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The purple route

Walkathon
Last Updated 05 March 2017, 18:37 IST

It was not a sleepy Sunday for many in the city this weekend. Women power came to the fore during ‘Purple On Heels’, a 4K walkathon organised by Confederation of Women Entrepreneurs (COWE), that was held at Cubbon Park.

 The third edition of the walkathon saw people from all ages, including women entrepreneurs and some men.

 The  enthusiastic participants assembled as early as 6.30 am and the event kicked off with registrations and distribution of tees, caps and water bottles, along with some health checkups.

The event also saw a yoga session and some exercises by fitness expert Wanitha Ashok. The importance of laughter and handling stress-filled situations was well-explained through a laughter yoga session by Archana Rao.

Sandalwood actor Sanjjanaa was also present, encouraging the participants and joining in the warmup sessions in the event.The walkathon started off from the State Central Library, Cubbon Park and went through Kasturba Road, around GPO and ended at the starting point.
Participants were excited and proud to be a part of the event. Lalitha Rao Sahib, an entrepreneur, said that it is important to encourage women to step out of their space and interact with others around. “This acts as a great platform for women for social interactions and also helps in motivating them,” she said.

Such events also help people to get a fresh perspective into many things, said Latha Girish, another entrepreneur.

“This was my first such event and it was nice to see men extending their support to women. Earlier people used to say that ‘Behind every successful man, there is a woman’. But now things are changing and men and women are walking together towards  growth,” she said.

Stepping out of one’s comfort zone can be a challenge but meeting new people often turns out to be a life-changing experience, said Kavana Mayur, who runs a home decor showroom. “One needs to be the change to bring about changes. Taking part in such an event has helped boost up my confidence,” she said.

Ranjith Peter, managing director with a safety equipments company, said that men and women need to walk together to bring about progress and prosperity in the community.

“My entire family has come to support the walkathon. Such events should be encouraged as they serve as reminders to both the sexes. They also serve as great networking platforms and also encourage conversations that help us realise many things about oneself,” he added.
Rupa Rani, founder chairperson of the Confederation of Women Entrepreneurs and the coordinator for the event, says that the event highlighted the colour purple as it symbolises the coming together of women and men. “We have always heard that pink is the colour for women, while blue is the colour for men.

The two colours combined makes purple. It symbolises people coming together for the cause of women empowerment,” she said. Rupa’s message to everyone is that “family support is very important for women, for  whatever role they play and whatever responsibilities they hold”.

“We added the heels in the title to signify the different hurdles that women face and walk through with panache at a daily basis,” she adds.

“This year’s theme clearly explains how one needs to be bold to make changes in the society. It also emphasises the importance of how one needs to be bold to achieve reach high goals,” she says.

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(Published 05 March 2017, 15:36 IST)

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