'March'ing to Work

It had been a long time in the offing, this plan of mine that I had made to walk all the way to work. I had originally planned to do it in the winter months when the weather is more conducive for such sort of adventures. But I couldn’t do it in December I told myself that I’d do it in February but I couldn’t do it last month either. Last Thursday, the day of the Million March gave me the perfect reason to do it. There was no way I could avoid going to work because I had to be present at the Legislative Council. So I had to go somehow. There was only one way I could go there- on foot. There’d be traffic restrictions so I had the perfect excuse not to take out my bike. The bus services too would be uncertain which was another stronger reason and one that left me with no option but to walk. In the end it proved to be a longer walk than the four kilometers I thought would the distance from Musheerabad (where I live) to the Legislative Council inside the Public Gardens in Nampally.

When I started at half past eight in the morning on Thursday, wearing just a cap, I had a tentative plan. I planned to walk upto RTC X Roads, then go towards Ashoknagar X Roads, turn left to reach Himayatnagar, go towards Liberty, take the lane beside MLA quarters to reach Adarsh café. At Adarsh I planned to have a cup of tea before going ahead via Ritz, to Public Gardens. With so many roads cordoned off to traffic there was utter chaos with vehicles jamming the roads. I could see the frustration on the faces of the motorcyclists and those struck in their cars unable to move forward or go back. I walked on weaving through the vehicles towards the RTC Cross Roads. The road towards Ashoknagar was cordoned off with CISF troops standing guard. I was let through after I showed my ID. I walked on towards Ashoknagar and then when I reached Himayatnagar I began to sweat a little. When I reached Minerva I thought it would be a good idea to sit somewhere to rest my feet and drink some water. Ultimately I stopped at Hotel Woodland. My original plan was to drink tea at Adarsh but my feet that were beginning to ache a little made me change the plan. Refreshed with the coffee I resumed after a ten minute break.

At Liberty X Roads there was more chaos with the motorcyclists and car drivers arguing with the cops who cordoned off the road towards the Tank Bund. There is a certain optimism and hope on the faces of my fellow Hyderabadis that they’d be somehow allowed to pass through despite the number of lathi wielding cops, the barricades, the barbed wire making it clear that no one would be allowed to pass through. The people waited passively, maybe praying for a miracle, but I walked on glad that I was not among the frustrated motorists cursing everyone. When I reached MLA Quarters in Adarshnagar I noticed that Adarsh Café was shuttered down. I was glad I had made the decision to have coffee at Woodlands. If I had not done so and plodded on with the hope of drinking tea at Adarsh I would have been left high and dry. Another fifteen minutes of walking was left when I began to feel the pain in the shins. I wore brown leather shoes which weren’t exactly meant for hikes of this kind. But the pain notwithstanding I felt glad that I had carried out my plan to walk to work.

The good feeling gave me ideas to do this kind of a hike more often and I actually planned to do it twice a week with just a minor difference. Instead of walking to office from home I thought it would be a better idea to walk home from the office in the evening. I could come to office by bus in the morning and in the evening walk back leisurely discovering more of the city. It seemed to be a good idea except that I would need to buy a comfortable pair of shoes. During the next few months of the summer I plan to do it at least once a week. Besides being good exercise it would also mean I could get to see more of Hyderabad. It is surprising how much detail passes unnoticed when you travel anywhere by bike or drive a car.

At last, at five minutes past ten I passed the gates of the Legislative Council and subjected myself to a body search. Normally the cops don’t even wish me but that morning a cop actually said ‘Good Morning, Sir’ which made me wonder if he knew about my four kilometer walk. It was comforting to know that at last our cops are catching up on politeness. When I entered the cool confines of the air conditioned Officers Waiting Hall I felt a certain exhilaration about my own march. I felt like I had climbed the Himalayas. But that wasn’t the end of the walk. After the House was adjourned an hour later I realized I had to get back to office. I had no vehicle and the pain in the feet was intense after the hour long rest. I couldn't walk making me wonder if I had to crawl to the Secretariat. But I managed to somehow hobble along up to Hotel Panchsheel. After a bracing cup of Irani chai I started for the Secretariat and got there in about twenty minutes. In the end it turned out to be a longer walk than I had planned for.

When I told my colleagues in the office about my long march they looked at me like they had never met anyone who walked such a long distance. But when I told them I planned to repeat it every week some of them rolled their eyes like they had a lunatic in their midst. Come to think of it, it is a crazy idea and exactly the sort of thing that appeals to me.