Whenever someone asked me, “What’s your lucky number?”, I would answer ‘Seven’. I don’t know why or how it became my lucky number. Incidentally, a lot of 7-LETTER words became important in this weight loss journey of mine.
My mother had gone to the pharmacist opposite my home to get some medicine, but my mother had forgotten to carry her purse, so she said to him that she would send the money through her ‘son’ or me. The pharmacist remarked, is he the one who is fat with a big STOMACH? My mother initially said ‘No’, but then, after a bit of thought, “well, that must be him”. How did I end up like this? There was a time when my nick name was ‘Skeletor’, obviously named after skeleton. My ribs were visible if I were topless. I was the famous guy who ran away from the Biology laboratory! Today I faced the other extreme.
I had this habit of watching TV while SITTING on the sofa. After sometime, I would lay on the sofa while still watching TV. Once the TV is switched off, I would just sleep on the sofa till dawn. Friends, these three (Sofa, Sitting and TV) are responsible for my situation. Sofa is perhaps the worst thing in my home and Sitting is perhaps the worst action. It hurt my back; the severity lasted 2 to 3 weeks, but it took a couple of months to get rid of the pain completely. I lost practice of running and walking or any form of exercise. I didn’t venture out even after recovering completely. Don’t get me wrong, I groove outdoors, I enjoy working out and exercising, but blame it on INERTIA. All the while, I never stopped eating and as a result, I had piled up so much weight that I wonder who else referred to me as “that fat man with a big stomach”. I weighed at least 89 Kgs at this time. (Pics below for reference)
Trip to Odisha
Side pose – I am the one of the left – during my surprise birthday party Dec 2020. I thought I was a master at hiding my tummy, but this picture speaks volumes. The thickness is in spite of trying to hide my paunch.
I shall now confess that I must have surely weighed beyond 90 Kgs but I consciously didn’t check my weight when I was in that zone. I made a quiet exit whenever the family was on a weight checking spree. I abandoned all forms of exercise until one day Covid hit the world and I was confined to four walls. I had to painfully close my rented office space in both RMV II Stage and Koramangala. I was forced to stay indoors; I had to progress to “work from home”. All my classes went online. It was now that I didn’t wanted to stay at home. One fine morning, I finally stepped out of home in the morning to run. I had put on so much weight that I was unable to even jog properly, so WALKING was the best bet. I met a lot of people after a long time. Apart from exchanging pleasantries, one common remark was that I have put on weight. That’s when I realized that the weight was truly and surely visible.
This is when the journey to reduce my weight started. I initially started walking every alternate day. During the first wave of COVID, Government announced complete lockdown. I downloaded this app that gave some points for running or exercising at home. I started skipping 5 times a day, for 15 to 18 minutes each time wherein I used to skip 4,000 to 5,000 counts accumulating 20,000 skips a day. This was my first real workout after the Inertia. I would be inundated with sweat by the time I finished skipping. It was the quantum of sweat that made me realise that I was indeed doing the right thing to lose weight. Once the lockdown was lifted, I would first skip 5000 times and then venture out for RUNNING or walking. I could see that my body became responsive to running, slightly became flexible and I was able to run as I used to many months ago. I set this routine for some time and I saw that my weight was gradually reducing. It was around this time that I got in touch with Santosh and through him I became part of Free runners, an informal WhatsApp group of runners who motivate each other. I downloaded an app called Strava: one of my biggest motivator to run every single day. In addition to running, I joined Taekwondo classes. My daily routine was set – Wake up at 4am, a bit of Pranayama (breathing exercise) start my run at 4:30 am, reach home at 5:30 to 5:45 am, Taekwondo class from 6am to 7 am, and walk another 5 Kms with my mother from 7:15 am to 8:15 am. I participated in longer runs during weekends and non-Taekwondo days. I looked forward to these 3 to 4 hours of bliss every single day.
“79.8 Kgs” I exclaimed. I announced my weight to my family only when I saw that it was below 80Kgs. The routine of skipping, walking, running, taekwondo helped me shed more than 10Kgs in a matter of 4 to 5 months. Now for the twist in the tale – I had just about started going to my coaching centre to teach my students face to face. Life seemed normal and a lot of people gathered enough courage to venture out of their homes. I too attended a music concert one evening – my first and big COVID related mistake. One day, parent of one of my students called me to check if I were fine as her son had fever, cough and suspected COVID. I said I was fine, but none of the parents wanted to take a chance and life was back to online. The 2-week affair with face-to-face teaching had come to an abrupt halt. The next day I was not able to smell the aroma of ‘Ghee’. I thought to myself the Ghee was of bad quality. In a few minutes, I realized that I could not even smell my own poop in spite of drowning my face deep into the commode. I had lost the sense of smell – one of the symptoms of COVID. I called my cousin, Shamantaka, who is a doctor and explained to him about my situation. He told me that I shoudn’t bother getting tested as the result is not reliable at the moment. He was worried about the test showing negative to COVID. He asked me to treat myself as if I have COVID. I confined myself to real 4-walls for the next 3 weeks. No running, walking or skipping. Other symptoms of COVID crept is such as cold, fever, cough, body pain etc. I self isolated myself for 3 weeks. My parents, who had had their first dose of vaccine and my neices were at home. All were safe by the time I recovered. I had not put on any extra weight.
Anti body test revealed that Covid had indeed been successful with me. It affected my running by spared my life. I was told not to exert myself for a few days, but the fact is that I could not run even if I wanted to. I could not run for more than a few metres but I decided that come what may, I shall cover 10 Kms a day even if I have to crawl. I had this Cult like following towards scaling 10 Kms every single day. If I were busy in the morning, then I would walk or run in the afternoon or evening or even in the night. A few days I would cover 10 Kms in two instalments. Even when I twisted my ankle, I didn’t give up running; I wore crape bandage for a few weeks and continued my sojourn. I gradually improved and it took a few months before I could regain my strength and run as I used to. The fraternity of free runners came to my mental rescue. I can’t thank them enough and the tribe has been pillar of mammoth support till today.
One day my father announced that he is going to have only MILLETS for the next three months. One of his friends had told him to include Millets in all his meals and it can work wonders for his overall health. For those who do not know my father – his motto in life is “My way or the Highway”. We were not too worried about the change in diet, but what we were curious about is ‘Who is this friend that my father listened to?’ Our diet changed overnight. I don’t remember eating Rice or Wheat for those three months. I hopped from one shop to another jostling for Millets, Millet flakes, Millet noodles and Millet flour. It was Millet dosa or idly or Roti in the mornings, boiled/steamed millets (just like cooked rice) in the afternoon and Millet flakes or noodles in the night. It worked wonders: my father lost weight, his sugar level subsided and he felt better overall. My mother didn’t enjoy much but had to toe my father’s diet. I was neutral but I welcomed this change. Since I didn’t have the taste for millets, I ate less millets and more vegetables and other accompaniments. I ate less than a quarter of these cereals compared to my regular intake of rice. This diet of 3 months worked wonders as my habit changed for good. I now consume less cereals even if it is rice or wheat.
Around this time, I used a bulk of my free time in watching a lot of videos and reading various articles associated to running and fitness. I realized the benefits of FASTING. I had cut down on eating extra but now and then a few extra calories would be consumed due to festivals or special occasions. I believed that Fasting would nullify these extra calories. The question lingering on my mind was when do I start. The great Hindu calendar has the 11th day of the lunar phase called EKADASI, where a lot of Hindus observe Fasting. I chose one of the Ekadasi’s to Kick start my Fasting. This day of fasting comes once a fortnight. I consume only water during fasting. If I have dinner today, my next meal is breakfast on the morning of day after tomorrow. If you do a quick calculation, it comes to around 36 hours. I do not change my routine on these days: I continue running and do all other activities as I normally would. As a result, I do run 10 Kms and sometimes Half Marathons on empty stomach. I am happy that it is now become a part of my life. During this process, I shed another 5 Kgs. I weighed 75 Kgs!! Down by 15 Kgs.
There I was, happy and light. It had been a decade or more since I weighed so less. I was able to wear a lot of my pants and shirts which I had not worn in more than 12 years. But no matter what else I did, I didn’t lose any more weight. I now concentrated on my running. I was able to run 10 Kms under an hour quite consistently and I was also able to run Half Marathon non-stop. Both these feats were an achievement for me. I used to run 21 Kms in about 2 hrs 35 min. Over a period of a few weeks, my time improved to 2 hrs 16 min and it just got stuck there. People suggested a lot of things, such as run where there are trees or run where there is less elevation and so on, but I just couldn’t improve beyond this time. I thought I had reached my saturation point and should be happy with it.
One of my nephews, Tejas, had quit sugar for good. He said he feels better and fresh does not feel lazy throughout the day. I decided to quit sugar soon to check if it helped my running. I stopped consuming sugar on 12th November 2020, a day after my Niece, Varsha’s birthday. This meant, no sugar, no jaggery and no honey. I shall resume consuming sugar if my time does not improve. My room cum office is on the first floor and every time I came down for any reason, I used to go to my favourite room, the kitchen, then to my favourite drawer, and then into my favourite boxes and pop in a few biscuits, cookies, sweets and other junk. My hand would invariably go into those boxes even now, but these boxes are now empty. Whenever I buy anything, I take pains to check if it has added sugar and buy only those items that are devoid of added sugar. My running and fitness did improve. My time for Half Marathon stood at 1 hr 53 min: an improvement of 23 minutes in just under 6 weeks. So, I pledged to continue remaining sugar free forever except for special occassions. I have consumed sugar on an average once a month. Did it affect my weight? Yes it did. Although losing weight was not the reason to quit sugar, it is a welcome bonus. The comments had changed from “You have put on weight” a year back to “You have lost weight” six months back to “You look sick!!” I shall live with that compliment. They genuinely seemed concerned and enquired about my health. Their concern made me feel good. If the fat was then visible, the loss of it is also clearly visible. I had lost 6 more Kgs and I now weighed 69 kgs. I weighed below 70 Kgs for the first time in over a quarter century!! My mother never imagined that she would see a day like this.
Sugar is mankind’s single biggest enemy. I have now abandoned all bakery items, cakes, biscuits, ice cream, etc etc etc. from my menu. I limit consuming sweets on festivals and some special occassions. The best part though is that I don’t have any craving for sweets. It has not been as gargantuan a task as I thought it would be. The sweets I otherwise consume now are fruits and dry fruits. I don’t drink coffee, tea nor milk. I neither consume processed juices nor areated drinks such as Coke or Pepsi, I avoid fresh juice and milk shakes. If I do come to your home, just give me water. I am a big fan of tender coconut though. I have introduced a lot of veg protein in my diet such as hung curd, beans, legumes, tofu and paneer. It is quite a challenge for vegetarians to take 100 grams of protein a day.
Over a period of my research into avoiding sugar and fasting, I learnt that one of the most important elements for good health is taming INSULIN. If one keeps eating several times a day, then insulin does not get any rest and thereby gets overworked and stops releasing Insulin when we want it to. Our organs need rest, to keep us healthy. Fasting is one of the best ways to provide rest to our organs. Whenever I fast, there is around 36 hours gap between the two meals.
The sugar we consume is akin to poison as per many experts in this field. Sugar and alcohol have the same effect on the body except that we don’t feel tipsy. Sugar contains 50% Glucose and 50% Fructose. GLUCOSE is the essence of life and it can be digested by each and every cell in our body. Fructose is quite the opposite. Fructose gets deposited on our liver as fat and the only way to burn it is through Fasting. This is a great human survival mechanism. A few thousand years back, when food was not abundant, humans would consume fruits during its season and all the Fructose would get settled on the liver. When food was scarce during winter, Fructose would be the source of food or energy. Now food is available all year round, we just have to avoid it. Fructose through raw fruits is fine but we should limit fruit intake as well.
If one can live without consuming fruits, it is not big deal. My close friend, Sudarshan has not touched fruits in all his life and he is fit as a fiddle. If one can live without grains, that’s also fine as carbohydrates are similar to sugar. It is a misconception that Fat food causes Fat in the body. It is sugar or carbs that causes fat in our bodies. As one of the Ted talkers put it wisely, we should avoid GPS – Grains, Potato and Sugar. One can easily lead a healthy devoid of any of these.
As of today, my weight keeps hovering around 69 to 72 Kgs. I have to change my wardrobe as most of the clothes look saggy on me. Many people come to me and enquire about my health. Many wouldn’t believe that I lost weight voluntarily. I have rejoined a gym so that I can put on some muscles.
There are my best performances across various distances: 10 Kms in 50 min., Half Marathon (21.1 Kms) in 1 hr. 53 min. and a Full Marathon (42.2 Kms) in 4 hr. 12 min. I run anywhere from 70 Kms to 100 Kms a week.
In a nutshell, my weight reduced by more than 20 Kgs in a year through:
- Walking
- Running
- Millets
- Fasting
- Avoiding Sugar
If I want to improve my running further, I have to shed another 5 Kgs. I have to figure a way out. I would like to explore Triathlon, Iron man challenge in the coming years.
My before and after pics. I am wearing the same pant and shirt for reference.
I don’t want to forget this trip; hence this write up.
A bit of background: I run frequently in Bangalore and participated in quite a few runs/races. It is usually 10 Km or Half Marathon (21.1 Kms). I got introduced to Mr. Sivabalan Pandian, a 64 year young man who has in the last decade, completed more than 650 Marathons across the world. He had conducted a marathon series in Bangalore called 22 cube marathon – a 22 day event where one can run various distances on any day or every day. I wanted to participate in a Half Marathon, but he requested me to run a Full Marathon. It was only my second Marathon of my life, and my first in about a decade. I was quite surprised with my time of 4 Hrs 25 min, 16 sec. It was this performance that encouraged me to register for Mumbai Marathon. I would be running in Mumbai Full Marathon after 10 years.
After completion of my 2nd Marathon. It is an honour to be awarded by Pandian Sir.
Day 1 – 13th Jan 2023
I got a call from Ayaana’s mother who invited me to her home. After collecting my running bib and goodie bag, I left for her place.
My first stop in Mumbai. Hari and I came here together from Airport.
There was a huge traffic jam involving two trucks, so someone suggested that I take a suburban train from Kurla station. I took a share auto to Kurla station. The person sitting next to me was also carrying the goodie bag.
I : Are you running full marathon or half?
He : This is for my boss.
I : Okay
observing that I have a suitcase
He: Where are you coming from?
I : From Bangalore
He: Have you come from Bangalore just to run?
I : Yes
silence for a few seconds. After about 15 seconds
I : You must be thinking that I am a mad man, isn’t it?
He: Ha ha ha, I thought so, but how can I tell that to you?
We both erupt laughing.
The suburban train is popularly known as ‘Mumbai local’. I re-lived the Mumbai local experience all over again. I took the train from Kurla to Kharghar. I got a warm welcome to their home. I have seen Ayaana, her parents and brother online (on Zoom) so I didn’t feel uncomfortable at any time. Everyone have been waiting for me. Her mother is into stock market. She looks like a scientist at work with an array of monitors around her. Even I was engrossed into and was trying to understand what was happening in different monitors. Ayaana, one of my favourite students has been waiting for more than an hour to have lunch with me. I had a wonderful Lunch – The Paneer dish was one of the best I have had. I was served great food throughout the stay including Evening snacks, Dinner and breakfast the following day. I learnt a lot about their family, how her parents met for the first time, when they got married and a bit about Meerut, where they hail from and all the sweets they get from Meerut. It has been slightly more than a year since I had given up sugar. (PS: I am not diabetic and I love sweets) But I had promised Ayaana that the day I come to her home, I would eat sweets. I got to nibble into a few sweets shipped all the way from Meerut. Ayana and her family are great hosts; they made me feel comfortable as though I were a part of their family. Ayaana vacated her room for me. The top floor of the pent house is where I slept that night. Mumbai looks so different in Kharghar: it is so distinct compared to the old or as a few say ‘real Mumbai’. But I wonder if anyone wants to live in ‘real Mumbai’, once he or she has lived in ‘Navi Mumbai’. Ayaana’s home is even better as one can see sight of hills and it is situated in such a place that no building will ever be built next to theirs, so there is no dearth of sun and light and fresh air all day and all year.
I never realised how little she is till I met her.
Ayaana’s mother looks like a scientist at work.
Day 2 – 14th Jan 2023
After a good night’s sleep, I had a short run early in the morning with one of friends of Ayana’s father in Central Park. I am told it is one of the biggest parks in India or Asia. I had one of my favourite breakfasts – alu parathas. Spending an hour in the Jacuzzi a day before Marathon is really refreshing. It relaxed my calves which had shown signs of cramps. I left their place with beautiful memories. I have seen the family a few times over Zoom, and I had told Ayana long back that I shall be coming to Mumbai to run a marathon and that I shall certainly visit her place. I never imagined that I shall spend such quality time at her home with her family.
Early morning run at ‘Central Park’
I got a pack of special sweet from Meerut. Ayaana’s mother dropped me to Railway station. I bade goodbye to my hosts, promising to meet again and thanking for the hospitality.
Wonderful family. Treated me as one of thiers.
While I was in Kharghar station, Shriram, my cousin Shilpa’s hubby called me and invited me to his house. My sister and I used to meet Shilpa often whenever we used to visit Mumbai on our journey to Nigeria. Shriram knew I was in Mumbai through my WhatsApp status. He said that I have to broadcast “authentic Maharashtrian lunch at Shilpa’s home” as new WhatsApp Status. How I wish, but this was a day before my Marathon and I was compelled to decline the offer of food but told him that I shall drop by. I deposited my luggage in the hotel near CST (Chathrapati Shivaji Terminus) and left for Thane to visit them. It was my first time in Thane, the most populous district in Maharashtra. I shared my live location with Shriram who was my live Google Map till I reached his home. It was great to see them after a long time. Shriram has an aura of warmth around him; anyone would feel comfortable with him. After talking with them after about an hour, it was again “What will you have”? I had to eat something, and Shilpa said she will prepare anything I want to eat and gave me a lot of options. I chose Uppit. One must have Uppit made from North Kannadigas or South Maharashtrians; they are the unparalleled. I left for the day, giving an assurance that I shall have a complete Maharashtrian meal sooner rather than later.
Will be back soon for ‘Authentic Maharashtrian Meal’
On the way back, I got a call from Priyanka, seeking my arrival. I had to take a “dheemi local” or one of the slow suburban trains that stops at all stations, to Matunga. My third house on the festival day!!! I have met her father several times with whom it is always a pleasure to talk to. There is no dearth of topics with Priyanka and her father around. It is such an irony that I happened to see their home for the first time and Oh, what a lovely home. It is an Eighty-year-old building, older than her father, and the living room was one of the largest I have seen in proper Mumbai. The home has its own old-world charm. A lot of our conversation revolved around that building they reside in and how it is being managed these days. I shall visit this place again whenever I am in Mumbai.
Priyanka and her father – always a joy to meet you both
I had made it very clear to Priyanka that I would not have anything to eat as I have to run a marathon the next day, but there is no end to hospitality. I had to leave and take rest, but she made me wait till the food arrived. She assured me that I will be eating something light and healthy. Her family’s roots are in Gujarat and she lives in an area called Matunga which is like a mini South India. It houses not only a lot of South Indians but also many South Indian restaurants and temples. She said that she will not serve me South Indian food as I am from South India and she will not provide any Gujarathi fare as I will be leaving for Gujarat the next day so it will be authentic Maharashtrian food. I had Pithale Bhaji Bhakar, Kothimbir Vadi and Kharwas and thick curd. I wish I had taken a pic of the dishes. I was happy that I still felt light after whatever I ate throughout the day. I got dropped to my hotel where I would spend the rest of the time hobnobbing with other guests who were all runners from other parts of the country. This is one of the other reasons why I booked this hotel. To meet other runners apart from the fact that it is close to the race venue.
Day 3 – 15th Jan 2023
This is the big day. The day of Mumbai Marathon. I had last run 10 years back. Since the place I stayed is hop, skip and jump from the race venue, I didn’t have to worry about waking up too early. I left the hotel at 5am for the race that started at 5:15am – gives you an indication about how close the place is to the race venue. As soon as the race started, I realized I didn’t have any food/nutrients. Ayaana had packed a few dates and I thought I would have that before the race but ended up having a chocolate bar that was distributed as a part of promotion. The running route had changed a bit due to road construction here and there. I wanted to give it all I had and I think I did. I slowed down at around 30 Km mark. This is the third Marathon where the 30 Km mark has proved to be my Nemesis. I had run 32 Kms in 3 hours. If I had to achieve my target of running under 4 hours, then I have to run the last 10 Kms in 60 minutes. I thought I had reached a point in my running life of running 10 Km under an hour any time. I had not factored the last 10 Km in a Marathon though. I remember giving this gyan to people “You slowest run is faster than your fastest walk”. I thought let me just start running, even it is slow and did just that. This Full Marathon takes you to a lot of roads in Mumbai, but ask anyone who has run this Marathon to name them, he or she will utter just one road – ‘Pedder Road’. I ran and ran till the the famous or the infamous ‘Pedder Road’: The steepest road of the run. I saw a young boy shouting at me “Common, common”. He held a placard which read “Pedder Road is over”. I could not help but smile at him and I started running again and this time did not stop till the end of the race. The locals really pepped us up. As I recall, a lot of families with their parents and children had descended at the running route to encourage us by sharing food, chocolates, juices, home made sweets and so on. A young boy was playing drums. “You are my inspiration” read another placard. How I wish I could talk with them, take pics of these wonderful people, but I had the pressure of time – sub 4 hours was playing in my mind.
My fastest Marathon ever. I have to shave 12 more minutes in my next marathon.
I could manage a time of 4 hours 12 min. I was a bit disappointed, nevertheless my personal best. My whole body was aching. The physio at the recovery centre somehow managed to ease my pain in the legs and back. After collecting the medal and having breakfast, I returned to the hotel. I met the owner and I told him about my missed opportunity at running sub 4 hours. “So I shall definitely see you next year then. You would come to challenge your time”, he remarked. I must say that the staff at the hotel where I stayed, ‘Hebbar Heritage Home’, took efforts to provide a bed for me. All the rooms were filled so they provided a bed in a big hall just for me. I can’t thank them enough for going out of their way for my sake.
I had to leave for Surat. Devanshi has been inviting me for more than a decade. I would finally meet her and her family today. I was chit-chatting with the staff at the hotel and I lost track of time. I wanted to board the suburban train to Bandra Railway Station but I realized that the I was late and searched for a taxi. My train was at 1:25pm and I boarded the taxi at 12:45pm. I told the driver to take me as fast as he can. The driver did all that he could possibly do. He drove swiftly and even jumped a signal, but in spite of his heroics, it seemed as if I would miss the train. I was thinking of excuses to give to Devanshi. He dropped me off at 1:20pm but it was the wrong station. Bandra terminus is slightly less than a Km from Bandra station. A share auto dropped me at 12:24pm. I had to go to Platform No. 5. A coolie saw me running with my suitcase and told me that he would help me with my luggage and he will not charge more. The train started moving the moment I boarded. Coolie charged Rs. 200 after bargaining, slightly less than the cost of the train ticket 😊. I only had Rs. 100. He requested one of the railway staffs to give Rs. 100 and I later transfer the money electronically. The railway staff had this wicked grin on his face. I acknowledged that I have been looted.
I finally found my coach after passing through a dozen of them. The body pain persisted and I was stretching my arms and legs throughout the journey, much to the amusement of my fellow passengers. The train reached Surat, 30 min behind schedule. I saw Devanshi for the first time in almost 15 years. She asked me about my agenda. I said she can decide about my agenda for the next 18 hours I would be in Surat. Devanshi is married to a Jain, a practicing Jain to be precise. Of course they are pure vegetarians, but they also don’t consume roots such as potatoes, beetroot etc. The day I arrived was a special day for Jains and who wouldn’t cook nor eat anything green that day. They were wondering as to how to feed me. I said I actually wanted to experience these things and I will more than welcome these special days and special food associated with it. I had a wonderful dinner devoid of greens. The dinner looked ‘Red’: I shall not elaborate any furhter. I last met Devanshi around 15 years back. We had known each other for just a couple of months where I used to teach a bunch of people gearing to work in a call centre. It is quite amazing that we are in good touch after all these years. She was then a struggling young graduate trying to stand on her two feet. Today both of she and her husband are successful entrepreneurs and blessed with a wonderful daughter. After reminiscing for a few minutes about my stint in Surat, I resigned to bed. I saw myself limping to bed.
Devanshi’s multi talented daughter. It was a pleasure interacting with her.
Day 4 – 16th Jan 2023
I was still limping as I woke up. During my previous stay in Surat, I lived in one of my other trainees home for close to 3 weeks. I called Kashyap, but he was participating in a cricket match and could not speak with him. I tried calling a few others, but to no avail. I had typical Surti breakfast comprising of Locho, Khakhras, and Ponk (a Gujarati snack made from tender roasted sorghum grains mixed with sev). A heavy breakfast that would keep me full till dinner.
“Eat in Surat, Die in Kashi” is a popular saying. It must be true as Surat is the only place in the world where I left home and put on weight. Couple of hours before I boarded the train was devoted to shopping for snacks. What to buy, where to buy, how much to buy – all these inputs were intimated to Devanshi by Priyanka. Devanshi’s husband, Kevin charted a map, figuring out the best route to go to 3 places and railway station. I first bought pineapple ‘Mattha’, a few Khakhras, Bhakharwadi, and finally Ghari, traditional sweet of Surat. What a wonderful short and sweet stay in Surat.
I had Lions share of the breakfast the couple just looks on.
‘Ponk’ – I remember having this just once or twice before in North Karnataka.
The loot from Surat.
The train to Mumbai was bang on time. My flight got delayed so I walked from ‘Vile Parle’ railway station to Airport. I had a chat with Satish sir before leaving for the Marathon for a few last-minute tips. I told him that I have decided to live on Vada Pavs a day before Marathon. I said “I shall have Vada pavs to load carbs”. He said, “Hope that’s a joke”. I actually thought it is the simplest way to load carbs in Mumbai. He asked me to be away from fried stuff till the race is over and after the Marathon I can eat whatever I wanted. I had my first and possibly the last Vada pav of the journey in the airport. Quite an awkward place to have, but I finally had one.
Finally!!!
I realized that the flight had delayed further. This flight was supposed to leave at 2:30pm, then 7:15pm, then 8:15pm and now 9:30pm. I went to the lounge and had some food. I happened to meet Pradyumna, my fellow runner from our running group. Half the lounge was filled with runners from different places. We both struck a conversation with one of the attendants working in the Lounge or rather he started enquiring about us.
Attendant : Do you keep coming to Mumbai often?
We : No, we came to Mumbai to run
He seemed completely clueless
Attendant : Where were you guys running?
We : Don’t you know that there was Marathon in Mumbai yesterday?
Attendant : What is Marathon? From where to where did you run?
A bit surprised at his query.
We : From CST to CST!!
He thought for a while and after a bit of calculation
Attendant : I see, so you ran a hundred metres?
We : Bro, complete 42 Kms
He was a bit perplexed?
Attendant : Where all did you run?
We told him the entire route
We : Did you really think that we came all the way from Bangalore to run just 100 metres?
Attendane : Since you said CST to CST, I thought that you ran from one platform to another!!
The flight finally took off at 10 PM. I reached home at around midnight. Finally, the memories of this trip are penned forever.
I delayed publishing this article for exactly a decade as I had not run a marathon since 2013. I didn’t want to change the title either, so in order to be politically correct, I decided to publish this after I run my second marathon. I didn’t know then, that I would take so many years to run my next Marathon. I ran my second marathon only in September of 2022 and my third marathon in Mumbai on 15th Jan 2023. At the time of publishing this blog, it is exactly 10 years to this day that I ran my first ever marathon on 20th Jan 2013.
I used to like this question which used to come on Discovery Channel. I don’t know if it were part of an advertisement. The question was “When was the last time you did something for the first time?” I loved that question so much that I was looking forward to doing something new. This time I was about to embark into something new: an unchartered territory for me.
I wanted to run a half marathon (HM), but when I decided to register, the registration for HM was closed so if I had to take part in this event, it had be a full marathon (FM). So I registered for a full marathon and tried to prepare for the same. This was also a reason to travel to Mumbai. My sister, my BIL and two wonderful neices live there at the moment. I had about two and a half months at hand.
I used to run about 7 Kms a day and on a few odd days, upto 10Kms. I enquired several people about running a full marathon (42.195 Kms), and almost everyone said that I was not prepared for it. Two people have inspired or given me hope that “I too can run”. One of them is my GMAT student, Anjana: I was still teaching her when I registered for this Marathon. She took up running after she became a mother and has since run several marathons. I texted her that I had enrolled for a Full Marathon for which she called me and started shouting at me: “Have you gone mad?” My reason that I was late to register for a Half Marathon did not convince her. Nevertheless, she asked me the kind of shoes I had and guided me what to buy, wear in order to run a Fuuull Maaraaathoooon
The other person to inspire me is my classmate from school and College, P G Sanjay. I saw his Facebook post one day that he ran a Full marathon in about 4 hours 27 minutes. At that time, I could run 10 kms in 72 minutes. He had run 4 times the distance at a faster pace than mine!!! He was the first one I turned to when I registered for the marathon. I had long chats with him one day and he said, “if I can run a marathon, then anyone can”. This is exactly what I wanted to hear. He told me about his experience and forwarded me a chart to prepare. It seemed simple, but then there is difference between ‘simple’ and ‘easy’. It was all about how much time I had at my disposal. According to him, one must have run 30 Kms to 35 Kms a couple of times at least, to attempt a Full Marathon. Alas, I had not run more than 10 kms at any stage in my life. Over the next few days, I attempted long runs and these were one 16 Kms run and another 17 Kms run.
I consulted another friend of mine, Dwarka. He is an avid cyclist and good at fitness. Even he said I am prepared for a half marathon but not a full. Nevertheless, he asked me to get involved in circuit training every alternate day. I had to work out for 7 muscles parts : chest, biceps, triceps, back, shoulders, thighs and calves. I had to do 2 different exercises of 3 sets for each muscle part and each set comprising or 15 repetitions. I had to choose the weight for each exercise which is equal to 60% of my dead lift capacity. That is, if i can lift a maximum of 100 Kgs for a particular exercise just once, then the circuit training for that exercise should be 60Kgs. I should take no more than 15 seconds break between any two exercises, but I can take a few more seconds if my pulse beats more than 25 times in 10 seconds. I have to complete the entire circuit training in 45 minutes. I am not alien to Gymnasium, so I didn’t find it too difficult handle; I rather started enjoying it.
I got introduced to a Marathon runner who lived near my home. She has run marathons across the world. “You are taking a chance” she quipped after listening to my running history. She told me to modify my running route a bit so that I also experience a bit of uphill and downhill. She also told me about the nutrition I have to take for a long run like this: Beetroot juice, sprouts and a few other things. I tried to implement, but the right vegetables and other ingredients were not available at home. I abandoned the nutrition part before even starting it properly but I changed my running route to experience a bit of gradient.
A few weeks into my preparation, I experienced severe pain around my knees. I couldn’t even run a few furlongs. I visited an orthopedic on my own speaks volumes about how I felt about the pain. He gave me a patient hearing; he asked me if it hurts when I don’t run. I said it doesn’t. He said that if it ached only when I ran, then there is nothing wrong with my legs. The legs are just not used to this much of running and thereby this pain. He said that I should continue running despite the pain so the body get used to it. True to what he said, over the next few days, the pain started subsiding. The more I ran, the better I felt. By the time I boarded the flight to Mumbai, I felt supremely fit. I had never been fitter.
I took a flight to Mumbai and went to my sister’s home. I just relaxed till the day of Marathon. My sister and brother-in-law were to take part in Half Marathon. A Half Marathon running bib was available and my BIL’s friend asked me if I want to change my plans. There was no way in backing out of Full Marathon. I have been dreaming about it for a while and it would be a dream come true if I eventually complete it. Moreover, my father had broadcasted about my participation to the whole world. What will I say if someone asks about my Full Marathon experience?
I took the special train to Chathrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST). Everyone in the train were participants of the great run, especially the Full Marathon. Half Marathon starts from another venue but ends in CST. It was walking distance from the railway station. A little over two thousand runners had taken part in the FM. I spoke with a few runners who were carrying the timing flag. I reached out to the one who had 4 hrs written on his flag. This is called the 4 hour bus. He gave a few chewys and said we should consume it whenever we are out of energy. I just had to follow him to complete the course in 4 hours.
Race started and the 4-hour bus who vanished in a matter of time. Then I followed 4:30 hour bus and then 5 hours bus like a relay. I ran non-stop for 8 Kms before I started walking for the first time. I guess it was Pedder Road that made me slow down. From then on it was a combination of running and walking. By the time I crossed the Bandra-Worli Sea link, even the 6 hour bus had crossed. I had 3 to 4 chewys by then, which was perhaps a bit too much. I thought I would get instant energy, but I experienced a kind of churning in my stomach. It was reason enough to slow down. I however approached the first half Marathon with relative ease completing in slightly more than two and a half hours. I had never run or walked so much at a stretch ever and now I had to repeat this distance. The second half marathon was tough to say the least. I felt so exhausted that I drank water at every water station. I took all help such as ice packs, spray, etc along the way. One of the runners enquired about the shirt I was wearing. I wore the colours of an NGO called “Cheshire Disability Trust”, the place I frequent to teach people with disabilities. We exchanged numbers and he said he would get in touch with me to see how he can contribute to this Trust.
This is one race where one can see the Elite runners literally zip past the regular runners. It was a sight that can either encourage you or discourage you. I was struggling to jog and these runners galloped past me and went out of sight in a jiffy. It was not easy for them as well as I saw a few of the Africans stepping into an ambulance ending their race.
The most exciting part of the race is the people of Mumbai. When you feel almost fatigued, it is these people who lift you up. A man came to me and gave me salt and biscuit. He said the salt helps retain water and good for running. This knowledge was alien to me. The energy of the Mumbaikars is good enough reason to run this marathon. They were cheering us for hours every where our route entered the civilian areas. Children lined up with their parents, encouraging us by sharing their favourite chocolates and biscuits with us. I shall forever be thankful for enthusiastic Mumbaikars.
I had run for 4 hours covering 30 Kms. The knee pain had come and gone when I was practicing for this run, but I never realized I had a hip joint as well. What sort of Karma was this? God decides to tell me that I have a hip joint at this time?? My movement came to a sudden halt. Every step I took was excruciating. It was so uncomfortable that I envisaged myself calling an ambulance and end my run. In the hind sight it was the right thing to do, but I was more worried about what my father would tell his friends if they enquired about my marathon experience. I decided to chug along while the whole world overtook me. The final destination seemed endless. I saw many runners of different shapes, sizes, age groups struggling to complete the elusive and exclusive Marathon. Here I saw a runner who had carried the 4-hour flag in the beginning of the run limping. He said he has torn a muscle and could not run but he wanted to complete the distance. There are enough crazy people on this planet!!!
Finally, I saw the 40km mark. I smiled for the first time in more than an hour. After seeing number 3 at the tens digit for so long, the digit ‘4’ gave me a new lease of life. Then came the 41Km mark and then 42Km mark. I had run, walked and limped for 6 hours but in spite of it there was sudden spring in my feet for the final 100 metres; I ran so fast that could put even Usain Bolt to shame. After 6 hours, 6 minutes and 11 seconds, I completed my first ever marathon.
A lady garlanded the beautiful medal around my neck which I wore it with pride. It was comforting that I recovered within a few minutes of resting. I continued to wear the medal till I reached my sister’s home. A lot of onlookers asked me about it during my journey back home and I told them about my accomplishment. I reached my sister’s home to applause and standing ovation. I checked my weight and I realized that I had lost 5 kgs during this six-hour ordeal.
My good friend Sudarshan had put on Facebook about my run. He was the first person to know about the completion of my Marathon. He was more happy for me than I was for myself. Dwarka called me from airport asking about my experience. He was leaving for US that day. P G Sanjay left a message on Facebook enquiring about my time. Anuradha, the manager of the NGO whose colours I had donned was happy for me. I had become a minor hero for a few days. Congratulatory messages poured in from everywhere. I got a mention about my feat in our nearby club (much to my reluctance). It surely was an enriching experience, something I shall cherish for a long time. It was a dream come true for someone who was born with Asthma. I hope this is just the beginning.
“Tomorrow is a ‘holiday’ because of ‘Holi Day’!!!”, our principal’s words echoed through the morning school assembly. There was no reaction from the students. With exams round the corner, an unexpected holiday was the last thing we expected. Our confused principal repeated the words a bit louder “Tomorrow is a ‘holiday’ because of ‘Holi Day’!!!”. It was then that news sunk in and shock waves started to have its effect on us. We cheered and jeered and praised our principal more than required in the hope of securing an additional holiday. Alas, one day is all we got.
Baldwin Boys High School is one of those schools which loves to give holidays for every occasion. Out of 365 days in a year, our school used to function for only 180 days. We would get holiday if our school won a tournament; if Government declared 4 days holidays due to Cauvery River dispute, our school would give 8 days off. There was no reason to not like Baldwins.
On the day of Holi, festival of colours, a few of us decided to play with colours. We pooled in a bit of money and one of us was able to sneak out of the school for a few minutes and get colour powder of different hues. It is a simple game of colours: mix the colour in water, and splash it onto others. We went about chasing our reluctant friends and throw colour at them. As they fell prey to colours, even the hunted joined the bandwagon and within minutes, we had a sizeable crowd, able to be noticed. We spent the best part of the day chasing our friends across all three play grounds, disfiguring their appearance by applying colours on their faces and body. Someone shouted that it was his ‘Imported’ shirt, from Dubai – we would not care. We made sure that he would not be able wear that shirt ever again. It was real fun to say the least.
In a matter of time, colours were not just on our bodies but all over the school campus. There was a trail of colours wherever we went. It was one of the best festivals I enjoyed in school. As time passed, we knew at the back of our minds that we were enjoying slightly more than required. Although we were celebrating and soaking ourselves in the festival mood and spirit, there was an inkling feeling that we had crossed the line of discipline and we all might get reprimanded in some way or the other. Our minds said we should tone down but our hearts said ‘just live the moment’: just like in the movie “Shawshank Redemption”, where the hero, Tim Robbins plays the music through the loudspeaker to his prison mates in spite of knowing that he would be in trouble, we also wanted to enjoy the festival of colours to the fullest before we get punished. It is quite relatable, if Tim Robbins is each one of us, then the prison is our campus, the music is the colour, the prison mates are our boarder friends.
We were tired and hungry and just then the lunch bell rang. We all ran towards the dining hall but better sense prevailed over us. We looked at each other, we agreed that we were quite shabby for the dining hall standards and took a unanimous decision to wash ourselves clean before dashing into the dining hall. We scurried towards the big bathroom but to our horror, the taps were dry; nothing new for us, but today we needed water more than ever. Someone sucked through the taps to get the blocked water run through, but there was not a drop of water in the tank and we just didn’t know what to do. As we approached the dining hall, one of the P T masters saw us. He made a face as if we had stolen his kidney. He gave us a lecture and asked us “Are you all kids?”. Of course, we were kids; almost all of us had barely entered our teens. We kept silent; we were mature enough to know it was a rhetorical question. We were waiting for orders to eat something, so we just wanted to get done with the lecture. In a few minutes, another P T master came, then NCC master joined them, then our warden, then the dietician; it looked as if they were eagerly waiting for some fun. They went in a huddle discussing something seriously while we glanced at each other trying to comprehend the magnitude of our crime. Warden was the target as his boys had done something terrible. “Food is getting cold”, was the only thing on my mind. I never liked hostel food; vegetarian food got step motherly treatment in our hostel, but on that afternoon, I was so hungry that I would have eaten even cold food.
The ensemble scanned us thoroughly and just as we were wondering about the outcome of the great huddle, one of the wise men asked us “Who started?” Is that all they came up with from that huddle, I thought, just two words. But yhey were prophetic words indeed – quite frankly, I was a bit rattled at this question. This question would test our ‘Unity’. The staff kept scanning us to check who will be the first one to buckle. We were not afraid of any of them except for Mr. Ward, one of the PT Masters and he was the only one not present that day (what luck); he owned a cane that a few swings of that would create such art on our skins that would put Picasso to shame. “Call Mr. Ward”, said one of the staff. This one statement petrified almost all of us. Once again, all of us were looking at each other, hoping to get sympathy from one another and trying to figure out how to escape caning from Mr. Ward. The only way of course if by naming the culprit.
Just then, I recollected a story my father told me about how the members of a union in a factory he worked at were so united that, all the members preferred and took a pay cut rather than name the culprit among them. Now, for the first time in my life, I was part of a union, a “Holi Union” whose unity was being tested. “I will take a few canings from Mr. Ward rather than reveal the name of the person who got the colours”, I resolved. That seemed the right thing to do as even we were partners in crime. There was no guarantee that the rest of us would be spared anyway. I silently prayed to God to give me strength to withstand the pain that would follow. “Who started? From where did you get the colours?”, he thundered again. Nobody uttered a word. He asked the same question, this time individually, to each one of us and all of us uttered the same three golden words – “I don’t know”. It was indeed a crime those days for a boarder to go out of the school campus without the warden’s permission. If that culprit were to be identified, he would have one hell of a day with parents or guardians being summoned and what not. We knew the importance of unity that day. It was amazing to note that none of us relented to any questions asked by the staff. “I don’t know” seemed to be the ‘mantra’ of the day.
Our warden ordered us to enter the dining hall and stand in a single file. We paraded into the dining hall much to the amusement of the other ‘clean’ friends enjoying their meals. They all had a good time making fun of us and passing witty comments. Within minutes, to our surprise, the Principal came visiting us. We don’t see or talk to our Principal often and now his physical presence seemed more towering that usual. Given a choice, we would have preferred Mr. Ward’s caning to confronting our Principal. None of us mustered the courage to make eye contact with him. Even he lectured for a few minutes. The only sentence I understood was that he will never give holiday for Holi in future. That really didn’t matter, but we have to pretend as if that holiday was important for us. If the holiday was indeed denied the next year, our contemporaries knew whom to blame.
We were awaiting our sentence as we knew that we will not be left scot free. The principal told something to the remaining staff and left the scene. Now the punishment for playing Holi is that we will be provided lunch only after we were “colour free”. We all looked at each other and whispered to one another – ‘Is that all’. We once again had to pretend as if it was a harsh punishment: we made sad faces and as soon as we turned our faces away from them, we were beaming with joy; a sense of achievement was written on our faces. The “Holi Union” had passed the test with flying colours. With no water in the tank, we had to approach that one source of water: a borewell in one corner in the small field. All of us collected our soaps and mugs, stripped ourselves till our underpants and sprinted to the water source. This image is still intact in my memory. Just imagine a bunch of 12-year-olds to 14-year-olds in just their underpants, and rest of the body smeared with colours, scampering for water as if they had never seen water before. It would have made a spectacle for anyone!!! This mammoth bathing session was a sight to behold. We enjoyed playing with colours but getting rid of colours was even more enjoyable.
What a perfect ‘Holi’
The bunch of boarders have remained united ever since. We will continue to help each other forever. As one of my friends remarked during one of the first reunions, if school mates studied with each other, we boarders lived with each other. We were indeed a family.
The following is a series of Whatsapp status I had shared whenever I met my Boss. I am from Bangalore, India and I run from my home to Sadashivanagar, through new BEL Road almost every day. There is a small and beautiful lake in Sadashivanagar and that’s where I used to meet this woman. An enigmatic lady who made me want to meet her regularly.
Hope you enjoy the slide show.
Thanks for stopping by.
Happy Makara Sankranthi to everyone.
A couple of those who wished me on the eve of Sankranthi enquied if I know how to fly kites and if kites are flown in my city. It reminded me of my time in Gulbarga when I lived with my Maternal Grandparents and Uncle during my primary school days. I currently live in the city of Bangalore and unfortunately, I have flown kite just once in this city. I heard that flying kites require a formal permission from the police today.
I remember visiting Gujarat during this festival season a few years back and kite flying was seen in every nook and corner of the city. It was vibrat indeed but we also witnessed adverse effects: kites stuck on trees, electric poles and wires, street lights, top of buildings that it took away the beauty of the city, not to mention enormous casualty caused to the birds. No wonder that kite flying is banned in Bangalore.
When I was in ‘Gulbarga’ though, Kite flying was serious business. People no doubt enjoyed flying kites, but the involvement was at another level. What was more enjoyable is targeting others’ kites in the vicinity and bringing it down to make it your own.
One of the incentives of having lived in tier-2 cities, towns and villages is that the interest and involvement is far greater even when doing the smallest of things. I haven’t seen so much involvement in flying kites in major cities. We never bought kites in Gulbarga, we made them. Check out the ingredients.
- Colour papers – for Kite and its Tail
- Flexible sticks – usually from the coconut broom or bamboo
- String – 10 metres to 30 metres
- Glass powder – as much depending on the length of the string
- Gum – specific gum for the thread
- Gum or cooked rice
- Spool – for the string
- Cloth – long enough to tie around both the hands for two people
I was part of the neighbourhood cricket team; this team could also be called kite team, marble team, gilli-danda team and so on. We friends pool in a bit of our pocket money to buy these ingredients. If the team works together, the process mentioned below will take around 2 hours.
The string we get is quite strong but not strong enough to cut the strings of rival kites, so we have to make our string stronger and more importantly sharper. We first collect dry leaves, twigs, stems, barks that are strewn on the nearby streets or parks; we collect a few bricks and arrange them such that a vessel, lent to us by a friend’s mother, could be supported. We would then light the dry leaves and twigs and pour some water into the vessel and allow the water to boil. The string is then soaked in boiling water. Once the string has absorbed the water, excess water is removed and the gum or adhesive is poured into the vessel. When the string becomes sticky, we apply glass powder on to the string. This is a delicate and the most important part of the process and one has to protect one’s hands by tying a cloth around one’s hands. The cloth mentioned under the ingredients is used to tie our hands not only at this juncture but also while flying the kite, else we will just cut our hands. The string is now hung around the trees or clothline and allowed to cool and dry. Once the string is dried, it is rolled around the spool.
Any boy my age in Gulbarga would know how to make a kite. The paper is cut in a shape of a Kite or a Rhombus and the flexible sticks, one made into a semi-circle and one left straight are stuck along the diagonals. The two sticks are tied with string and gum or cooked rice is used as adhesive to paste the stick and the paper.
Quite an art, isn’t it. The expert amongst us will tie the string to the kite. There is a complete geometric process to it. Once the Kite, its tail and string are all connected, we check the direction of the wind, and see which kite should be targeted and accordingly choose an appropriate place to begin our hunt.
We don’t wait for Sankranti to fly kites. It is flown whenever the wind plans to visit us. One or two who take the responsibility of flying the kite cover both their hands with the cloth. One of us would hold the kite and try to lift it helping it to float with the help of the breeze, and one who has the string will pull it towards himself to help it lift with the drag, once it lifts to a particular height, the breeze will push the kite further and the boy with the spool will roll spool to release the string.
This to and fro game of pulling and releasing the string continues till the kite has flown above the trees and buildings, as that’s when the kite gets unobstructed supply of breeze, marking the onset of our poaching extravaganza. The swifter one pulls the string towards oneself, the higher the kite flies , else the kite flies horizontally and it falls reach the height required to poach rival kites. If our kite goes around rival’s kite, then we can more or less cut the string of that kite. An element of skill is required to fly kites and poach, therefore the best among our team flies the kite and rest of us resort to being spool operators, navigators and commentators, but all the while, everyone’e eyes are glued to the kite.
Sometimes, when we cut a rival’s kite, it flows off with the breeze instead of clinging on to our string, so we chase the kite to see where it lands. A bunch of us are ever ready for such a scenario. The kite lands sometimes on rootops, sometimes on trees and sometimes ot top of moving vehicles. There is a lot of fun involved in chasing the kite as we all run in different directions and see who gets it first. The one who gets it becomes the hero of the day. It is also a team effort as it is difficult to ascertain the landing of the kite, so if one misses, the other one gets it. There are times when we have chased a kite for kilometres and we get a huge sense of accomplishment when we get the rival’s kite intact: much like the WWF wrestlers who take the rival’s belt. But there are times when we have just missed it. I remember a time when a the kite haf fallen on the busy road and we were trying to get close to it when a vehicle ran over it. Many-a-times, when a kite it stuck on a tree, the kite is invariably torn and there are times when we lost it to the winds.
There was a time when I was finally elevated to fly the kite but, the string has cut my palm inspite of tying cloth around my hands. I presume the padding was not thick enough. I almost hunted down a rival kite once but due to duel between the two, both the kites perished; it was such a ‘so near yet so far’ moment. Kite flying was fun indeed. It gave us a kind of joy to cherish forever.
15th Jan 2022
La Liga was perhaps the most exciting when Messi and Ronaldo played for Barcelona and Real Madrid respectively. Ever wondered how would the team comprising of both Messi and Ronaldo be? Read on…
Can any of you guess as to which is my favourite football match? It is not ‘El Classico’ – Barcelona vs Real Madrid, nor is it Brazil vs Argentina nor Italy vs Germany. It is not even India vs Pakistan, nor Mohan Bagan vs East Bengal. Well it is match I not only witnessed in person but also was a part of it. Let’s say it was Team A vs Team B.
Whenever you watch a game of football on television, have you ever wondered as to why the spectators and players display so much unnecessary passion on the field? If so, then you have not played the game the right way!!! It is not just playing for your country or state or college or club that ignite passions, but even if you are playing for your house or a random team. Sports took centre stage once I joined Baldwin Boys High School in Bangalore in 7th grade. That’s when I learnt that if a sport is not played with passion, one will never grow as a sportsman. I also realised that one can follow, understand and enjoy watching a sport more if one has played the game in the right way by following the rules, displaying sportamsnship and performing with right spirit. Our school was divided into six houses and these six houses competed against each other in sports, debate and other such competitions. Each of these competitions was taken part with so much of pride and spirit that the essence has become a part of our life.
I hadn’t played any team sport apart from Cricket till I joined Baldwins. It was compulsory for boarders to play from 4:30 to 6:00 pm every single weekday day and during weekends one could play the whole day. We had to study from 6 pm to 7:30 pm, so bell is rung at 5:50pm (first bell) to let us know that in 10 min we have to sit for studies. At 5:55, bell is rung a second time; at this juncture, we had to either be in the dorm, or be ‘running’ towards the dorm.
It was halfway through my first year (7th Grade) in Baldwins when I had learnt enough of hockey and football that I was worthy enough to be selected in the playing eleven. I am born asthmatic making me tired soon while playing most active sports, so I settled being a defender or ‘backie’ – slang for a defender. My position was right back in Football and left back in Hockey. During my hostel days in Baldwins, we had this peculiar way of choosing the teams. Any two of us would be designated as captains. One of us would toss a coin and the one who wins the toss gets to choose the first member of his team, then the other captain chooses his first team mate and so on till there are no more people left or till captains have eleven members each. The one who wins the toss would invariably choose Abrar as his first pick and then his best friends. “If you have Abrar in your team then your team would win that match” was the belief, be it in Football, Hockey or Cricket. He was good in other sports as well such as Table-Tennis, or Basketball and excelled in Athletics. He had this knack of excelling in any sport he played. In order to win the game, one had to win the toss so as to choose him in your team. There was never a draw when we played as we used to have penalties if such a thing ever happened. In other words, a face saver never existed – it is either win or lose.
It was during one of those Football matches when Abrar had scored 2 goals against us and we were yet to open the account. Our team captain made it clear that we are going to lose anyway and now it was a matter of pride. “We shall not concede any more goals”, he yelled. The time was 5:30 and in another 15 to 20 minutes, we would have to stop playing and we have to make sure that we don’t shame ourselves by conceding more goals. The entire team went on the defensive and the other team was trying its best to annihilate us. One of our team mates, Govinda, had other plans. In other words, he didn’t care for the captain’s message and he managed to score a goal, a solo goal. It came out of the blue. Now every member of our team was beaming with a big smile. ‘We are not going to lose without scoring a goal’ – is a big consolation.
Nevertheless, we were in a tricky situation and even the captain was clueless – should we attack or defend, should we go for an equalizer or settle for a ‘not so ignominious defeat’. In another 5 minutes however, Govinda scored another goal. There was a ‘hush’ silence for a second to see if the goal is given or not and once the goal was confirmed, we were so ecstatic and we screamed so much that almost the entire hostel who were playing other matches in other grounds, stopped their games and came to see our match. We all bellowed and hollered and hugged each other and what not. ‘Common guys’ lent the air. Both the teams went in a huddle to figure out the strategies for the next few minutes. Both the captains gave 45 seconds of the most motivational speech of their lives. The play resumed and this time without any strategies. It will be down to penalties I thought – It is good to lose via penalties than an outright loss. With a bit of luck, a weaker team can also win through penalties. Just then the first bell rang. We all decided to play till the second bell. Abrar wanted to prove a point and tried his best to score a goal but our team fought valiantly with renewed energy as if our lives depended on these final 5 minutes. “I will let the ball pass through only over my dead body” – I said to myself. I was thinking and I am sure everyone else in our team were thinking – “is it possible…”? Guess the chorus of the evening? – It was ‘Govinda’, ‘Govinda’. I don’t know whether we attacked or defended as a team, but I know for sure that the opposition attacked us and this helped Govinda make spaces in the other half and and in the next few seconds, just before the second bell rang, Govinda scored another goal!!! That is one of the best hattricks you will ever see. Clenched fists were thumping towards the sky. If you wondered what interjections are, you should have been here that day. “Yaay”, “Wooaah”, “Ooooh”, “Shucks!”, “Ayyo!”, “F@$k”, “H#*y S~^t”, and other grawlix filled the air. It was disbelief to everyone who watched and played the match that evening. The second bell rang soon after. I don’t really know as to what would have gone through Abrar’s mind that evening, but I am sure that he felt terrible. I had never seen him that furious. He wanted to carry on but our team wanted to stop. Our team had won and that feeling of achievement lasted for a long long time. I had never experience so much passion, teamwork, pride in playing arena ever before. I feel blessed that I was part of such an intense match and more so to be part of the winning team. Whenever I see any match where a team comes from behind, I am reminded of this game. This game also taught me the power of resilience, teamwork, self belief, and ‘never say die’ attitude.
It is one of those incidents that can change your perception forever. “So Abrar’s team can lose…” was the realization. From that day onwards, the captains were never afraid of losing the toss. “If you choose Abrar, we choose Govinda” was the attitude. In a matter of time, Govinda became the first choice for many captains including me (whenever I was made one). Over a period of time, it was an unwritten rule that Govinda and Abrar would never be in the same team so that the teams could be even and the games become entertaining.
Govinda, my classmate whom I am still in touch with me, is in my opinion, one of the biggest underachievers among my school friends. For someone who excelled in such an array of sports, he was quite a calming nature – similar to Rahul Dravid of Cricket. He is the best sports captain our school never had. Our school has a culture of appointing a boarder as the Sports Captain and he could have easily become one. He achieved stardom in hostel without trying hard. A lot of us respected him and would have been exceedingly happy to see him as a sports captain or a prefect. He never tried and he never bothered to impress his teachers. Abrar (a year junior to Govinda) went on to become the sports captain the following year and brought a lot of laurels related to sports for our school.
Now to answer the question – If you ever wondered how the team that comprises of both Messi and Ronaldo be, then it is like having Govinda and Abrar in the same team and fortunately it has happened as both Govinda and Abrar were in my house – ‘Oldham House’, and it was difficult to beat our house. No wonder that Oldham house was sports toppers during my time in Baldwins. Both of them also represented our school helping our school in bagging inter school sports trophies.
Sports, Fitness and Running have been an essential fragment of my life since my childhood. I am born Asthmatic and it hindered my progress, however, since I adored sports, I was able to overcome that so called weakness of mine to an extent. ‘Amy Van Dyken’, an American swimmer secured 4 Gold medals during the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. She was the most decorated athlete during that Olympics. I stumbled upon an article about her that mentioned that she took up swimming as a therapy for Asthma!!! That was the last day I gave Asthma as an excuse for any fitness or sports related challenges in my life.
I have been running intermittently ever since my college days. My customary route was from my home to Sadashivnagar police station and back. I used to run that stretch of 7.6 kms (up and down) in 35 minutes. I wonder how long would I have taken to run 10k during my college days. It is a pity that I never ran 10k till Sunfeast 10k came into being in Bangalore several years back. If I extrapolate my running time, then I ought to run 10km in about 47 min to 48 min (Never achieved that till date) but I took 72 minutes to run my first clocked 10Km run.
I ran Mumbai marathon in January 2013. I was perhaps at my peak of fitness as far as running is concerned, but I had never run beyond 10Km at a stretch except for one 16Km run and another 17Km run. Many people warned me that I was taking a risk and not to run a marathon by skipping half marathon. My father had told the whole world that I was taking part in a Full Marathon and flying to Mumbai to achieve it blah blah, so there was no looking back. It took a solid 6 hours to complete the marathon though. I struggled to run after 30km as that’s when God decided to convey that I have a hip joint.
From then onwards, even as I write this, (Dec 2021) that I am at my fittest ever. There have been a few factors that has affected my running over the last few months. One of those is joining a running group called ‘Free Runners’ or simply ‘FR’, an informal WhatsApp group where runners post their times, distance etc. The other good thing is to download ‘Strava’; I was not able to cheat myself on running goals.
Let me share a few snippets before I joined this group. I used to run on new BEL road, I saw this old man who ran faster than I could. He would put me to shame with his agility and speed and I wondered, “Who is this ‘thatha’ who runs faster than I can”. From that day on, as soon I saw this man, I would attempt to run faster or just change my direction. Many years later I would realise that this man is the founder of ‘FR’. Krishnan Sir, as we all fondly call him, is still an active runner.
One day, when I was running on new BEL road, after M. S Ramaiah hospital, I saw this girl run towards me, passed me, took a turn at the signal and in a matter of time she overtook me. A few minutes later, I saw this girl once again running towards me and she passed me for the second time, I said to myself “I should not allow her to over take me a second time” and I ran as fast as I could and succeeded. That’s when I figured that there is an untapped energy left in me and I have to raise the bar. The very next day, 21st June 2020, (International day of Yoga) I ran my first 10k non-stop, that too without using an inhaler. That was perhaps the turning point of my life as far as running is concerned. I gave her a thumbs up the next time as a gesture of ‘Thank you’ and months later I learnt that even she is a member of FR and a regular podium finisher in major races. I have kept a track of her to know if it is true and Farheen has been on podium in almost all (if not all) the races she has taken part since. From that day onwards, I have regularly run 10k non-stop and slowly progressed, and as of today, I have run maximum of 30Km non-stop.
I did not have a proper schedule and still don’t have a proper schedule for running. I could start any time from 4am to 9am, so I end up seeing a lot of different people depending on what time of the day I start, but there was this one man I used to see on a regular basis in spite of my erratic schedule and no matter which route I take. I used to ask myself, “This man again!! Doesn’t he have family or kids? Why is he always loitering on the roads”. After months of seeing him, I happened to talk to him one day and learnt that there is a fitness club of sorts and joined that club and was quite active till COVID hit me. It was through him, Santosh, that I happened to join Free Runners.
You have seen how a few runners from Free Runners have indirectly been helpful to me even before I knew the group existed. After joining this group, I have met some awesome people. I was pleasantly surprised that quite a few runners I regularly see are part of this group. I improved my time steadily and I was able to run 10Km non-stop regularly in an hour. I was delighted with this progress and set sights at the 47min-48min. Within a month of joining this group, by first week of April 2021, COVID hit me. I didn’t run for 3 months and when I got back to running in July 2021, I could never run more than a Kilometer at a stretch; when I huffed and puffed for 10Km, it took more than 80 minutes. I wondered if I could ever run 10km in an hour again? I put my concerns about running in the group and more than a few would motivate and provide solutions. “Life’s under no obligation to give us what we expect. We take what we get and are thankful it’s no worse than it is.” – Margaret Mitchell. A timely quote to remember. I can’t complain much, can I? The second wave wiped out a few families and here I was complaining about my 10km time. I realized that this group has actually helped me get back on road, else ‘Inertia’ would have easily hit me after so many days without running.
Around this time, when Bangalore had the highest number of COVID infected in the world during the second wave, similar waves were created in the runners group. One of the runners ‘Wishwa’ was on the onset of Marathon of Half Marathons. He finally adjourned at 50 half marathons in 50 consecutive days. By the time he ran his 50th marathon, I was able to run about 5Kms in a total of 10kms. I was happy to be a part of his running journey on his 50th Half Marathon. An event was organized to commemorate his achievement, and on that day, I met another local legend, Manoj Bhat. That day morning or the previous day he had run almost up to the foot of Nandi hills (started at 3am) but had to return a bit earlier as entry was prohibited due to COVID concerns. I mentioned in the group that this group should have a motto or a mission statement. I was told it already exists – “Shut up and Run”. No wonder, everyone just follows this statement like gospel.
How many more crazy people were around, I pondered? There were quite a few. I didn’t know there were so many runners who observe regular fasting on ‘Ekadasi’ and even run on both the days. I thought I was the only one. Over the next few months, I have seen runner after runner losing their minds. Gaurav Midha ran 21 Half Marathons in 21 consecutive days.
The three musketeers – Shashi, Wishwa, Mahadev continue running and posting their daily achievements and what’s worse is the recovery run they do the next day is better than my personal best!!! This should either put you to shame or motivate you; I chose to get motivated. I remember matching my pace with Manoj Bhat and he said it was his slow running day or whatever 😊. Many other runners – Vazz, Arun Joshi, Bhadresh, Anuradha, Manju, Raghavendra, Satish, Mr. India, Anjani Kumar, Praveen, Rajkumar, Narasimha, Laxminarayan, Niteen, Gopi, Neel, Naveen, Satish, Satish Iyer, Raghavendra, Pats, Rakesh, Sudhindra, Rajesh, Dr. Eshwar (Forgive me if I missed anyone) continue to motivate directly or indirectly and provide guidance. All these stories are from of the band of runners that has just over 100 runners in the group and this is just the beginning.
I have seen wonderful milestones being accomplished by several runners in the past two to three months. Dr. Vijayakumar completed his first Marathon in Mysore and was given a special memento for persisting and completing. Govind has improved leaps and bounds in his running. Satish Iyer, Manju and Bhadresh ran virtual Boston Marathon, Anuradha is becoming a regular podium finisher in her age group. Manju continues to rock but prefers to keep a low profile. Ashok goes beyond and not only trains young guns but also helps blind people to run. Santosh is a silent worker, the soul of the group, prefers not to be in limelight. Manoj Bhat took part in Ultra Marathons. He has wonderful ways of running marathons – 108 pradakshinas around Udupi Krishna temple!! That’s more than 45Kms.
108 pradakshinas around Udupi Krishna temple
On personal front, my journey from July 2021 till December 2021 is phenomenal. In less than 6 months after running post recovery, I have finally reached a phase where I can run 10Km under an hour quite regularly. I ran my best 10Km with the official time of 51:47 during the Bengaluru 10km run on 24th October 2021. I stopped consuming processed sugar since 13th November 2021 and that has done wonders to my running, especially at the Half Marathon. I have improved by 23 minutes in Half Marathon. I have run my first Half Marathon under 2 hours on 19th December 2021 when I clocked 1 hour 53 min. I hope to replicate this performance at a racing event to get the official time. What is surprising is that I am a lone wolf and I hardly run with others and in spite of it, the Free Runners group has been able to motivate me. Whenever I have bumped into someone while running, I have gained a lot of knowledge and the push to run longer and faster. I Thank ‘Free Runners’ for helping me in my cause of running. I would have never become the kind of runner I am today without this group. I don’t know how much more I can achieve personally but I have achieved what I wanted to in the year 2021. Thank you all once again.
‘Free Runners’ – May your tribe increase.
31st December 2021
This incident took place in 1996. I had been to Delhi to visit my friend Anshu and he came back with me to Bangalore. Out of his one week stay in Bangalore, one day was spent watching cricket match; another day was the New Years Eve. The remaining five days, we watched 5 movies in 5 different theatres across Bangalore. There were no multiplexes in Bangalore at that time.
It was beyond midnight when had come out of the theatre after watching a second show movie. Both of us were quite hungry but unfortunately there weren’t any restaurants open at that time. Finding food at home was not an option as I had told my mother not to expect us for dinner.
Anshu had the brilliant idea of going to TAJ as there is a coffee shop in that hotel which is open for 24 hours!!! I was confused to say the least as we had exhausted all our money and did not have money tmore than Rs. 100 between us and we have to spare atleast Rs. 30 for a litre of petrol to get home. We nevertheless zipped to TAJ on my Bajaj Chetak scooter. Anshu explained to me the idea as to what we do in the coffee shop.
Once we reached the coffee shop, I sat in one place and he sat in another place; in other words, we both sad on different tables. We both ordered a tomato soup each. I checked the menu; it was indeed the cheapest item on the menu priced in the range of Rs. 30 to 40. Once we got our soups, we got together and enjoyed our meal!!!
This is how the coffee shop in Taj would have looked. This is the pic of present day Cafe Mozaic in Taj which is open 24 hours.
Why do you think we ordered sitting at different places? You can guess before you scroll down for the answer.
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Those days, along with a big bowl of soup, one would get a bread basket which looked something like the pic below. I don’t think any hotel provides such a big basket even now.
Yum isn’t it. It also comes with one or two small packs of butter. My eyes widened as soon as I saw the basket. I used to be a big time bread lover those days.
But why did we sit at two different places?? That’s because, if we both ordered from the same table, we would have got only one basket for both of us. Now that we both got our individual baskets, we came to a common table to relish our meal. This is simply one of my best meals in TAJ.
Never wake up a sleeping dog they say, but then that was hardly my intention. The first third of the walk was fine till I observed a couple of sleepy dogs staring at me. I chose not to disturb them and continued to walk swiftly. Slowly these dogs got up and started ‘should I bark or not’ kind of growling at me. At this time, another dog lazily woke up and started barking and these two dogs also followed suit. The road was deserted, all shops were closed and there was no one to look up to for help.
This happened a month ago. I had been to Delhi for a conference. My flight was delayed by a couple of hours so it reached Bangalore slightly past midnight. As the buses at the Bangalore International Airport were ready to leave, I took one of the buses instead of a taxi and got down at Ganganagar. This place is two and a half kilometres away from my home. I did see a couple of autos but since I was familiar with the area and the weather was good, I preferred taking a walk. This was not the first time I was taking a walk at this hour, but it was indeed after a long time. The road was empty and silent and I remembered the song from the movie ‘Shahenshah’ – “Andheri raaton mein, sunsaan raahon par…”
A couple of decades back, when I was still in my high school, I was walking with my elder cousin, Suhas, a similar thing happened. Four or Five dogs surrounded us and started barking at us. My cousin said to me not to panic and not run. “Look straight into its eyes and these dogs will stop barking once they realise that you are not afraid of them” he said. And after a minute or two, the dogs stopped barking and left us alone.
I tried to use similar strategy. Let me tell you all that I did not panic. I had a laptop bag in one of my hands and used it to ward off their attacks. I removed my jacket and swung it with my other hand to distract them. One of the dogs came quite close in order to bite me. I kicked its mouth with one of my legs. The dogs were a bit apprehensive after this and stopped attacking me but they were walking towards me. Maybe they were waiting for me to make a mistake. I slowly started walking such that I could face the dogs. I never showed by back to them as I thought that once they see my back, they might start attacking me. After a minute or so, the dogs just stood still and after another minute they went retreated. I guess I was out of their territory. I walked swiftly towards my house. I did see a lot of dogs on the way and none really bothered me, but the remaining part of the walk was just not comfortable. I had read a few incidences of dogs attacking young kids in Bangalore and those images kept flashing in my mind as I walked.
There is a thin line between foolishness and bravado; this was definitely foolishness from my side to take a walk at that hour. Forget the dogs, what if anyone else had attacked me. I do not carry any gun or knife to protect myself and I am neither a karate expert nor a Shahenshah. I thank my stars that these dogs did not wake up or influence the neighbouring pack of dogs. I don’t know what would have happened if I had run after the dogs started coming towards me. I sincerely thank my brother Suhasanna to have given me those words of wisdom which came to such good use that day.
Should I complain to the authorities concerned and get rid of these dogs? I don’t really know. I don’t blame the dogs for whatever I went through. I believe that they were just following their instincts. A lesson learnt the hard way.
Pssst – I haven’t yet told this to my parents and don’t intend to. Kind request to all those who read this -“please don’t reveal it to my parents”. They are not tech savvy and they will not read this. Thanks in advance.
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