Cause for confusion

VOX POP

From midnight marathons, greenathons, walkathons to cyclothons, the City is seeing an influx of such activities making them the flavour of the season. Almost every other week, there is an organisation inviting people to take part in events promoting a cause. Amazingly, a large majority willingly come, wear T-shirts supporting the cause and take the road, leaving non-participants stuck in the traffic jam. If some do it for a cause or for personal fitness, there are others who take part just for fun. Many in the City feel that these events are nothing but a one-day affair which overshadows the cause and serves only as a great photo opportunity. But sometimes, this is also a small step towards creating awareness and bringing in a sense of community feeling. Youngsters tell Metrolife how over the years, such events have turned into corporate activities catering only to a certain section of the society.

Amith
Student

“I personally feel that marathons don’t really serve the purpose of spreading awareness about a cause. In fact, the only people who benefit from them are the sponsors who get enough visibility for their brands and a huge amount of publicity. Some of the main people who take part or organise these marathons or walkathons are corporates. I feel these events are done on a superficial level as many corporates participate only to fulfil their Corporate Social Responsibility. There are only a handful who actually understand the real purpose behind the entire event.”

Rohit
Student

“Having taken part in many marathons that are held in the City, I feel that they actually help the society. If not in a huge way, it’s a small step towards a bigger goal. One of the biggest advantages of such events in the City is that it has the potential to spread awareness about a cause and bring the society together. It’s also a wake-up call for many who just sit in front of the computer all day with hardly any exercise. There is also a sense of satisfaction in wearing the T-shirt of an NGO and doing something for that brief moment.”

Sahir
Student

“Isolating the cause to just one day or a couple of hours might help a few people but in the long run, there is no impact. People come dressed in all sorts of costumes and hold up the traffic for hours in the name of the cause. But the next day, everything is back to normal. I feel the only advantage of such activities is that they will actually get people to move and be a little health conscious. At the end of the day, it is just a commercial activity.”

Pooja
Student

“Earlier, the City hardly had any such walkathons or marathons but that didn’t stop people from being part of a noble cause. All of a sudden, there is an influx of such events. I doubt whether such events help the society because when it comes to awareness of AIDS, cancer etc, people already know about them. There is not much one can actually learn about any cause by walking or running for it. But there’s no doubt that these events are a lot of fun as this is also the time when family and friends get together and go out in groups.”

Preethi
Student

“Majority of such events are held only in certain metropolitan cities and the awareness stops there. If people are really running or walking for a cause, they should make sure that the word is spread in all the cities. To some extent, such activities do help in terms of spreading the message to the urban society. But that’s about it. One also gets to see extensive media coverage with a popular celebrity kicking-off the event, so who wouldn’t want to be part of that?”