I have being attempting to go for morning walks in the garden in my colony. It is a rather pretty garden with huge leafy trees and a bed of green grass. A luxury in Bombay, really! The walking path is perfect. It runs through the perimeter of the garden so it covers maximum length. It is not too short a distance that it would make one’s head spin going around the garden again and again. The distance is even marked. 180 point something metres for every round. Absolutely conducive to walking one would say?

I hate it. I can never keep count of the number of rounds. I have tried every trick possible. I have tried counting it the normal way. One, after the first round….two, after the second….. I always lose count, usually around the sixth or the seventh round. My mother told me to try the ‘Housie’ lines after ever round. But I don’t remember any lines except for ‘88—two fat ladies’. So that couldn’t work either. Next I tried making up poems after every round. The first time I tried the standard ‘one-two buckle my shoe’ poem. Didn’t work again! At ‘seven-eight lay them straight’ I got confused whether I was on the seventh or the eighth round. The next day I tried making up my own rhymes after each number. One is the number of nose on man, two is number of headlights in a van, three is the number of legs in a tripod, four is the number of children of Durga God….. and then I got so excited with my rhymes I started making them up even before I completed them. And sure enough….. I lost count. Again!

It is the monotony. How can anyone concentrate on just counting numbers? Especially early in the morning! I have decided now that the only way I can continue my morning walks is if I walk on a straight road. Walk till I can’t walk anymore and then turn back towards home, happy with the thought that I don’t have to count to be back in the comfort of home.