well-intentioned Samaritan quickly turned around and fled. I too quietly quit the ugly scene.

I kept my fingers crossed as we approached the gymming area. As luck would have it, the wanted equipment was down too, out of order for ‘technical’ reasons. I waited for him to explode. But he was cool as a cucumber. He smiled at the security guard and said, “you should have a board here reading: ‘Covid-19 at play. Journey guaranteed without delay.’” A morbid observation on ‘co-morbidity’ I quickly shed my friend’s observation and fled home.