Rahul Desai's Blog

Article title courtesy: Symantec Road to Cutting Edge ’09.

The big difference being, when I write ‘Road’ I actually mean ‘Road’. Lately with my highly conscious efforts to get into some good shape (other than ‘round’ shape), I had to make some serious commitments. One of that happens to be my daily (evening) visit to Air Life Studio (the gym) around 7 PM.

I now know what they mean when they say ‘road to success is not easy’. My 3 km journey from my current residence to the gym is ‘that same road’ they’ve been talking about. While I can be home in less than 5 mins on my way back, reaching the gym during the evening peak-hours takes me at least 25-30 mins. ‘Deadlock’ jams at Parihar Chawk traffic signal (one of the most prominent, busiest, narrowest junctions of Aundh suburb) starts testing my patience and willpower. If waiting at the signal for ages and crawling at less than 10 kmph were not enough, the other day a bicycle-rider gladly slipped through small gaps, bumped onto the pedestrians’ path to ‘cycle-track’ and disappeared. While I was still stuck in the traffic at the same place and envying  thinking how lucky he was, he passed back in the opposite lane – probably done with his work (out).

Pune. Poona. The cultural capital of the state of Maharashtra. IT-hub, Auto-hub, and what not. So where do we stand as citizens of such a significant city? Even after overnight facelift of the city (God bless Commonwealth Youth Games 2008 committee) the situation isn’t that different. With new wider roads, we have wider traffic jams. Honking seems to be a habit, and people seem to get some blissful pleasure in blowing horn even during a normally moving traffic. I was once reading this age-old article in Times of India and I’m afraid the situation is no better.

Stepping out to the city streets is a courageous task. And after all this struggle, you don’t just reach the gym - you practically achieve ‘Nirvana’ every day.

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For those unfortunates who didn’t get to study biology in their higher secondary (unlike we blessed Gujarat State Board Science students, who were forced learn a frog’s anatomy –and some thousand organisms and systems- on the same time dealing with tedious Pythagoras), here’s a Sunday-morning special. Ladies and Gentlemen, presenting… The technical-aspect of a phenomenon called ‘hangover’:

Anatomy of a Hangover: All but the saintliest of us have been an office party casualty, waking up with a raging thirst, pounding headache, wobbly limbs and nausea. As the party season looms, our body fights — and usually loses — the self-induced chemical assault of a hangover.

Hangover symptoms: o Fatigue, weakness, and thirst o Headache and muscle aches o Nausea, vomiting, and stomach pain o Decreased sleep, decreased REM (rapid eye movements), and increased slow-wave sleep o Vertigo and sensitivity to light and sound o Depression, anxiety, and irritability o Tremor, sweating, and increased pulse and systolic blood pressure

Some handy Tips: o Spacing out alcohol intake to a peg an hour o Having sports drinks, such as Gatorade, PowerAde, Red Bull Popping charcoal chaser pills o Avoid crocin because it taxes the already overworked liver o Drinking lots of water, fruit or tomato juice o Having acetylcysteine pills o Eating a fatty breakfast with fried eggs, bacon or cheese

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