MORNING WALK
The most exhilarating part of the day are early the morning hours before sunrise when the earth has just awoken, the birds begin to twitter as if to awaken the rest of nature, the buds have just opened out into beautiful flowers and the dew is glistening on the grass and plants. It is at this time that I jump out of bed, quickly perform mydaily routine and get out of the house for a brisk morning walk.
A morning walk is most refreshing. During the summer months, the cool fresh morning air, perfumed with the scent of a myraid flowers and plants, braces one’s whole being and one breathes in deeply as though to drive away the previous days polluted air from one’s lungs. So too, in winter it is just as refreshing. Dressed up in one’s woolens, one goes out to walk briskly, feeling the chill on one’s face and hands and then gradually feeling the warmth as the blood seems to surge through the body. Then one looks forward to the hot cup of tea or coffee waiting at home, just as in summer, it is a long cool drink that one looks forward to.
In the course of my morning walksI enjoy not only the beauty of nature and the refreshing freshness of everything around but there are the early morning sights and sounds that keep my interest alive in whatever I see. There are men and women, young and old who jog on the path constructed all around the garden. Many are dressed in sparkling white kurta-pyjamas, others in jogging suits and still others in their night suits. There are those who are very fat and those who are very thin and those who appear to be just right. The ultimate aim of all of them is the same – to be a healthier person in body and mind. Then there are children also who are out in the garden during their vacation and have a wonderful time playing all sorts of games as they let loose the tremendous stores of energy that the Almighty blesses them with.
This healthy environment is, however, often spoilt by thoughtless people. There are those who bring along their dogs and walk them on the grass – the purpose being to get the dog to relieve itself. As a result, the grass gets polluted with the dog’s excreta and the health conscious people who wish to walk barefeet on the cool moist grass, keep away. Again, I have seen others who have the habbit of spitting on the grass and it is a most ugly sight to see the fencing and the walks smeared with their spit. If only people would for a moment consider the filth they spread in this manner and stop doing it, it would be such a blessing for everybody.
Finally, by the time one has completed one’s rounds, the day dawns, the sun rises slowly in the horizon bathing everything in its golden red hue. The milkmen can be seen driving their empty wagon, the newspaper men cycling back after having delivered the newspapers to the various houses, school children with their shining morning faces and smart uniforms can be seen at the bus stops and the routine of life begins.
Thus it is only the early morning walker who has savoured something unique which is missed by those sleepy heads who get up late from the bed.
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