On the 16th of January this year, I witnessed something unique. The roads of Mumbai were completely FREE OF CARS!!! No, thats not the "unique" part, there was something else. That was the day of the 8th (or 9th, I forget exactly) Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon. The roads had been cleared for a few thousand Mumbaikars like you and me who would run either 42kms (the Full Marathon), or 21kms (the Half Marathon), or 7kms (the Dream Run). There were no cars on the roads, and the roads were full of people in mostly white T-shirts and black shorts, jogging in the early morning cool air. How do I know? Well, I woke up at 5.30 that morning to go to Charni Road to cheer for these athletes. And despite waking up that early on a Sunday, stepping out in the early morning Mumbai chill (that sounds funny: Mumbai - chill?), climbing the stairs at Goregaon station to board a Mumbai local, it was so worth it. On our way to Charni Road, at every station that the train stopped, there boarded at least one woman who seemed to have traded her usual office attire for T-shirts, track pants and sneakers, usually showing off their white chest number sheets to gaping fellow travellers. These were the people who would run in the Dream Run that would start a little later. I started enjoying myself and was waiting to reach. When we reached Charni Road station, we could already hear the cheering on the roads. We reached with few more of our Anandmewa family members in tow. I thoroughly enjoyed myself in the next few hours there as we unstoppingly clapped and cheered for the enthusiastic atheletes. An occasional burst of louder cheering meant that we had spotted someone we knew. Avani wrote "WE ARE PROUD OF YOU" on a sheet of paper and held it up for the runners. They were all very touched by this gesture and some of them even spared a tired breath to say thank you. Finally, it was time for all the others to leave, as it was nearing 9 0'clock and it was Sunday and they had to go for their regular shibir at Sion. After they left, we went to Churchgate where we saw a glimpse of the prize distribution ceremony. We came back home after that. Of course, I really enjoyed myself very much. Apart from that, I also felt myself very much in awe of all the runners. 42 kms, or even 21kms, is no mean feat, people! I, hence salute to all the athletes and bow down before them, as one athlete did to us when we held up the paper, and say, "TUSSI GREAT HO!!"
