Marathon.
Of late there has been a lot of sad stuff happening. But here's a different story. I participated in the Mumbai marathon on Sunday and was it fun! Thousands of people assembled in front of Chatrapati Shiviji Terminus (formerly Victoria Terminus) at 7am, all set to run! Money was raised for charity and how? Those who did not participate too were part of it. They came in thousands cheering us on from both sides of the track.
The participants came in all shapes and sizes. They were grandfathers, grandmothers, mothers with their kids tied to their backs, amputees on wheel chairs or with Jaipur legs, blind people with guides running with them, young, fit people, fat, slim people..... There were various categories: 5km, 7km, 21km and 42.195km. On Sunday the distance just did not matter, it was the spirit that did and no one was complaining!
On finishing 36km, I noticed that my shoe-lace was loose and I sat down to tie it, when I heard a muscle in my left leg snap. With 6km to go I was cheered on by the spectators who shouted out "Bharatmata ki jai" as I limped to the finish line. The cheering was on non-stop for the entire 42km!
On Sunday, everyone, be it the elite from Cuffe Parade and Pedder Road or slum-dwellers of Dharavi and mill-workers of Parel, was one! The euphoria was in the least Fantabulous! I have never before had the sense of unity, love and pride that I did on Sunday. On Sunday, Godot arrived!
