Naysayers abound!

It looks like we are still immersed in the euphoria of our recent close to 500km ride from Srinagar to Leh, Ladakh. Friends and well-wishers continue wishing their felicitations and, in not so many words, tell us to thank our lucky stars (or the Almighty) that we were still able to complete the crunching climb of 7,000 metres at this age.

One of the fellow cyclists in the group did not take kindly to that phrase. He had put in so much effort throughout his life to keep fit. After leaving school and leading a more sedentary life, he decided to go back to his active ways after seeing his father suffering from various complications of diabetes.

From someone who jogged around the housing estate, he graduated to running long distances, hiking, and cycling. By a twist of fate, he found other fellow ‘madmen’ who shared his eccentricity amongst his neighbours.

Hence, he started the weekend sorcery of commitments to hiking, running, and cycling. The avalanche in the weekend noradrenaline rush was enough to keep the mind and body going over the week. All that came with a price, of course. He lost party-going friends, and he rarely got invited to functions. If the Cures were in love with Fridays, my friend was with the weekends.

Saturday nights were not the time to indulge and party all night long. Family birthday functions soon became a chore as he kept looking at his watch when it was past 10 pm. He had to limit himself to that one drink, quickly becoming a wet blanket and a bore to others as he wanted to catch that well-needed nap before the early headstart the next morning.

Along the way, well-meaning, unwelcome advice from friends and relatives alike also came. They often quoted a seemingly healthy youngish so-and-so dropping dead like a fly after a trivial activity. And they would sow the seed of fear and uncertainty. Life is already unpredictable enough. Do we need these doomsday prophets to spread more confusion about what lies ahead of us?

He believed that deep inside, these people have an innate desire to dominate and suppress. Unable to see others doing things which push the boundaries of possibilities, they discourage others. Seeing someone slimming down will pop their antennas to suggest diagnoses such as diabetes or occult cancer. They jump to offer a shoulder to cry on the moment you get diagnosed with a chronic illness. On the sly, they are happy you are sick. They have one negative point to run the other down over. It looked like they loved to see others sick. They must have been vultures in their past lives, patiently waiting for the dead to breathe their last breath before they devour.

So when these people congratulate you for work well done, they were the same people who gave you anxiety, questioning your whole trajectory of life as well as throwing a spanner into your well-thought path to self-improvement. Remember not to sneer at them, as no one knows what lies ahead. They may actually have the last laugh and say, "I told you so!"

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