Happy Go Lucky SFV Seniors

 Gentle breeze from Turahalli forest, fresh supply of Vitamin D from the rising sun, generous smile from residents crossing shoulders, good friends to give company, and, temporary though, the delightful sight of kids enjoying their swimming class. That is the morning-walk package that awaits seniors. No wonder they are all-eager to step out of home to join their respective clusters.

Yes, there are several groups. The one I have encountered from day one consists of Dr Sivananda, Dr Chandrashekar, M/s Krishnamoorthy, Srinivasan, Rao, Suresh Moorthy, to name a few. They circumambulate Pine, Maple, and Club House. In a lighter vein, if only they had cymbals (Talagalu, jalra, or kinnaram) in hand, a dolak hung around someone’s neck and replaced chat with a chant, it would have resembled the early morning bhajans that one sees in many South villages in the month of October. 

Three or four rounds, it is time to relax at the playground area for a discussion. Their morning sessions are confined to enriching knowledge, such as on banking, finance, internet. 

Then the group heads to Raghavendra Restaurant for a steaming cup of coffee for sure, and celebrate with idli, vada, or khara-bath if they are satisfied  they have done the required number of steps. 

“But you were frequenting SLV. Changed allegiance?” I asked Krishnamoorthy. “No way. Just that we can sit and enjoy coffee in Raghavendra whereas in SLV we have to stand and sip.  Nonetheless we go to SLV in the evenings,” he clarified. Evening discussions are lively what with Narendra Modi, Rahul Gandhi, BJP versus Congress in Karnataka, if JDS will turn a king maker…

This one is a floating population group. No specific members.  But some from the SFV Vedic group do manage to assemble – Kaleeswaran, Hari, Krishnan, and me. Several others join us for a couple of rounds and leave – Sreenevasan of Oak, Prabhakaran Nair of Cedar and Prasad of Oak… Here also, after their morning quota of walk, some go for vegetable shopping to Halli Thotta at 100 ft Road, or the one near Krishna Dwaraka restaurant. Depending on where they go, they will have coffee from SLV or Krishna Dwaraka.

They discuss mundane things – the monkey menace, the midnight background score by the canine population near Gate 5, how to tie a dhoti doesn’t disown and embarrass you, the type of mangoes one should pick for pickle…

The third group, the South Canara group as some hail, is very active. Mr Naik, a senior member of the team, in his mid 80s has never taken medicine in his life, as one learns. He is very active and plays shuttle regularly. Then Vijay Kumar, a Cedar resident, but preferring to stay in his farm nearby, joins the group unfailingly – when he is in town, which is not often the case. He is a globe trotter. Then we have Gururaj, whose is happy back home after more than 25 years of stay in Delhi. When asked if his group is known as the South Canara group, he clarified, “Confused Group” would be more appropriate.  There are a few more members in the group. The group ends the morning session with coffee in SLV, and drive to Krishna Dwaraka every Saturday for breakfast. Occasionally they plan an outing for lunch. They also go on short trips for two or three days. The most recent one was a three-day trip to Mandya and its surrounding historical and religious places, ending it with a two-night homestay in Sakleshpura.

Someone defined Vedantha as the attainment of limitless happiness, knowledge and immortality. The SFV seniors would seem to have addressed the happiness part in full.