My first marathon!

My college conducted a marathon named "Pennkalvirun" which means Girl education run in Tamil. This initiative was to support and to bring awareness for educating girl child. The event was scheduled at Island grounds, Chennai at 6:00 am. This place is famous for the annual Tamil Nadu government exhibitions/fair to which my family visits from my childhood. My reporting time mentioned by my college faculty was 5:30 am.  It usually takes 1 hour to reach the place from my home. So, I woke up early and prepped myself ready to leave. My dad took photos of me in my marathon attire.

My marathon shirt

I stepped outside the house, It was like being in a horror movie without background music. There was no sight of sun or moon or even stars in the sky. It was pitch black. The streets were quiet but filled with street dogs. Some of the dogs to which my dad used to give biscuits whenever he sees them came near the gate wagging their tails and sticking their tongues outside to greet us I assume. We rode in a bike to reach the destination. The places passed by during the ride were unusual yet familiar. 

We spoke about how free the roads were, was the marathon really happening, should I really sacrifice my precious early morning sleep for a run which I haven't tried before, and many more intriguing things. We reached marina and in few meters we be will reaching the start point of the marathon but no sign to prove that there is a marathon happening. Finally saw a girl wearing the same shirt and entering the entrance gate which assured us that it was not a hoax. My dad parked his vehicle and we slowly walked towards the stage. Only few people came till then, Meanwhile my dad and I took pictures.  

The stage

The stage was set, the place was empty, sky was dark and I was bored. I waited for my friends to arrive, till then my dad was stuck up with me.

The start point 

I took pictures for a while until my friend called me. She came with her dad and our dads greeted each other and left. We spoke and revolved our heads like antenna to spot and welcome the familiar faces from our college. We got calls from our friends to know how to reach the venue? The event started from a greeting by a person with a mike on the stage. Later a group of girls sang some songs and the marathon for 10 KM was started. We stood near the start point and our principal waved the flag to indicate "go!" for the 10 Km Marathon.

At Napier bridge, Look at the sun rise behind me!

We did a mixture of brisk walking and running. I took pictures of whatever fascinated me. My friend got tired as soon as we reached our first lap and she said she will take rest at the venue. We passed through the iconic Napier bridge, then passed some old buildings, Anna Square bus stop and finally World's second largest beach - The marina. The route was to run from Island grounds to lighthouse and again run back to the island grounds. 

I was enjoying stepping forward along with the breeze which felt empowering to the self. Occasionally we halted at the hydration points to re-hydrate ourselves. My friend got muscle pain and wanted to walk instead of running but I felt a bit slow at some point of time. So I told my running pal that I will be leaving her side and  go faster and let's meet at the light house. But by the time I reached the light house I did not had the patience to wait for her so proceeded to take U-Turn as per the route and ran.

I ran and did slow walk whenever necessary. I kept on telling one! two! with each step touching the floor which improved my pace. The challenging part was not the distance but not to dodge anyone while running. I ran to see amazing glistening waters of the beach, to see the spectacular view in front of me, to meet my friend who is waiting for me at the venue, to not quit  in the middle of the marathon, to beat the odds, and for the cause - Educating the girl child. After a long brisk stoll and running I reached the finishing point. I finished 10 km withing 1 hour. Surprisingly I did not felt any muscle pains even though this was my first marathon. 
  

I was suprised that I finished the task. I took the medal for participation and breakfast provided by the event crew. I was given idly, sambar, 200ml flavoured drink, kesari and vada. I was not hungry at all and didn't wanted to waste the food so i gave back the idly and sambhar to them. I first ate this orange coloured sweet kesari which was delicious. Then ate vada and drink. I regained enough energy I needed. The winners were announce and we clapped for them. And that's how the marathon ended.

Me with my medal!
Oh yeah! I ran with my chappal which I found to be very much comfortable. Just because people suggesting us to wear sport shoes or do something for our well being doesn't always mean it will be suitable for us. Do or wear whichever you are comfortable with.

The stuff I got for my 10 km Achievement!

It was nice being a part of something and enjoying ourselves. No matter what happens in life just keep moving forward and be exuberant!

Some views I got to see while I ran:

Kanchi trip!

My brother's JEE (Joint Entrance test for engineering) centre was situated in a university at Enathur near Kanchipuram. I have never been to kanchi before. So, took Google maps and searched for bus routes from my home. I couldn't find a proper route that connects the destination. Then my father assured that his friend can lend his car for a day. All the Google map searching got wasted. Then, I went back to do my routine work. 

On the trip day, I was woken up by an alarm set by my mom at 3:00 am. No sunlight, no traffic sounds, the whole place was in deep sleep yet I was awake. The exam for my brother starts by 9 am so my parents decided to wake soon to reach the place on time. I woke up with red eyes. Dragged myself to brush my teeth and dress up. Then waited outside till everyone are ready. I saw the dark blue sky still filled with stars in quirky manner. We all seated into the car and dad began to drive. We drove and saw sun rise with its crimson beauty; spotted two tailed birds (black drongo); creepy fog filled fields and reached kanchi bus stop. 

We asked a lady at a flower stall for the route to take to reach enathur. At first she was confused then she laughed and said "yhaeenathur ah?!" we nodded yes. She explained the route with hand signals with an expression of a film director. We ate our breakfast in a hotel and again drove for a while to reach the exam centre at enathur. It was a huge place with a giant statue, buildings, grasslands, etc. The thing was we reached the place too soon i.e. 5:30 am. I was sleep deprived. We waited in a room but my dad preferred sitting near the grass so we all sat there. My mom and dad were contemplating about life. I was looking at the place like a kid looking at a candy. My brother was pelting pebbles to pass time. 

The room provided for the visitors to wait was designed aesthetically. Then, a faculty member announced that the room allotted was displayed outside the hall in a notice board. My brother took a look at the notice board and went inside the building. We watched him till he went inside. While we were waiting we got bored and there was 3 hours remaining for his exam to end. My mom decided to visit a temple which she missed in her previous tour to kanchi. My dad drove towards kanchi and we reached Varadharaja perumal temple famous for its auspicious golden lizard statuette. He was tired and told us to contact him when we finish visiting the temple and returned back to the university and waited there.

The place was filled with ancient Dravidian architecture with fascinating pillars and so on. The summer heat was unbearable. The floors were like walking on burning charcoal. We first visited a female goddess. We waited in a queue and walked step by step per minute. I was annoyed for the fact that to see a decorated auspicious thing people can wait in long queues for a long time but some people in society never have time to converse or spend quality time with anyone. Even though my mom did not do much poojas at home she and I were this unique set of people who admire the architecture, paintings, and stories associated with the place than just plain praying.

We later saw another deity for which we joined another new queue. We were climbing stairs covered with engraved brass plates. These brass plates had these pyramid shapes which felt like acupuncture to my feet. I was suddenly regretting why I came to this temple when I saw everything in the temple except the golden lizard. But I got cheered up by seeing a board showing directions leading to golden lizard.

While heading to that direction I saw a guy in lab coat wearing a surgical mask handling dark chemical bottles similar to my college lab. It was a kind of unusual (weird) sight for me at a temple. I read the label of the bottle as toluene which is a liquid used to prevent microbes. I figured out they must be using it to clean the lizard that is touched by public. To my surprise there was no queue. They charged 2 rupees per person for this visit. So, that explains the lack of queue. We went inside a chamber where on the ceiling there was a gold lizard, silver lizard, sun and moon engraved in metal. We took help of stairs provided by the temple people and touched the lizard and whatever was on the ceiling. It is believed to be auspicious. This moment was fun but short lived. 

Anyways, we came outside the temple premises and saw the temple people giving prasadams. Let me tell you something the prasadhams I usually tasted were normal but here it is a must have. After all the queue waiting we were so hungry. We bought puliodharai (savoury dish) and sakara pongal (sweet dish). How yummy those two were cannot be expressed but only be experienced by a hungry tummy. I would strongly recommend it if you like Brahmin aathu samiyal (Brahmin style cooking). We entered 100 pillars hall which was walk able from the temple. Each pillar had an in-depth, intricate carving of sculptures depicting the incidents found in Ramayana and Mahabharata. It was fascinating to check out each pillar and recognising the avatars of lord Vishnu and other such familiar deities. 

We finished our visit and came out to look for our foot wear. It was all clumped up with a pile of other footwear. I found my chappals quickly while my mom was still searching for hers. My dad called; I told him our visit is over and he can pick us up. He told us to come to poo market/ flower market near kanchi bus stop. After a long search, my mom found her foot wear. And she gave her genuine thank you to god for not making the footwear lost. We took a share auto and reached the bus stop. Initially he said it is only 14 rupees but he took 20 rupees from us and went off without giving change. Lesson learnt: never go out without having Lots of 1 rupee coins. 

We waited and waited for my dad and brother to arrive. We got dehydrated and bought mango juice to quench the thirst. They came finally but stopped the car. I was puzzled that why are we stopping instead of going home. Then we entered a hotel. That's right my tummy was filled with delicious prasadham and didn't realise they were hungry. My parents made me to eat curd rice which I was eating like a sleep induced patient. The mango pickle was delicious though. We finally hit the road and reached home. 

The Co"incidence!"

Recently at my college there was something called a finishing school happened to me. During the three days session of the finishing school, I and my classmates learnt/realised a whole new version of ourselves. At first we were all sceptical about the sessions because we thought they might be boring, illogical, time wasting, and money scavenging sessions. But it was nice to have a literate, sound minded person to handle us. 

She gave lots of activities, new horizons of thoughts and about life. We came to know about lots of psychological terms, tests, studies, self improvement techniques, conflicts, gratitude, anger management, etc. After the last day of the session she ended with a thought provoking thing for us to know about gratitude. She mentioned we all must be thankful to everyone who made it possible that we got everything we wish for. We must not take it for granted instead appreciate it. We must be thankful for getting tank full water at our houses where there is still women who buy water for 7 rupees per bucket. We must be thankful for having a roof above us where there are people who are unable to have 3 meals daily. She also said when we visit an orphanage or meet a disabled persons, our way of thinking about life can change. 

So, today I had to take a bus to go to college. I woke up early, brushed my teeth in cartoon motion, and changed my clothes. I was half-awake and half-sleepy like a sloth. My brother was sleeping happily. I had to bring a great amount of cheers like “You can do it!” “Come on!” “It’s only a walk towards the bus stop, catch a bus and walk again towards the college where you have to cross 3 roads. So, simple” Yet that much complicated it is. Then, it went on like “Okay first eat something and go! You don’t want to embarrass yourself by fainting on the road!” 

I stepped outside the house by 6:00 A.M. The weather was horribly cold. I was walking and noticed the sky was getting darker. “Oh My God. What if it rains today? I don’t even have an umbrella with me. You dumb brain why can’t you remind me about the umbrella like you reminded me the food” I was in such a state I was scolding myself for being dumb and forgetful. I was waiting for the bus for a long time. I even caught cold. I was thinking why I am suffering so much? Then finally I got a bus luckily less crowded. 

I took a ticket and sat on the only empty seat available on the bus. There were two passengers seated in front of me. At first I thought they were crazy then I recognised they were talking in sign language. Whoa! from weird actions to being curious to know what those hand movements meant. Well, what a coincidence within 24 hours of the session at college I met two deaf people who were really fascinating to watch the way they were conversing. Even I never had such a deep happiness and smile when I was talking with my dear ones. The way they were eagerly waiting and giving respect for each other’s reply was something we all need to learn. Even the deaf people are better at listening than some of us who can hear and knows how to respond properly. 

I don’t want to be mean, but in my life many people blabber but never felt the necessity to listen instead of blabbering so much. Maybe the person who is listening might also want to say something give them a chance to speak too. The lady at the session also mentioned that “Small minds talk about others, Average minds talk about events and Great minds talk about ideas” So, which one you belong to only you can know and maybe you can bring a change to yourself and become great minds. Even though I felt horrible about forgetting an umbrella I was totally immersed into the way the deaf people made me realise a point without even speaking but with their mere joyful actions.

Luckily it didn’t rain, too! Life is not 100% sad after all. We need to enjoy whatever life throws at us.