It's not just on paper

A hometown wedding. This is a magical statement which raises the adrenaline levels in most Indians by a hundred folds or so. For me, it surely was exciting to prepare for and attend a relative’s wedding- shopping, dressing, socializing, making merry and the like. But the excitement to visit my hometown Surat wasn’t as much as it should have been. Reasons could be as under- 1. Surat is geographically so close to Mumbai that I consider it less of a hometown and more of a backyard 2. Despite this clear advantage, I have visited Surat less than 5 times for durations less than 10 days (very unlike a typical Indian hometown vacation)  3. Being a Mumbaikar, I carried the false perception that if you’re a Mumbai loyalist, you cannot like or appreciate any other city. So now, when I did backpack and set out for this “hometown” wedding, I didn’t quite anticipate just how much was in store.  Gujarat in a train All aboard the Gujju Mail Starting

Photo Credit: Flickr Think of the word exercise for a moment. What other words would you associate with it? Sweat, gym, workout, burnout, and what not. Do you notice how, by and large, we associate a negative sentiment to it? Why don’t we most of us associate more positive words such as flexibility, strength, rejuvenation, me-time, etc. to exercising? Culturally, we have had very limited exposure and encouragement to exercise and even play sports. These are considered as “extra-curricular” and therefore, by consequence, less important and optional activities. Earlier, I too had a negative and dispassionate approach towards exercising. It was my health-conscious sister, who initiated me to the gym, then to yoga and other forms of exercises. Prior to this, my mom had initiated both her daughters to swimming, which is a great full-body workout, apart from being a fun-filled leisure activity. These were my early experiences with exercising, and frankly, they weren’t even