Of Gym and Tonic

I must confess... I love to gym. As a matter of fact, the gym bug has bit me so badly, that a week's rest gives me severe withdrawal symptoms. Some of these include imagining that i have a cold, lost weight or have enough facial hair to grow a Spanish beard. But seriously, the gym fever, which has hit the city of Chennai seems to have burgeoned far beyond any one's expectations.

The word gym comes from the Greek word gymnos meaning naked. Gym is also an abbreviation for gymnasium which, in Greek, means place to be naked. It owes it's origins to the ancient gymnasia (is that right?) present in Ancient Greece. These were a locality for education of young men. The Greeks believed that physical exercise was as important as learning. Hence, specific locales were set up where physical exercise was performed, customarily naked. Gymnasia also had other features such as baths and even libraries with extensive collection of books.

Nowadays of course, physical exercise either comes at a premium(either due to time or financial constraints) or is simply a part of physical labor that comes with the job (this in most cases is more detrimental than beneficial). But, amusingly(i couldn't get a better word, ok?) the scenario seems to be shifting gradually. These days, there are all sorts of gyms catering to all strata. On one end are the swanky 3 storey, tiled “fitness centers” which give one the right mix of aerobics, aroma-therapy, weight-training and eucalyptus baths. These come with professional trainers and imported equipment thrown in as added appendages. On the other end of the spectrum, are those corporation gyms lying in the nooks and corners of every 5^th street. These have just enough equipment and even have their own share of “professional” trainers. As such, ergo, it isn't very difficult to find a place to work out and develop one's physical prowess(or simply try for those six-pack abs like me).

Yours truly first joined a gym right after my last competitive exam (read JEE). It was a whim with my father. I merely suggested that i join some gym to develop my body. Unfortunately for me (it was unfortunate then), he took my words seriously and immediately proceeded to enlist me in the finest gym that side of Mylapore. I was provided with a trainer (somehow all these trainers are called George). Basically, this guy had biceps the size of my torso (complete with curves). He looked at me the way people see road kill after it has been served along with pink frog legs. But I was a legal customer and so he had to smile at me. He asked me to try out 5 push ups. I couldn't. He then proceeded to 20 squats. I couldn't. 50 Lunges. I couldn't. One pull-up? What's a pull-up? At the end of it all, I was down with enough aches and pains to last me my entire life as an eligible bachelor. I cursed my self for opening my mouth and muttering that 3 letter word! But then, I went again and again and again. Each gym class I went, tortured myself went home wondering all the way whether I would make it back in time. And each time i would rise like a phoenix from the ashes waiting to conquer all that the trainer could throw at me. Gradually, i improved, moved on to weights, barbells, plates and what not. I dropped the trainer (I WAS THE ONE SMILING THEN!!!). I even developed a small paunch from eating too much(my dad would scoff at that)! Gymming made me feel good about myself and when i would look into the mirror searching for that little muscle, it made it all seem worthwhile. Now, it seems to be the opposite as far my reaction to gyms are concerned. When i finally got into the college i wanted, i simply used the gym facility available to provide a means of respite from my typical day which consists of sleeping 14 hours.

I would strongly encourage everyone (regardless of what social strata they belong to) to exercise in some way or another. Based my limited personal experience, i can safely say that exercise (to be differentiated from the stereotypical weight-training images conjured up when the word gym is mentioned) is healthy. it helped me to relax my mind at a time when i was using it the most (that is a subject of another blog). it provided me with a means to feel good and gave me the confidence to switch over from loose, long shorts to better fitting ones (you know... the ones which read - “Shut Up and Squat!”). Even a 15 minute walk is enough. Though a large portion of the population of India is not even in a position to earn 1 square meal a day, it would be necessary for us as responsible citizens to develop exercise or recreation facilities that could be accessible to all. As is said,

'Money is the most envied, but the least enjoyed. Health is the most enjoyed, but the least envied.'
cheers
>>harsh
mad.physicist@gmail.com

Of Scrabble and God

Where do i start? This is first “official” blog in more than 21,900 days and its been so long. Too much nostalgia for the good old days when i didn't know what an oxymoron was (for the record, i still don't).

Many of us know of the popular word game – SCRABBLE © . Why would I bring this up? Well, first of all, this is MY blog and I can bring up anything i want. The second reason has something to do with the fact that a sudden craze for the game has blossomed in my locality(That sort of translates as instead of the usual 10 people playing the game here, there are now 11).

It all started one sunny morning during our college festival when a group of people (myself included) were to participate in a seemingly innocuous contest with a seemingly innocuous title - “Scrabble Contest”. Since we didn't have anything better to do we decided to give it a go. The preliminaries consisted of words that were not words but had to be made into words that made sense to all and sundry. I believe they are called anagrams. The one with the most anagrams would win. Needless to say... we didn't. But we did get to see the minds (and answer papers) of some of the greatest scrabble players to have emerged in recent weeks and that was when it struck me – THIS IS A COOL GAME.

I think a flashback would be appropriate here. The game of SCRABBLE owes its origins to a certain Alfred Mosher Butts, an out-of work architect from Poughkeepsie, New York. Butts wanted a game that would be better than those “lucky dice games” and yet provide the intellectual stimulation and skill of “chess games”. All this would be in keeping with the spirit of keeping the participants active and tense during competition. Quite a tough ask, but our old man was quite up to it. Butts came up with LEXICO (or LEXIKO), a game where players were given tiles to be assembled into words on a table. Later, he added points to the letters (based on painstaking cryptographic research from the front page of the New York times). Despite his enthusiasm, the game found no buyer and its patent was refused.

It was then, inspired by the growing popularity of crosswords that he decided to combine his game with a playing boards where words could be joined in the manner of a crossword. Its features included the 15 by 15 board and the 7 tile letters still used today. He called it CRISS CROSSWORDS. This met with the same fate as its predecessor.

That was when he would meet with a certain James Brunot, a meeting that would change his (and his game's) life. Brunot was responsible for fine-tuning the game and showing it's marketability. Most importantly, the all important name change to SCRABBLE was made. Together, they re-arranged the premium squares and simplified rules. Their copyright for the game was awarded on December 1, 1948. The rest is history.

Back to the present, on playing the game, I think that its main draw is its personality. The words (and non-words) one can somehow cog from out of their memory and gain points add to its versatility and individuality. That was what i discovered while i was arguing with my opponent as to whether “phoo” was allowed or not. The enthusiasm (in my locality) may die down after a while, but the spirit of the game will be. I hardly think that any other game (with the exception of my all-time favorite, Monopoly) can combine skill and luck so effectively. Well, i guess that pretty much concludes my first entry. Sorry it took so long. It would be really nice for me to continue but i have a Scrabble match to complete.

Cheers
>>harsh

mad.physicist@gmail.com

Of Blogs and A Geek

Hi, Harsh here...

Well, i finally have succumbed to self-pressure and decided to post a blog of my own. This blog will feature some of the thoughts that hassle me the most. it should also feature stuff and events as i tend to view them often without sufficient reasoning and
in all probability without too much logic as well. i prefer to write a bit more seriously than i think and that always has serious consequences. i also hope to continue my thought processes on various topics that i had an interest in before 11th, ranging from psychology to digital watches. as a matter of interest ("WHO'S?" you might ask), this isn't the first blog i had. the original blog started by me was in the fertile spring of 2000 and continued well into my 11th. unfortunately, due to a particularly devastating computer virus attack and jee preparation, that one dissolved faster than my sense of humour. anyways...thanx for reading so far and keep visiting. you can be sure that i will keep writing. oh yeah...please don't forget to write in your comments either on the site or via email

cheers

>>harsh

mad.physicist@gmail.com