India, Aug. 19 -- By Dr. R. Balasubramaniam

There was a time, not very long ago, when a walk was simply a walk. You stepped out into the evening air because your legs asked for it or because the mind needed a little unburdening or because the mango tree at the end of the road was worth another look at that hour. Nobody counted anything. The walk justified itself.

That innocent arrangement between a person and our own legs has now been quietly taken over by a small device strapped to the wrist, one that watches, counts, judges and occasionally scolds.

I discovered this at a family gathering many years ago, where a nephew, midway through a conversation about his career, glanced at his watch with the anxious devotion one might reserve for...