Gym salwars!

So it’s been two days since I joined “Rambo’s” gym.

The place where I see women in spotless salwar kameezes working out at 6 am! These are mainly working ladies who want to slim down, mostly to get married. How they can go to the office in those clothes soaked in sweat, or indeed, how they are comfortable in them while working out is beyond me.

I did that yesterday, but went out and bought some gym clothes (I could only get it in the men’s department, in something called “LoungeWear.” Really sweet girls, and they immediately asked my name and all that.

Not to be a comparer, but for all of Arlington Health and Fitness’ squeaky-clean atmosphere and the spotless equipment, nearly one-and-a-half years there got me no further than a random “hi.”

The first day I went to Rambo’s, I was subjected to a half-hour lecture from Rambo Vimal (former Mr. India and three-time Mr. Tamilnadu) on the importance of working out and keeping your body fit. “No one in India, indeed no one in the world gives such a talk,” he said. Never mind the obvious question: How does he know this? The talk was initially interesting, then became mildly funny, then boring. But he was sincere and earnest in whatever he said and that was the best part of it for me.

He also gave me a diet diary, and a diet chart, which stipulates five glasses of milk a day! Guess he thinks Dhoni’s secret really is in the milk!

Even the first day I met him, I thought he got what I wanted to do. The equipment (if you could call it that) was really rusty, but I took to this hulk who seemed genuinely interested in what he was doing.

I think it was Hrishikesh Hirway (a U.S.-based singer that I interviewed once) who said that the one thing inherently South Asian about his work might be its sincerity – how even in his lightest lyrics, there is a sense of sincerity that he finds reflected in Bollywood. I now know what he means.

Although most girls must be in their 20s (gosh!) there was one 56-year-old mami working out in her sari! Quite the change from Arlington’s gym, I must say.

The only thorn is that I have to get up at 5:30 a.m. to walk there – the session starts at 6!

Look for a muscular Meera in the months to come!!