Raunak went to his Grandpa’s house in Lucknow for his – summer holidays. Grandpa lived there with Raunak’s uncle. Every morning, Grandpa would go out for walks and Raunak would laze around on his bed. His exams had just got over and he was in a holiday mood; he would wake up late in the morning and watch movies all day long. His aunty too would pamper him a lot.
Raunak loved eating and most of all, he loved fast food due to which he was gaining a lot of weight. “A little bit of exercise would do him good”, thought Grandpa. He was worried about Raunak’s health. He asked Raunak to wake up early in the morning and go running. But he wouldn’t listen. Thus, Grandpa thought that he must teach Raunak a lesson.
One day, Grandpa asked Raunak, “Have you seen the city’s lungs?” Raunak said, “The city’s lungs? No, I haven’t even heard of it.”
“Do you want to see it?” Grandpa asked.
“Yes, why not! Where will I get to see it?” Raunak asked inquisitively.
“Here in Lucknow itself,” Grandpa said.
“Here in Lucknow itself,” Grandpa said.
Raunak asked, “So when will you take me out to watch it?”
“Tomorrow morning but you will have to wake up early. Will you?” Grandpa asked Raunak.
“Yes, Grandpa. Why not?” Raunak said.
The next day, Raunak woke up on time because he was scared that Grandpa might go out for his morning walk without him.
Raunak said, “I am ready, Grandpa.”
“Oh, very good,” exclaimed Grandpa.
Both of them took a walk to the Buddha park. “Here we are. We’ve arrived at the city’s lungs,” Grandpa said.
“Where? But this is a park, Grandpa. I have come here a lot of times before,” Raunak said.
“Parks built inside the city are called city’s lungs,” Grandpa said.
“Why so?” asked Raunak.
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At that, Grandpa asked Raunak, “What do our lungs do?”
“Our lungs throw away the toxic carbon dioxide from our body,” Raunak said.
“Very good, and what else?” Grandpa asked.
“They pull in the fresh air, through which our body receives oxygen. Without oxygen, we will not be able to survive, Grandpa,” Raunak spoke with a lot of excitement.
“Very nice, Raunak. You know everything. But just like your lungs, these parks do the same thing. The parks in the city absorb all the carbon dioxide. Do you know what the process is called?” Grandpa asked Raunak. “Yes, it is called photosynthesis. Plants make their own food. For this, they need chlorophyll, carbon dioxide and sun. While they make their food, they release oxygen, Raunak said.
“So, doesn’t that make parks the city’s lungs?” Grandpa smiled and asked.
“Yes, Grandpa. You are right. I never thought about it that way. These parks give us oxygen just like our lungs do,” Raunak said.
“So, what do you think of our morning walk?” Grandpa smiled and asked.
“It was a lot of fun, Grandpa. Now, I shall always come along with you for morning walks,” an excited Raunak said.
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