Evening walk at city parks: Where walking is more than just exercise!
A casual walk around a park in the evening has a charm of its own. Most Dhakaites pump up their feel-good endorphins and energy levels as early as possible and try to leave the evenings for social engagements. However, the city has its share of lazy walkers; people who love light summer breezes and would prefer strolls instead of hard exercise.
There is a pleasant feel to enjoying Dhaka at dusk when the sky is like orange marmalade. Summer sky in a country like ours is in one word: poetic! This is the time when white fluffy clouds with a ring of subdued sunlight around them float against the violet, burnt orange, and golden hues of sundown. Godhuli, as twilight is romantically called in Bangla, is also the right time to take Instagramable photos.
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Ramna Park, like many other parks in the city, has beautiful walking tracks as the entire park has recently gone through transformations. Arshan and Paula, a sporty mother-son duo, have chosen evening walks at Ramna as their time to bond. After work and school hours are done and dusted, they walk, stroll, and sit down on old benches and talk about their day.
Paula feels, "Arshan is a teenager and I think these are formative years, when the child needs you. Yes, they would rather be left alone but I want him to know I am there for him. I had to plan a win-win situation for us to relax and unwind after a day's work.
"We are not regulars but we try to go as frequently as possible, even if I have to bribe him with a trip to a café!"
People enjoy walking as part of their exercise and healthy routine and then there are people for whom this is a way to unwind and connect with nature. For them, Ramna Park is like an oasis in Dhaka, offering ample fresh air, lush greenery, and a beautifully curated environment.
It is wonderful to see people forming groups and engaging in various activities, creating a vibrant community. Walking here is a truly enjoyable experience that allows one to find serenity at their own pace.
Mithila, 40, loves her evening walks. "For me, it is strictly me time," she says. "I soak in the serenity of the late afternoons, I love to hear the birds rushing home, I pick wild ferns from the sides of the pond, or I just sit and listen to my '80s pop music."
Like Thích Nhất Hạnh, the famous Vietnamese Buddhist monk, said we need to experience walking as a mindful practice. "When we walk like (we are rushing), we print anxiety and sorrow on the earth. We have to walk in a way that we only print peace and serenity on the earth…"
For me and thousands of people like me, evening walks are mindful walking, walking with love and compassion, and walking for healing.
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