Saris right on track

It was a day of pure fun. The 'Republic Day Fun Run', organised at the Queens Statue, Cubbon Park, saw ordinary people going the extra mile.
Organised by Colors Pinkathon Bengaluru-inspiring partners Bajaj Electricals Ltd, it was a promo event for the Pinkathon run scheduled on February 18.  

The run saw many fitness  enthusiasts of all age groups putting their running shoes on.  Among the many runners was Anubha Srivastava, a lawyer who has been participating in Pinkathon for the last three years.

She said, "It was a very special run for me. Most women who ran were in saris which gave the run a twist of tradition. This event was sure  to show that women can come out of their homes and still be comfortable in their own space without having to change for anyone else -- not everyone likes to wear track pants and run. It was amazing to see my friend's mother-in-law, who is 90-years-old also taking part in the three-km-run."

The fun part of the event was that women brought different kinds of ladoos made without using sugar but other natural sweeteners  like jaggery and dates.

Anubha used jaggery, flax seeds, dates and ginger to make her signature ladoos. On asking what motivated her to wake up early in the morning and run, she said, "Taking care of my health and getting some 'me' time motivates me. I have lost 16 kg of weight without much effort but just running. Making new friends and keeping each other inspired is another motivational factor."

Sreedevi Raghavan, a banker, who leads a busy corporate life said, "As women, we work as much at home as at our workplace. In the middle of all this, we either crib that life is tough or we become tougher. And to become tough, we need to be fit by considering nature as our gym and putting on our running shoes."

She added, "Sari run was special to me because I am someone who loves to wear a sari. However, most of us feel a little inhibited but if we look back, we have so many women doing heavy tasks every day  in a nine-yard sari. So, you see, there is no excuse for fitness."  

Veda Kadni, an Ayurvedic doctor, highlighted the fact that for most women health has never been a priority. She  has been running Pinkathon since 2016 and she has been an active  participant.

"As running a marathon  demands women to wear a particular kind of attire, this fun run was a huge surprise. The fact that everyone  could run comfortably in saris was quite amazing to see. Every woman  has it in them, it is all about a push," she says adding, "A like-minded event like this one is a motivation and has the capability to inspire other women."