Wet Warrior Woman on the Run

Pragya describes the life in a day at Elgin Road, Kolkata. An exclusive for Different Truths.

As I step on the footpath, the chill in the air embraces welcoming. It’s spring but winter’s reluctant to leave. On my wet hair and sweaty skin, the icy cold wind feels heavenly, proving my study of physics right, the cooling effect of evaporation. Me, happy in my thoughts of my contribution to the water cycle of our planet.

I love this short walk from Gym to home every night, even if it’s a marathon.  I’m always short of time, running to and fro. The road that I walk down after the workout is Elgin Road, quite wakeful @10pm. It’s a very busy road at daytime with a convent school, a college, a mall, few cafés, restaurants, a post office, shops, beauty salons, a petrol pump, a hospital, a temple to boast of, also outlined by residential buildings and so much more.

Pavement Food Stalls

The footpath is occupied on both sides by pavement food stalls. But, by 10pm most are closed and gone, except this Puchkawala, who would only start winding up after 10pm. His puchkas are the best in the area and one has to be lucky to gulp down a few of these crunchy water balls even after 9pm. Winding up his stall is a ritual for him. Unlike others, who just pick up their puchka jhudi on their head, stand under their arms and go home, he does not leave his area of the food stall dirty, waiting for KMC workers to clean every morning.

It’s a daily site for me, seeing one of his helps spilling water all over the place, cleaning. Second help, washing the aluminium wares, used throughout the day, the third wrapping up the leftovers neatly, in different packets. He would always acknowledge my presence and instruct his companions to give way to me, moving aside hurriedly.

Adventure Walk

From there on, it’s an adventure walk that forces me to keep my mobile away. The whole pathway is so often dug for sewage and cable works, that now I see only bricks and sand strewn all over where there was a footpath once. All I need is to balance my steps from one brick to the other, if I miss one, I shall either have sand or dog poop on my feet and slippers.

Now, the second stretch has a college beside the footpath that has bamboo dug all over for some new construction work. The students must love the walk through the bamboo maze so much that it might stay there permanently. I have the option of either risking my life walking on the road beside or manoeuvre my big gym bag and not so small me, through the bamboo jungle.

Pavement Dweller

Once I am out of it, two mosquito nets greet me beside the ATM door, must be the security guards of the bank snoring away the night. Just beside them, this site never fails to amaze me. This pavement dweller in his pale white vest and lungi, his muscled-up arms, and legs proof of his heavy physical labour (not Gyming) is always seen applying Boroline to his heavily cracked heels, lying on the carton stretched bed, covered with an old advertisement poster of a famous jewellery shop.

Boroline being ‘the magic ointment’ by which all Bengali community will swear by, whether in Bengal or Baluchistan, for any kind of skin ailments.

A happy whistling reaches my ears (must be from a food stall owner wrapping up after a good sale) adding to the orchestra of the traffic vehicles, dogs barking, conversations and loud laughter of boys doing adda on their bikes at a paan shop.

Full Moon

Admiring the full moon, I reach the crossing to see traffic light red, counting 20 secs down, I quickly cover the zebra stripes thinking of the effect a full moonlit sky has, differently on different people. As I hop across, this car honks at the red signal making me wonder at the civic sense of these licensed Kolkata drivers!

There, as I reach my house complex gates, her running out hurriedly brings me out of my reverie. Her run fascinates me every night. This tall, around 5’ 8” feet dark woman, size zero, dressed in a soiled wet saree, worn above the ankles. With big plastic bags trailing behind as she darts out on the road.

What is it about her that attracts me? What keeps her so inspired? There is a peaceful, almost a blissful look on her face. Always laughing and smiling at every passer-by and one of the most wanted women in our complex.

Visual by Different Truths