Took the break. It’s been thundering and raining since morning. The temperature is cool and some of the pollution is washed away.

When I was driving back from my easy run today, I heard that Hasin Khan, my father’s driver of nearly forty years had passed away.

I learnt how to drive in eighth grade during the summer break. The National Gallery of Modern Art, situated at the India Gate quadrangle, held summer programs on art history and I was enrolled in one such course.

Hasin Khan would drive me there and in the dusty grounds around the quadrangle, before or after class, he taught me how to drive. It’s unimaginable that a car would be allowed to do that today.

Sometimes, a long run, takes me around that quadrangle and I remember those days. The memories are sepia toned, my father’s grey Nissan kicking up dust and Hasin Khan telling me the best advice I’ve ever heard about driving in Delhi.

Always go around people and animals.

3, 2, 1 miles x twice over counts for long intervals. At least in my book.

Because it was Christmas, I went to Nehru Park when it was nearing dawn. I was just here twelve hours ago but that was inside the park. This time, it was my usual place down the flat straights of Niti Marg and Shanti Path.

Hints of fog wafted through the misty and cool air.

Off I went.

It was a five star run.

I came back home, completed a workout and then it was the young boys turn. On the treadmill for his intervals with hurdles in combination.

A perfect workout morning. 360 degrees.

Because I slept in and ran off to work, I went this evening to Nehru Park.

It had been lightly raining nearly through the day. Hopefully that would bring the pollution down.

I ran inside the park; the somewhat rolling but meandering track different from the parallel straights outside on Niti Marg and Shanti Path.

Tired from the Sunday long run, this felt like a bit of an effort.

Hummus was a good choice to eat this evening (after an intense long run Sunday) over conversation and exchange with my dear friend Shruti at the delightful Quick Brown Fox in Hauz Khas market.

Later, a bit of practise on the cello, rounded up my day off.

I started just before dawn this morning. Quickly, I got into a rhythm that accelerated and steadied after about fifty odd minutes. Then, give or take a few seconds, the pace and timing, were much the same for the rest of the long session.

It was a fantastic run.

At the end, the young boy joined me and I ran another couple of rounds with him. It had been a long time since he came on a Sunday. We finished strong and headed off to Fig for a solid breakfast.

Fartleks. Quite a word.

This was my training today. I woke up on the later side after some troubled sleep in the night.

My dreams were technicolour and weird and I woke feeling out of sorts.

A coffee and some cello music in the car later, I reached Nehru Park. It wasn’t busy but there were several familiar faces in the running crowd.

The run was hard.

On the way back, it was more cello music and an incredible variation on a popular piece with Yo-Yo Ma and Andrea Motis.

To round up, a quick circuit workout and core exercises to finish off the morning.

Woke up early enough but had an appointment so took the optional day off.

On the track today, staying in my home, lane nine.

Coach Ravi, giving me company every alternate round. Some kids weaving in and out. A man older than me, shoulder to shoulder for a few rounds.

Monu, Jeet, Ashwini, Suryansh, weight training at the side of the track. Later I saw them with parachutes billowing down lane one.

It was amazing of the track gang to join me for the mile intervals this morning. After a quick warm up at the track, we headed out to the road to begin six of these efforts.

Kapil, Jeet, Ashwini, Suryansh, Monu and the Coach on his trusty white scooter. I see these kids run gracefully and in the cold, dark, foggy morning, that’s an uplifting feeling.

To see that grace, rhythm; to see their legs kicking up and the astonishing way they can pick up speed if they want to – a surge that perhaps comes from training young, and training at the track.