Samikssha Batnagar: Cycling is the best way to reduce pollution

Actor Samikssha Batnagar, is all for pedalling around the lush green gardens of the Capital. And adds that she misses such open spaces in Mumbai and was thrilled to be here.

An open ground, greenery all around and a bicycle is everything actor Samikssha Batnagar needs to rejuvenate! In the Capital recently to play Sita in Ramlila, this self-confessed “fitness freak” took some time off to explore Lodhi Gardens. Popular for the TV show Ek Veer Ki Ardaas...Veera and film Poster Boys (2017), she admits there is no comparison to Delhi’s open gardens, and highlights the significance of cycling, especially at a time when air pollution levels here have set the alarms ringing.

Actor Samikssha Batnagar loves spending time at the Lodhi Gardens to unwind, and feels cycling is a great way to reduce pollution. (Photo: Raajessh Kashyap/HT)

A big fan of cycling, Batnagar, 33, feels it’s an effective way to control pollution. “People are not taking care of the environment as much. Most (people) have cars, and are out driving them all the time. We have to be sensitive to those walking on the streets and everyday workers as they get immensely affected by the rising pollution,” she asserts.

Ask who is her fitness muse, and she’s quick to say, “Akshay Kumar! The way he maintains himself, his routine and sleep timing, is simply great. Kabhi mauka milega to work with him toh I’ll go for morning walks and runs with him. It’s my dream.”

Actor Samikssha Batnagar says that she tried to go on as many morning walks as she could manage during her stay in Delhi. (Photo: Raajessh Kashyap/HT)

Batnagar’s been in Delhi for a month, and has been going for morning walks on and off. “I was staying in Sundar Nagar, bahut shanti hai. Wahaan pe main walk kar leti thi,” says the actor, who had a tiring schedule since she had to perform at the Ramlila every evening, and ended up missing her workout on certain days. “I did yoga in my room on days I didn’t get a chance to go out,” she says.

But, she loved her outing at Lodhi Gardens. “I can feel the air is so much better than the rest of the city. It’s so clean!” she gushes.

Her Delhi trip, needless to say, was full of cheat day(s). “Jab hum Ramlila kar rahe the, I ate aloo tikki, raj kachori, pav bhaji and what not, all from Old Delhi. I feel I’ve put on weight (laughs)” she says, adding that she’ll be taking a few things for her parents back home in Mumbai: “I’ve heard yahan ke sweets are famous, I’ll try to take those.”

Author tweets @anjuri

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