A Walk to Remember

I am seriously thinking of making it a regular thing to go out somewhere during the weekend, even if it is a half-day outing! I realized that all I had to do was schedule an errand and once that was tackled, simply spend the day out.

Could become a very enjoyable and addictive habit! Last weekend we made time to smell the flowers  and this weekend, after finishing the errand we set off towards the Government Aquarium. We weren’t sure if it would be open, or if there would be anything there, as all the tanks were empty when we last visited, years ago. Still, we decided to take a chance – who knew if the authorities had decided to revive it again? So we went. And to our delight, found it not only open, but with a few fish tanks. We spent a very pleasant hour there until lunch time. Click the gallery to see each pic

Then, during lunch, we discussed what to do next. Sometimes it is such fun not to pre-plan! We decided on impulse, to take the Metro. I was very keen, because since its launch we’d never had the opportunity to ride in it. The walk to the Metro station was a little long and yes, it was a Walk to Remember.

We took in a puppet art exhibition that was truly stunning. We walked along the pathways – the one at road level has lots to see – art displays, sand sculptures, a huge snakes and ladders game on the sidewalk where one can actually walk up the ladder or slide down the snake. I was eager to play but my folks wanted to move on. Hmph! We admired all the changes in the area – at one time we used to visit this part of town at least once a fortnight.

As we waited for the Metro train to arrive, we decided to visit the “Bangalore Santhe” – a crafts village sort of project near one of the stations. What a pleasure it was to walk around the Crafts fair! Some folk performances were scheduled for the evening as the village was celebrating its first anniversary, but we couldn’t wait that long as we had to get back home by 6.30 in time for Vidur’s music class.

There is one scene that sticks in my head. We stopped at one of the shops and Vidur wanted to buy a little idol of Krishna. While we waited for the young chap in the shop to pack it, we ended up buying a cute little miniature tricycle made of cane. The boy at the shop said he was minding the place for his uncle who had gone out to bring stuff. While exiting the village, I saw the boy sitting with an elderly person who must have been his uncle. The uncle was busy working on something and the boy kept trying to put a pair of headphones on him. The uncle laughed and kept protesting, and the boy was laughing too. It was so sweet to watch them tussle together and finally the boy hunkered down and hugged him and the uncle held him close, patting his back.

Mmm.

After we returned to the Metro’s starting point, we walked back to the place where we’d find transport back home. This time we walked the pathway above the road level, through arches lined with flowers and a great vantage point to see the traffic on the road. This is one of the hubs of Bangalore and anyone who visits would never leave without taking in MG Road and Brigade Road.

Tired and quite happy, we made our way back home. Oh yes, as usual I took lots of pictures. I had forgotten to make space in my camera and it courteously informed me its memory was full half way through the day. Thank heavens for cell phone cameras!

What a wonderful day, we thought. Later in the evening I watched a movie titled “A Walk to Remember” based on the book by Nicholas Sparks and enjoyed it. Then I thought, that would make a cool post title because that’s exactly what it is about!

I felt a little disoriented this morning when I woke up and tried to make my list for the week. How nice it is to go offline and take a mini break. I fondly remembered those pre-internet days when our entertainment revolved around going out to the market or sight-seeing, visiting friends, spending time with family, cooking something special, reading books and listening to music. I’d love to get back to that again.

And so I resolved to make it a point to spend more time offline than I do now.

Have you consciously thought about slowing down? What are you doing about it?

Linking up with Unknown Mami for Sundays In My City

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