Half Marathon hai bhaiya......

I finished my second half marathon, thats 21 km biyatch, two weeks back, the Hyderabad Heritage Marathon 2012. And for 90% of you guys reading this post who would no doubt be smirking and saying "auto pakkad liya hoga saale ne", I have 9 words for you......................................"Come to my house and see the finisher's medal".

Anywaaaayj, I ran for myself to prove that even though I might have gained 15 kilos since my school age, I can still run baby. There are about 700 guys and gals running besides you, and God has made each one of us unique and special in our own ways, there are still a few groups of people who are present in each race, and they are:

1. The professional runner: This guy I usually do not get to see anytime during the run. He stands in front of everyone, and finishes ahead of everyone. By the time I finish half of the half marathon, matlab ki "pauva" marathon, he would have finished with the 21 kms and gone home, had beer and slept. I on the other hand, might be realizing the fact that you still have 55% of the course to finish, and might even develop the sudden urge to pee.

2. The "fast" runner: He is the kind of guy I get irritated about. The guy who thinks he can sprint intermediately and be able to finish ahead of the other "slow" runners. I am always reminded of the tortoise and the hare story because of this guy. He runs, stops, runs again, stops.....pants, gasps. Some of these people do get to finish the course, but others........just plain irritate me. Marathon bhaagne aaya hai, ya 100  metre dash......

3. The babe in shorts: In each of the marathon my strategy has been to find out that one girl runner who runs as fast, or as slow, as me and not to leave her side during the run. She is the one motivation factor which keeps me going. I run besides her, ahead of her, behind her (the best view), but sadly on both occasions they have finished ahead of me.

4. The senior runners: People sure are fitter than me. In both marathons, there were people who were easily twice my age, and were running twice as fast as me.....At their age, I would be happy if I can make the regular trips to the bathroom on my own.

5. The runners who finish behind me: This is the group I like most. Because they prove to me that there are people who are slower than me, and that I am not that bad. I have been lucky enough to finish as an average racer in both the marathons. But the point is that for the runners ahead of me, I lie in this category.

6. The topless guy: In every race, there are a few people who like to run topless. Sadly, they are all men. They usually start off wearing the normal tshirts, but when you see them during the race, the tshirts are tied around their waist. Looking at them, I wish I could also be able to run topless. But alas........

7. The guys in jeans/trousers: Who the hell runs 21 km/ 42 kms wearing jeans or trousers. Its usually these guys. The champus, running around wearing jeans, yammering and talking and looking as if they have come out to the park for a stroll. The irritating fact is they still complete the race, usually ahead of me, and do not look the least bit tired.

I dont yet know what prompted me and my friend to enter our first half marathon, but boy, when you reach that finish line, the feeling is indescribable.  I hit my runners' block at around the 15 km stretch. The pain I felt during the 15th to 17th km of the course was equivalent to nothing I had ever experienced. But the matter of ijjat lutna if I stop without completing the race kept me going.


Until the next marathon..........

Bas main points dikhade, baaki main khud likh lunga

Exactly 10 years ago, I was on my way along with my parents to join Haryana Engineering College (HEC), Jagadhri, Haryana as a first year student of Instrumentation and Control Engineering. Instrumentation and Control Engineering was a branch with "bahut sahi scope", it still is.
All I wished for on seeing my college was for it to get over as soon as possible. But at the end all I could think of was how fast time flies by when you have great company and friends who become more than your family. Aah......friends, your hostel mates, class mates, beer buddies, best friends, band buddies, the-know-who-i-have-a-crush friends.
My life would have been an empty can if not for the people I met in HEC, Jagadhri gaon, Yamunanagar zilla Haryana. They taught me how to live alone, curse, smile, have a sense of humour, and basically have fun in college.
Reminiscing about those four years always brings a smile to my face. A few memorable lines from those four years are:

1. "tu toh mera yaar hai" - This line is spoken usually after downing a few beers. Male camaraderie reaches a new high at this point, and suddenly its all bros before hoes. A few drinks later this line even gets changed to I love you yaar, especially by guys who have a crush on a girl and unable to tell her, but they still want to utter this sentence for the satisfaction of saying it to somebody.

2. "Abey woh sahi ladki nahi hai" - Fast friends look out for each other and the single bros look out for each other even more. No matter who the girl you have a crush on, if she does not reciprocate, these i-got-your-back friends would put her on the "nahi sahi" list. This list is basically a list of girls who are not worthy of your attention and for whom you are too talented and cool to be seen with. At the end of four years, you might even reach a point where every girl in your batch or college is not sahi. Except for the one who said yes to your friend.

3. "Ek second bike diyo" - Having one's conveyance is always good. But having friends who do not have their own, is a pain in one's carburetor. Frequently, you will hear this dialogue from a friend, or an acquaintance, asking you for your bike/scooter for just ek second, and you will have an expression on your face saying "bhe****d, ek second mein toh chaabi bhi nahi ghoomegi". But nevertheless you do give the bike, because lord knows when you might be on the other side of the road.

4. "Tune notes banayein hain?" - This line is sometimes said angrily, but most of the times its said with a relief like one feels when the power comes back on after a long power cut. Relief because all the while you had been bunking classes, or staring at that nahi sahi crush of yours across the room, your friend had thankfully either been making notes or jugaading them from some diligent student in the class. But 2 days before the exam, what more can you ask for.

5. "Is semester se pahle se padhai karenge bc" - The exams are over, the beers have been drunk and now the brainstorming for making a road map for the next semester begins. This line is told a minimum of 7 times during the course of years, and each time it is more earnest and from the heart than the previous time. But alas, it is just a noise brain makes, and you wish you hadnt said it aloud in front of your other friends, who immediately reply back with either laughter, or a "bc.....har baar yahi bolta hai.....bc".

6. "Bhai ke saath aise karega tu"/"Papa ke saath aise karega tu" - During the four years of college, each guy in the batch becomes your brother or father at least once. The first sentence here is mostly said by guys who are not your close friends and who are requesting a favor from you. You of course try to say no a couple of times, but in the end bow down to their "bhai ke saath aise karega tu" line. The second sentence is said by your close friends who demand, not request, a favor from you. You of course try to say no a couple of times, but in the end they snatch the money/bike keys/pen/toothpaste/note book from you while shouting "bc papa ke saath aise karega tu".

7. "10 minute mein utha diyo" - When its the regular semester, every one of us is an insomniac. We stay awake till 5 in the morning chatting online, on phone, smoke signals, and what not. But all this quota of sleep has to be finished during the exams. There are sure to be a few in the group, who nod off after reading the first two pages of the above mentioned notes. Their pet line "10 minute mein utha diyo", to which if you reply "Yes" they will fall asleep for two hours and then curse you for not waking them up. But if you say "No. You always do this during the exams", they usually say the papa ke saath aisa karega tu line, fall asleep and wake up after two hours cursing you.

8. "Oh bhanchod....." - One of the classic lines one learns in college, or today's children learn in school. It can be used when one is happy/angry/confused/drunk/bored/sad/urinating/playing/sleeping. Each of the above sentence usually begins with this one and ends with it. "Oh bhanchod, it is raining, bhanchod", "Oh bhanchod, tire mein hawa nahi hai, bhanchod", "Oh bhanchod, bhanchod chod gaya, bhanchod".

These are only a few lines which I can remember as I am writing this blog, but I am sure that there were many more. But my memory seems to be fading after 10 years.
I have also changed the outlook of my blog a little.....thanks for noticing. Its kind of more cheerful now, I hope. I also hope that I can change from the depressed, self loathing individual I used to be from inside. As in the words of Bob Dylan -

People are crazy, times are strange

I'm locked in tight, I'm out of range

I used to care, but things have changed