You should walk

One weekend last month, I was returning home after completing some banking work in the morning. As I was nearing home, I saw a neighbor coming along in the opposite direction. It had been quite a few months since we met and so I waited after greeting him. He returned my wave of my hand with his own and then stopped near me.

This maamaa is a tall and well-built person, so you do feel a little small (both in age and size) near him. He started talking and the conversation (Tamizh portions translated) went like this:

Tall maamaa: I will tell you this. You should walk. What time do you leave for office?

Me: Around 7:30-45 (It was a lie because I knew his next query would be around when I get up)

T.m: Then you wake up at least by 6:30 (Told you he’d hit that sour point) and walk for some half-an-hour.

Me: Yes yes, I am trying.

T.m: I know you are all hard working (forgive him; elder people tend to generalize) and it is difficult. But why I am saying this is because you all are sitting all day long and need some exercise.

Me: yes maamaa, I will definitely try to walk.

T.m: Otherwise, how are things? Is Amma fine? I was out of town for 2 months.

Me: Oh, that’s why I didn’t see you.

T.m: Yes yes. I came back only last week. Ok, I will go to the Bank before it gets hotter.

He then walked away. So, here is this old man, who is meeting me after almost 2 months and the first thing he tells me is “You should walk”. And this is even before exchanging pleasantries and complaining about the weather. Even as I wondered what the world had come to, I then realized where the problem was.

It was the shirt I was wearing. It was a stiff material and kind of stuck around my mid-riff, more stuck than how INC is with Rahul Gandhi. It obviously irked him to the extent that he jumped right to the topic.

Subsequent to that conversation I took necessary action. The shirt is now hidden in the far reaches of my cupboard.