Treadmills Plus

Through this piece I wish to attract the attention of the manufacturers and designers of treadmills for indoor walking or jogging (cardio exercises). I am presenting an idea that might give a value addition to a treadmill. It will be good both for the manufacturers as well as the well healed customer in a pair of Nike, Reebok or Adidas.

Presently the treadmills have a small window displaying various parameters like distance run, user’s plus rate, blood pressure, calories burnt etc. This is other than basic stuff like changing its speed. Recently I have seen the surface of the belt getting an incline with the press of a button, for a climb up effect. Exercising alone day after day inside your house may not be a very exciting experience. Soon people start suffering from monotony of practice. This can result in boredom sneaking in someone’s life, which in turn can go against the will power of the person to get up and work out. Music is very helpful for keeping the mood bright, but again there are chances of suffering from monotony.

My idea here is to include some ‘audio-visual’ files in the movement of a treadmill, just like a car racing game. In car games the ambience moves as the car races ahead with the press of a button or a stick. The speed of the scenery going back depends upon the speed of the car. The car moves through a variety of land escapes like a bridge, a narrow road, an 8- lane high way or down town. Similarly a variety of ambience could be planned and synchronized to run along with the movement of a treadmill belt. These visuals could be seen by the user of the treadmill either on a TV placed in front or it could be project on the front wall covering a larger area for better effect. If the wall in front has a curvature then the edges of the projected picture could get curved to give a mini 3-D feel on both the sides of the screen. The projector could be fitted at a suitable point in front of the treadmill or on the ceiling, from where uninterrupted projection can be done.

Of course sound effects too are not to be left out of this experience. A matching sound track can easily be designed to accompany various ambiences. Designing technicians should also create footstep-sounds of the treadmill user. It would be great for authenticity. They (designers) could work on making interesting audio-visual themes. One of themes for example, could be called a ‘forest’. So every visual in this will have to be an authentic part of the forest. The path, on which the user will feel he is running on, will be narrow and will be made of dirt/mud color. On its sides could be grass and small plants with flowers. Both sides will have large trees passing. Creepers could be hanging from trees. Sounds of jungle birds will be a constant companion. Bats may whiz pass in various directions with their squeaks traveling on stereo speakers (or even 5.1 home theatre). Small animals like jackals or rabbits may be seen on the path at a distance and then run away across into dense bushes. Sun light may play hide and seek from thick trees.

To give the idea of the distance covered while jogging on the treadmill, mile-stones should also be placed at the right time when the right distance has been covered. There could be a mile-stone every 100 meters and then a little bigger and different one for each kilometer. The look of the mile-stone too must match the theme of the forest. To go further there could be many kinds of forests, like rain forest, Redwood or any other. Spiders, bugs or scorpions could also be played with.

Another theme could be ‘urban’, like a city road. If it is early morning in Manhattan, tall buildings with a sun-rise would look good. Other animated joggers could be passing by. As the animated person approaches the treadmill user, a sound of ‘hi or good morning’ may be a good idea.

For young and bold there could be an ambience of haunted area. One could see skeletons hanging or lying around. Creepers could be moved around trying to entangle the animals.

Mile-stones could be in shape of skulls. The alphabets and numbers (e.g. 5 Kilometers) on them should be written in matching fonts of the theme used.

Another theme that comes to my mind is that of a ‘beach’. There could numerous variations in this too. We could play with visuals of beach bed, making it narrow or wide; low or high tides, sounds of crashing waves and sea gulls etc. There could be other people like kids playing, women sun bathing and some others doing various beach activities. The treadmill user could chose to run in the shallow of the water. Authentic splashing sound of footsteps in shallow water will be very interesting.

It will be very effective if the steps of the user on the treadmill belt could be synchronized with the sound effects of the steps in the A/V.

Last lesson of a teacher...

Madhumita Sharma (Mitu) was cremated in Duliajan (Assam) on December 13, 2006 around 4.30 pm. Mitu’s husband Varun, daughter Natasha, Varun’s brothers from Delhi and Jaipur, Mitu’s sister from Mumbai and very sadly Mitu’s old and frail parents bade good bye to her mortal remains in the OIL cremation facility. She was a teacher at the local St. Xavier’s School. The school had requested that Madhumita’s body be brought to their premises for sometime. I am told that entire Duliajan seemed to converge for her cremation. Mitu’s friends, colleagues, students and OIL staff were among thousands of people who had converged there. It clearly showed the respect and love Mitu and Varun have earned there.

This short story started on November 12, 2006 at 6.00 pm, when my brother Varun called me from Duliajan to say that he and Mitu were coming over to Mumbai in a day or two. Varun has an amazing energy when he speaks. So we both were generally laughing and chatting. Among other general pleasantries I casually asked him if they were heading to Pune, to meet their daughter Natasha. They have taken many trips to Mumbai since Natasha has come to study at the Ferguson College. It was not so this time. I noticed his voice going just a note down as he told me, ‘Mitu has to take a bone marrow test at the Tata Memorial Cancer Hospital.’ (Just a few days back my wife told me that she had noticed a drastic change in color and expression on my face, while talking on phone.) I asked Varun what made him decide for this test? He told that Mitu had been feeling unusually tired since a month. Doctors at Duliajan had advised them to take this test. I told him ‘ok then, we will meet when you guys are here’. I was at a loss with words. They both arrived the next day on 13 Nov at night. On 14th Mitu was taken to Tata Hospital for a blood test. Late evening I with my wife went to meet them in her sister’s Lokhandwala flat. Mitu’s face looked a bit chalky and drained of blood. She was lying on a bed but as always, her voice did not lack energy. I asked her what made her tired. She told me that she felt alarmed with the unusual tiredness and breathlessness while climbing staircase in her school. She had been running up and down on the same steps for years. But now she had to wait in the middle to get her breath back. She said that her hemoglobin has been falling to as low as 5.0 for the past month. On Nov 15 Mitu underwent the bone marrow test along with another blood test. They went back to the hospital on Friday, Nov 17 to meet the doctors and know about the bone marrow test results. On 18th, I called Varun to find out if I could drop in at home, to meet them again. He told me that Mitu had been hospitalized that day itself, due to low Hgb. She felt very weak and had to be given blood transfusion and was to be admitted straight away.

Next time I met Mitu was in her Room#433 on the fourth floor of the hospital. As usual she was peppy and cheerful. At this point she believed that her sickness was very serious but certainly not impossible to cure. As per doctor’s versions too, we all knew that it was going to be a tough six months long test for Varun, Mitu and her sister. Mitu started with the belief that if she fought right, she will be able to come out of the woods. Doctors were amazed at her positive attitude. But for the time being Varun and Mitu will not be going back to Assam. Varun had never stayed away from his work for so long, ever. In any case they both decided to relax and cross the bridges as and when they came and try to make the best of the time that was going to keep Mitu in room#433. 

But Acute Myeloid Leukemia or (AML) M/0, was a different ball game.

On my next visit to her I saw a large ‘I-V’ assembly fixed on her right arm with a stand holding two pouches. The constant medication of antibiotics and other medicines had started. She was not comfortable with it; but found ways to tackle it on her own. A lot of people were visiting her on a regular basis. Soon doctors instructed strictly ‘not more than 2 people’ at any time. I remember a young doctor entered in when 6-7 of us were laughing and making happy noises. He said if it is going to be like this I will not enter here. Some of us including me walked out and sat on the large iron sofas in the lobby. There was also a terrace on that floor, from where you could watch glorious sun sets.

Due to her low hemoglobin, her body resistance was always in a vulnerable state. It had been getting critically important for her room to stay uncontaminated. All of us wanting to meet her in good faith could carry infections from outside atmosphere that could be very critical for her. We all stopped hugging her or even shaking hands with her. Later people made an invisible circle around her bed and did not enter it, except her sister and Varun. People sat on sofa away from her bed, removed their shoes outside and covered their faces with masks, before entering. Even Varun would sit out if he thought there were more visitors at anytime. I had decided to visit her and Varun as much as I could. I would open the door a crack and say ‘Hi/ I am here’ at 4 pm and then ‘bye/ good night/ see you soon’ at 7 pm. Visiting hours at the hospital were from 4 pm-7 pm.

Soon the time for chemotherapy arrived. They were informed about the cycle of 7 days of ‘chemo’, then studying the response for two weeks and then perhaps go home for a week. And finally come back for another round. There were going to 6 such cycles of one month each. Mitu was informed about the imminent hair loss she will be facing. She had lovely long, black, healthy hair and she knew it. She told her sister to cut them only half of the length, so that she could at least make a pony tail. Varun and Mitu’s sister had decided to do everything that pleased her. The hair was cut that way. She looked very cute with the pony tail. I asked her if I could click some pictures of her in her new hair style. I told her to look side ways so that I could get the pony tail clearly. She obliged me.  

(I am a crook. I actually knew what I was up to.) Then I took another picture while she starting to eat her unpalatable hospital lunch. As I aimed for the third time, she said to me ‘buss bhaiya’ with a smile. I remembered she did not like being clicked, especially solo. I packed up my camera. She gave me a strange tasting sweet dish from her dish, which I shared it with her sister. We cracked joked about its taste. She was easiest person to laugh or smile. Mitu did not lose the energy in her voice and actions, although the waves of low to very low hemoglobin or blood platelet counts kept on pushing her.

After the first ‘chemo’ cycle hospital told her to cut her hair real short, since longer hair would fall seriously. Her sister again did it for her. This time her hair was chopped to a length of an inch. Next time I met her she had covered her head with a scarf that went around her face. She was beginning to look unwell now. Her energy levels dipped quite a bit. She waved ‘hi’ at me but did not use words to say it. She started having serious difficulty in breathing. So doctors decided to diagnose it. She was put under a scanner. It was bad news. They discovered infections in her lungs. One of her lungs was totally ‘not working’, while other one was functioning partially. At this stage she could not speak much without panting. Her breath had become very short. She reduced her movements to optimize on her oxygen spent.

On December 12 at 11 am, I got a call from her sister who had been practically living with Mitu in the hospital. She said in a scared voice that Mitu was moved into the ICU and was on ‘life support’. I and my wife immediately took a taxi and reached there around 12.30 pm. Varun was peeping into the ICU door anxiously. He was trying to find any known face, who could give some information about his wife. Her sister told us that Mitu was very restless in the night. She insisted on being taken to the toilet at least ten times. Last time was at 9.30 in the morning. But this time as she approached her bed, she fainted. Patting her cheeks to wake her up did not work. Immediately doctors were informed and she was moved to the intensive care unit. And from then on they had been peeping inside the ICU door. Around 1.00 pm a doctor came out and requested us to ‘please go to the room/ do not wait here/ you will be informed if there is any news.’ We all went back to #433. Natasha was on her way from Pune. She was asked to come but had not been told about the ICU…

The doctor must have run up the staircase as he entered our room at 1.45pm. Breathing heavily he informed us ‘sorry, no body could do any thing/ she suffered a tidal waves of three heart attacks in a short time/ we had no options but to give up and her supports have been unplugged/ we tried everything but 3 attacks in such a weak body gave her and the medical team no chance/ sorry.’ What it meant was that Mitu was ‘no more’. Varun displaying a total state of balance, asked him in steady voice ‘at what time…?’ Doctor said it was at 1.00 pm and told us ‘now we could go and see her now.’ I remembered at 1.00 pm we were told to go up to the room. All of us went to the ICU. There she was. She looked a bit tired, but peaceful. She had been unconscious since 9.30 am. Mitu’s sister did cry a bit, but Varun remained calm. He nudged Mitu teasingly and said ‘come on get up now. Let us go.’ His voice was absolutely normal and had his characteristic exuberance.

Natasha too reached in a while. Like father like daughter, she too did not show any signs of drama, any burst of loud emotions. Her balance can be gauged by the fact that she had to go to the morgue to see her mother’s face. One cannot see what is happening inside anyone’s mind; but one surely can imagine. But this display of balance and control was a lesson for me. You can learn to react differently to an oft repeated situation.

In the end, it did not take long to arrange Varun, Natasha, Mitu’s sister and Mitu’s passage to Duliajan. Mitu had to be taken to J. J. Hospital for taking an injection to keep her looking good till she reached her home.

Varun and Natasha continue to give lesson on how to stay on top of a crisis in life. Presently they are together at Duliajan, along with Mitu's parents. Mitu’s has finished with her presentation. It was on how to ‘be’ when you suddenly find yourself face to face with ‘the end’. One month with Mitu and Varun (Nov 13 to Dec 12, 2006) now reminds me of ‘Tuesdays with Morrie’, minus the lectures on ‘what to do and how to go about doing it’.

PS: Please excuse me for not using any names, other than Madhumita, Varun and Natasha. I have done it on purpose. I wanted this space to be dedicated entirely to them. Also this piece is not meant not to arouse any sad or sympathetic emotions in the readers. If it does, I may have failed in writing it.

Last Breath of Shehnai Khan

When I thought of doing this piece, I was very confused; wondering how to start it. My thoughts gradually started drifting back, further back and finally reached my early childhood. I thought about how did I develop my likings for various things in this world? I realized that I must have developed my first emotional bonds, with my parents and my siblings. After the immediate family the bonds started growing towards my extended family, which I had not yet met when I was very small. Then there came a time when grandparents, uncles, aunts and cousins come along and I met them. As the time went by I developed likings for some and maybe stayed relatively unaffected by others. I remember really getting attached to my grandfather. Then came the turn of ‘things’; things like toys or things to eat. I remember I got hooked on to ice creams and sweets, to which I have been faithful till date. Much later I started appreciating my ambience, like sounds, nature, smells etc. In my early years my parents lived in villages or in very small towns. General sounds in such small places were birds, domestic animals, bullock carts, bicycle bells and for sure Hindi film music being blared from the horn speakers. Initially I must have heard the songs and not reacted to them. Then comes recognizing and then appreciating certain songs. I still did not know then that the music within a song too is done by experts. Nor did I know the names of any musical instruments. It dawned on me today that because of Shehnai’s association with marriages I must have got familiar with its sound about the same time as the Hindi film songs. Marriages always have been a part of life and Shehnai has always been a part of all marriages, illiterate or elite; Hindu or Muslim. No marriage ceremony is complete without the sound of Shehnai filling the space. It makes the atmosphere auspicious and happy. In a small village they may be playing 78 rpm records on a phonograph and a well off family may get musicians to play Shehnai live at the ‘welcome’ gate.

Along with the sound of this flowing wind instrument came the name, Bismilliah Khan. I can imagine my father telling me ‘this is Shehnai and Bismilliah Khan is the best Shehnai player in India.’ By this time I am around 6 or 7 years old. So outside the names of my relations, Bismilliah Khan became the first name in my vocabulary. Much later came the turn of getting familiar with the names like Lata, Rafi, Mukesh, Suraiya or Saigal. Of course I already knew of Pt. Nehru and Gandhi, but then they were from a different area of life. These names did not fill my life directly as Bismilliah Khan and the film songs did.

I have no shame in admitting that I am no authority to talk on the art of Bismilliah Khan. Everyone knows that Khan Sahab was the biggest or perhaps the only name associated with Shehnai for nearly 70 years. Khan Sahab was the recipient of state awards right from Padma Shri to Bharat Ratna. He lived a very down to earth life, not like most of our glamorous famous musicians. He had to support an extended family of 400. He lived in dilapidated house, in one of the lanes in Banares. He loved Banares. He traveled on bicycle as long as he could. He always had a smile on his face and had a sense of humor…Hindus believe that a person who dies in Banares goes to heaven.

Sadly the only time I got a chance to listen to him perform was in 2003. He was already 87 then. He had problems blowing into his Shehnai. Though his disciples covered him up well. He got threw tantrums in between and shouted at the ‘sound recordist’ for being incompetent. But I do not see this incident as an aberration; it is natural and a part of growing old. I think at that age he was very brave to have agreed to travel to Mumbai and perform in Shanmukhananda Hall during the Banares Utsav. I feel very good with the thought that once I shared the same space with him, even if for a short while.

‘Bismilliah’ is an auspicious Urdu word, which is spoken at the time of starting a venture. It is uttered to bring success to the venture with god’s blessings. 

I guess we need to say ‘Bismilliah’ to start the rest of our life without the Shehnai Khan.

Bismillah Khan 21 March 1916 - 21 August 2006