Women enjoy walkathon in saree

Participants walk, dance, socialise, laugh, unwind

Over 450 women gathered on the Scouts and Guides Grounds, in the city, to be part of the ‘Saree Walkathon’, organised by Inner Wheel Club of Mysore Central, braving the morning chill of winter, on Sunday, in Mysuru city. Deccan Herald and Prajavani newspapers were media partners for the event.

Women of all ages, dressed and done up in their best, started gathering on the Grounds of Baden Powell Public School, behind the DC’s office, since 6 am itself. Luckily for them, by 6.30 am, the chill subsided. It was a women’s day out. They were there to unwind, walk, dance, socialise and laugh. Winning prizes were an added bonus.

The walkathon was held with the theme ‘Together we can’ and ‘Healthy Women. Happy Homes’. It also focused on creating awareness on Mission Mamata, an initiative of the Inner Wheel towards an Orphan-Free India in 2024. While the club sold 550 tickets, Rs 100 each, 310 women took part in the walkathon.

Kamakshi Devi, daughter of Jayachamaraja Wadiyar, the last maharaja of the erstwhile Mysuru state, inaugurated the ‘Saree Walkathon’, in the presence of Inner Wheel district chairman Anuradha Nanda Kumar, club president Asha Divyesh and secretary Sangeetha Sathish. Kamakshi Devi said, walking is the easiest way to rejuvenate, without much effort.

The 2.5 km walkathon began at 7 am at Scouts and Guides Grounds and returned to the same venue via DC’s office, Institution of Engineers, Rotary Jawa School, Krishna Vilas Road, Shivayana Mutt Road, left turn towards DD Urs Road, and again DC’s Office. The master of the ceremony was Rachana Nagesh, principal of SVEI PU College.

The winners in below 50 years category are: B M Sindhu, A L Hema, Mallika Rao, Priyadarshini Mahendra and Sushma N Gowda, from first to fifth place. In the above 50 years category, the winners are: V Vijayalakshmi, Lakshmi Iyengar, Sharada, Kala Mohan, and Kamala Vijay Kumar in the respective order. Many women won lucky-dip prizes. Saleena, an 83-year-old veteran, was given a special prize for participation. Namratha and Jhanavi lead the warm-up session when participants danced to scintillating music.

Tholasi Jewels were the sponsors while co-sponsorers were: Silk Utsav by Sumangali, Bhimji's, Wellnest, Karnataka Silks, Dazzles, Mahalakshmi Sweets, Travel Parkz, Labelz, and Brindavan Hospital.