Cycle to work?

Can you imagine any Indian politician riding a cycle to work or for visiting dignitaries on it? The AAP chief, using the train in Mumbai and Delhi was in itself a nightmare, which was more on account of crowd and security issues but the fact is that even if these issues did not exist, it is unlikely or impossible that any politician or for that fact, even a business leader taking public transport. Actually, even people like you and me cannot cycle to work!

Thus it comes as a breath of fresh air to learn that the Mayor of New Zealand, Celia-Wade Brown, uses her bike as her main transportation, even to attend meetings. In fact when Hillary Clinton had gone visiting in 2010, she has biked it up to the venue, to greet Clinton. She cycles to work most days, around 4.5 miles, and scuba-dives and kayaks frequently. In February, she kayaked across New Zealand's Cook Strait, a 20.5-mile journey that took around five hours and is considered extremely treacherous. She says it took her more than two years to prepare. New Zealand is recognized world over as THE place for adventure sports – after all bungee jumping and zorbing, most of these high adrenalin sports were invented there and not to forget, Edmund Hillary, the first to climb Everest was also a New Zealander.

It is wonderful that the country offers this space and a sense of security to those in power also to pursue their hobbies and sports. We rarely hear of any Indian politician being a sports or health fanatic. Well, if they were, maybe things would have been so much more different….