I was always a water person. As a child, I enjoyed swimming. I moved on to rowing and then I learnt the joy of windsailing in Jakarta. Then I experimented with to scuba diving. When I moved to Mumbai my passion for the sea still persisted and Colaba sailing club enabled me to pursue this. An early morning sail out into the deep blue sea, (I can’t vouch for the blueness of Mumbai sea!) with the sea princess caressing every inch of my body with her wet and salty embrace, still fills me with an exhilaration that is difficult to express in words.
After that I shifted to Delhi; a city far far away from the sea. I could no longer manage my morning sail out into the sea before getting busy with the daily grind.
I met Rahul who became a good friend within a very short time. May be some connection from our previous incarnation: - ). I shared with him my frustration of not being able to indulge in something that connected me wuth the nature and tickled my adrenal glands.
He offered to find me a solution. He asked me to join him on a Saturday early morrning. Both of us got into my car. Rahul took the driver’s seat. I was all excited and my heart was filled with anticipation. I was looking forward to any surprise. From the highway we turned into a side lane. The road was narrow and deserted. It was luscious green all around. We reached the destination in few minutes.
What a sight. All those beauties standing out in the field, enjoying the early rays of sun. I could not take my eyes off them. Rahul asked me to choose one and mount her.
“Don’t worry. I have selected a gentle one for you. She will be nice to you. Once you mount her and she is on the go, you should start your up-and-down motion with her rhythm” He explained to me the basics of dealing with them.
Before this, I had sat on a horse only at those touristy places where the groom held the reins and the horse walked along placidly. In the club the groom helped me to mount the horse and then handed me the reins and a whip. I was filled with trepidation. Rahul rode up to me.
“Koshy start trotting” He suggested.
“How?”
“Rub your heels against the girth of the horse” He explained.
I did what he asked me to and the horse (her name was jungle baby) started trotting.
Oh My god, I was bouncing up and down and my back hurt.
“Koshy you have to move up and down, kind of like sit ups, along with the rhythm of the trot” Rahul started his lesson.
As I proceeded with my riding for couple of days I realized that it was not going to be easy to be a good rider. A lot to learn! The moment a person mounts, the horse realizes how good a rider he is. When it realizes that you are a novice, it decides what to do. Each horse has his /her own personality. Some are gentle and well behaved. Some are lazy and just won’t move, while others are rascals and will try to throw you off.
A few days into my riding, one morning as I was mounting a horse some fellow riders invited me to join them for a hack in the forest behind the club. I decided it was worth a try. As we trotted into the wild, the horse picked up speed and I was both scared and ecstatic. Rahul was behind me. Suddenly the rider in front shifted to a canter. Meenakshi, my horse followed suit. I did not know that when a horse started cantering I had to stop sit-ups and just sit. So I continued to do sit-ups and I was getting thrown up and down. I thought that I was going to fall off.
“Koshy stop the up-down motions and sit steady” Rahul yelled.
I pulled at the reins and Meenakhi slowed down.
I was hooked. But I had to pay the price to get some level of mastery on these animals. Only then could I take him where I wanted and not the other way! For the first few days my back and hip joints hurt, and I could not walk normally. May be it raised a few eyebrows and some of my friends asked me to my face what my latest pastime was. I experienced what we mean by "a pain in the butt" However all these are nothing but minor irritants in comparison to the feeling of exhilaration I had when a horse zipped along the tracks.
I knew that horse riding could be a good exercise for the horse; but I never knew that it could be an exercise for the rider too. That is because I had only sat on a horse that walked slowly. But as I graduated to a trot, a canter and a gallop and when I learned to balance on my toes in the stirrup and do continuous sit ups I realized that the rider does get some exercise too.
Whenever I am in Delhi I try not to miss my early morning rides. Some days I stay back in the arena, some days I go for hack rides in the forest behind the club and on some days I practice my jumps over the hurdles. Now I know what Shakespeare meant when he worte “When I bestride him, I soar, I am a hawk: he trots the air; the earth sings when he touches it; the basest horn of his hoof is more musical than the pipe of Hermes.”
Tail Piece: When I moved over to Delhi from Mumbai, there was no more sailing. When I moved over to consulting from industry it was like a metamorphosis from being mother to a nanny or from a builder to an architect; life had changed 180 degree .I was out of my comfort zone. I had two options; either to look behind with fondness and regret or to look ahead for new adventures. I chose the latter and I am having fun!
“I hate the word success. To have succeeded is to have finished one’s goal in life. It is like the male spider that gets eaten up when it succeeds in its courtship. I like the stage of continuous becoming, with a goal in front and not behind” Bernard Shaw.
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"Musing of my Partner in Sin"
After that I shifted to Delhi; a city far far away from the sea. I could no longer manage my morning sail out into the sea before getting busy with the daily grind.
I met Rahul who became a good friend within a very short time. May be some connection from our previous incarnation: - ). I shared with him my frustration of not being able to indulge in something that connected me wuth the nature and tickled my adrenal glands.
He offered to find me a solution. He asked me to join him on a Saturday early morrning. Both of us got into my car. Rahul took the driver’s seat. I was all excited and my heart was filled with anticipation. I was looking forward to any surprise. From the highway we turned into a side lane. The road was narrow and deserted. It was luscious green all around. We reached the destination in few minutes.
What a sight. All those beauties standing out in the field, enjoying the early rays of sun. I could not take my eyes off them. Rahul asked me to choose one and mount her.
“Don’t worry. I have selected a gentle one for you. She will be nice to you. Once you mount her and she is on the go, you should start your up-and-down motion with her rhythm” He explained to me the basics of dealing with them.
Before this, I had sat on a horse only at those touristy places where the groom held the reins and the horse walked along placidly. In the club the groom helped me to mount the horse and then handed me the reins and a whip. I was filled with trepidation. Rahul rode up to me.
“Koshy start trotting” He suggested.
“How?”
“Rub your heels against the girth of the horse” He explained.
I did what he asked me to and the horse (her name was jungle baby) started trotting.
Oh My god, I was bouncing up and down and my back hurt.
“Koshy you have to move up and down, kind of like sit ups, along with the rhythm of the trot” Rahul started his lesson.
As I proceeded with my riding for couple of days I realized that it was not going to be easy to be a good rider. A lot to learn! The moment a person mounts, the horse realizes how good a rider he is. When it realizes that you are a novice, it decides what to do. Each horse has his /her own personality. Some are gentle and well behaved. Some are lazy and just won’t move, while others are rascals and will try to throw you off.
A few days into my riding, one morning as I was mounting a horse some fellow riders invited me to join them for a hack in the forest behind the club. I decided it was worth a try. As we trotted into the wild, the horse picked up speed and I was both scared and ecstatic. Rahul was behind me. Suddenly the rider in front shifted to a canter. Meenakshi, my horse followed suit. I did not know that when a horse started cantering I had to stop sit-ups and just sit. So I continued to do sit-ups and I was getting thrown up and down. I thought that I was going to fall off.
“Koshy stop the up-down motions and sit steady” Rahul yelled.
I pulled at the reins and Meenakhi slowed down.
I was hooked. But I had to pay the price to get some level of mastery on these animals. Only then could I take him where I wanted and not the other way! For the first few days my back and hip joints hurt, and I could not walk normally. May be it raised a few eyebrows and some of my friends asked me to my face what my latest pastime was. I experienced what we mean by "a pain in the butt" However all these are nothing but minor irritants in comparison to the feeling of exhilaration I had when a horse zipped along the tracks.
I knew that horse riding could be a good exercise for the horse; but I never knew that it could be an exercise for the rider too. That is because I had only sat on a horse that walked slowly. But as I graduated to a trot, a canter and a gallop and when I learned to balance on my toes in the stirrup and do continuous sit ups I realized that the rider does get some exercise too.
Tail Piece: When I moved over to Delhi from Mumbai, there was no more sailing. When I moved over to consulting from industry it was like a metamorphosis from being mother to a nanny or from a builder to an architect; life had changed 180 degree .I was out of my comfort zone. I had two options; either to look behind with fondness and regret or to look ahead for new adventures. I chose the latter and I am having fun!
“I hate the word success. To have succeeded is to have finished one’s goal in life. It is like the male spider that gets eaten up when it succeeds in its courtship. I like the stage of continuous becoming, with a goal in front and not behind” Bernard Shaw.
If you liked this post, share this with your friends
Related Read
"Musing of my Partner in Sin"
Enjoyed!! I like your spirit and wishing more adventures and fun. Please do share!
ReplyDeleteGreat writing Thampi. Keep going.
ReplyDeleteWell done Koshy - learning is always challenging and exhilerating! Vinod
ReplyDeleteWonderful Koshy. Last Sunday I watched my 7 year old god-daughter take her riding lesson and was so struck by her concentration and devotion. It made me regret never having learnt myself but your blog makes me think perhaps it's not too late.... Gemma
ReplyDeleteIt is so well written that while reading, it was like a visualisation experience. I read it during last week, but due to some issue could not post the comment then. Indeed nice to read your blog, as usual. Hope you would be back to regular writing.
ReplyDeleteWell written. I liked the way you have portrayed the entire article. Please do post more interesting articles like this.
ReplyDeleteRegards,
Suhas
Great post Sir !!!
ReplyDeleteInteresting and very expressive ...
Best Regards,
Soma.