Tag: Fun Sport

Why Marina in Chennai is a fun way to exercise?

What’s the most fun way to exercise?

Marina Beach in Chennai is the world’s second-longest urban beach. It is located along the Bay of Bengal in Tamilnadu, India.

About 15000 to 20000 people visit the beach daily. It marks a prominent landmark in the south of India.

The beach is a star attraction during peak summer, especially in the months of April and May. A fun spot for family and children.

Children run around and splash in shallow water. Horsemen on the shore wait to take visitors around. On a ride and for a ride. They make quick money.

We often visit Marina for fun, as we live close by. 

Balloon shooting is a good fun exercise.

The men who run the stall today are second generation shopkeepers. It’s a legacy that comes with a hundred balloons and three old well-oiled air rifle guns. 

Many such stalls now form part of the landscape on the Marina.

Shooting balloons has become a popular fun exercise, especially after Gagan Narang of India won a bronze at the London Olympics in 2012.

Narang won the prize for the air-rifle event. His father said he saw the spark in his son first when he was just two. Narang, as we heard, ran around in Marina and burst balloons.

The stalls give you rifles ready and loaded. People just pay and shoot. Pay ₹200 (about $2 for a pack of 10 pellets) upfront and grab a gun. Keep firing, bang… bang! 

You won’t get many shots right though. And the bonus is you get three free shots when you hit the balloon the shopkeeper points at.

There’s no stopping the fun exercise. It’s so addictive that people stay up late to break records.

But, all stories have got twists.

Some boys come real sharp. They come in a gang and start bursting balloons at the word ‘go’. They splash money.

The shopkeepers always see a profit. They make about ₹1000 ($10) a day. It’s a lot of money for them. 

They would ask the boys to go Gung ho. And the boys make merry. 

But the stalls have something up their sleeves, always. How to cut costs?

In the buzz of activities, the shopkeepers don’t load pellets when handing the rifle to people.

Boys won’t know they were just firing blank shots. The rifles go bang, bang, but the balloons just stay. 

Isn’t that a lot of fun?

Reasons why balloon shooting in Marina must rank as the best fun exercise.

Come and join us. Let’s go give a shot at one of the stalls in Marina. 

Anyone?

 

Fart, a sport and loads of laughter thereafter.

What makes you laugh?

When we were young, we imagined animals were ferocious. And they killed other animals for food. 

But when we watched the cartoon characters such as Tom and Jerry on Disney, we were so humbled. 

Alex, the lion, from the Madagascar series’ Escape to Africa movie, was a captive, pals with other animals, dancing and entertaining. Hilarious!

The King of the Jungle was shown a laughingstock as Alex stood a complete joker in the movie with a fruit-hat. 

That just makes one laugh.

The same is the case with people we see every day in our life. 

We laugh when big people cry at the doctor’s clinics. We laughed when we saw George Galloway, the MP from Bethnal Green dressed as a cat crawling on all fours at the Celebrity Big Brother show in 2006.

Have a personal story to tell. 

I used to coach my 8-year-old cousin Sindhu. I had just finished college and my parents told me to teach her civics, history and science.

She had many friends, and they treated me with respect. I felt I was like a professor emeritus.

The girls often played with a skipping rope. 

One day, Sindhu asked me during break if I could beat one of her friends, Akila, in a skipping game. Her friends said she was a sport, and she held the record for most jumps.

I said, oh yes. Why not? Throw the rope. We gathered in the driveway in front of her house.

Akila first started. By the time I got into a pair of track pants, she had already finished 50. She was seriously an athlete. 

She gave me the rope after finishing 70. At a stretch, without a break. I was really worried. The other girls clapped. It’s my turn now.

My uncle, aunt and the maid have all gathered now to see the challenge. Loads of audience, waiting. Interesting!

I picked up the rope and started jumping. I quickly counted 20 and was just racing. I thought it was so easy.

When I reached 35, I felt something wasn’t alright. My stomach was giving me some discomfort.

Oh! God, no! Not now!

By the time I reached 40, I ripped one out so loud. Thrrrrrrrrrrrreppp! 

A fart in the middle of a sport wasn’t so nice. The girls giggled.

48, 49, 50 and this time it was long.  Frrrrt… Frrrrrrrrrt!

I could hear Sindhu, Akila and friends bursting out into a roaring laugh. 

I didn’t stop. I couldn’t. My pride was at stake. I kept jumping.

The fart now had got worse. It sounded wet. So serious.

57, 58, 59. I saw my uncle, aunt and the maid getting up and running inside the house laughing out loud. The place had suddenly become a circus.

I couldn’t continue beyond 63 and gave up. 

Fart played a spoil-sport. I couldn’t help but join in their laughter. 

I laughed, they laughed, and did you have a laugh?

Laughter, ultimately, was the winner.