An evening walk - A Memorable Experience

My town was one of those quite villages in the land of lakes and letters, that barely seemed to be touched by tourism and development. I took a walk yesterday evening to buy some groceries and to take a photo. It was an early evening walk. Early evening is a pleasant time to go walking.

The walk showed that times have changed and the old farmlands have given way to business centres. Where I used to see Ambi's and fiats, I could now see Mercedes and BMW's parked outside some of the houses. My pedometer registers this distance as slightly more than half a kilo meter. In a way, I'm excited about starting up with walking again.

Good to breathe the fresh air. Yes, I'm getting the message from every corner of my life that I need to re-establish regular walking into my daily schedule. What I'm getting is that I need to start walking again immediately, on a daily basis. This town I live in is great for walking, which I'm grateful for. It's safe, enjoyable, and scenic. Lots of amazing walking paths.

My diet is light years healthier now than it was an year ago. I'm losing weight and people have started to notice. Mostly, my clothes fit looser. I walked along trying to be in the present moment and yet remembering good times from years long past. Not that I don't have good times now; things are just so different.

It's been years since I have been away. Many new stores have opened up since I last took the time to observe this section of the town. The old library building where I started my reading habit, has given way to a new one. I have to go away soon and wouldn't be returning for another year. God only knows what changes would be brought about in that period of time. Even my century old school buildings seems to have changed. Many new restaurants have opened up. Nice. I wonder if it's a struggle with so much competition. It feels nice to walk far.

A friend calls on the cell phone. He want's to know when I would be flying. The quality of walking while talking on a cell phone is not the same. He ends the conversation anyway.

Houses that were a million rupees when first built are now over five million. Yet, the building has not changed other than looking older and somewhat worn. Hmm, Realities of our society.

I notice many different kinds of birds on this walk. I have once been an active bird watcher and could recognize about 148 species of birds. But that was almost 8 years ago. Lack of field experience, and my skills are not up the mark now. I made a mental note to refresh my knowledge and study more about birds indigenous to this area so that I can identify all the birds am looking at. I know some are Drango's, but not able to identify further.

I've already said enough about this walk. I hope to walk again tomorrow. Returning home, my pedometer tells me this has been my longest walk in recent times. About 4 kilometres.