Mumbai Marathon - It woke me up

22.01.2006

It's been exactly 24 hours since I slept after I came back from Mumbai. It's like I have come back with a renewed energy, drive, determination and enthusiasm to achieve our dream.

Yesterday, also happens to be a very special day for me as I

completed four years at Dream A Dream as a full-time employee. On 22nd Jan, 2002 I had embarked on this uncertain and yet clear journey of my life and never regretted it since. Everyday has been a new day - some filled with sweet

memories, some challenging days and some high-adrenaline days but never a dull moment. This is the spirit of Dream A Dream. It gives me the elixir of life, a drive to move on. As I was completing this fourth year - a variety of emotions gripped me; very similar to how I felt when I was joining

Dream A Dream 4 years back.

Vigour, energy, urgency, anxiety to get on with work and conquer the world with joy and happiness. I felt all this and more in the last ten days at Mumbai. This Mumbai marathon will be a very special one for me for many many

reasons.

I remember the first marathon, when I was a single man representation from Dream A Dream and I made a resolve that Dream A Dream will come back with a bang. The second had 7 and third had over 40 dreamers. The first Marathon we got lucky and raised Rs. 1.5 Lakhs, the second one we worked hard and did a Rs. 6.3 Lakhs and this one we are sure to get Rs. 8.5 Lakh and maybe we will get lucky and get some more.

This marathon was special:

1) Because a 10-year old pledged her pocket money to me. I was really moved by this gesture and it reaffirmed my belief that children are indeed the future we are nurturing.

2) A young 23 year old, jet-setting consultant chose Dream A Dream after researching over 100 NGOs and decided to run and raise money for us. He went all out and got money from every single source - from his maid who gave him Rs. 500 to his grandma who gave him Rs. 5000. He said, I am raising

money for children so I will be shameless. He was our largest fundraiser this year as he got us over Rs. 2.3 Lakhs. When I met him in Mumbai, I saw the same urgency and anxiety as I had as he leaves his corporate job to find

out what life has in store for him.

3) A volunteer decided to do the 42 km full marathon this year. We saw Krishnamoorthy long after we had finished our run and finished eating lunch. He still had 4-5 km to complete but he did not give up. He completed it. I think he deserves the loudest and longest applause for not giving up. An inspiration as to how everyone of us should be.

4) This Marathon had two people doing the 21-km run and without any hesitation decided to also raise money for our project. Their enthusiasm and excitement all through the days leading to the Marathon egged me to go all out and raise funds too. Thank you Mr. Mahesh Srinivas and Mr.

Chandramouli for inspiring me and bringing in more people to join our dream.

5) Last year, I promised myself I am going to bring children next year and we had 12 children with us. 7 from Makkala Jagriti and 5 from Ananya. Personally, a very proud moment for me because this trip is going to be in their memory for a long long time to come.

6) This Marathon we proved and reinforced our belief that only partnerships will work. We had a collaborative project of 3 partners joining us at the Marathon - Ananya, Bosco and Makkala Jagriti. I believe we made a strong statement that we are working together in our endeavours to improve the

quality of life of children. We are finally driving home the point that we can do wonders with partnerships.

7) I am proud that I was part of a run that had a Mentally Challenged child who is participating in the Marathon for the third consecutive year. He walks 2 steps and sits down but does not give up. His parents and well-wishers constantly egging him on.

8) I am proud that I was part of a run that had a very old man who walked alone with a placard that read, "Running against Corruption, Politics and AIDS". Wow! This man made me stand in my tracks and strengthened my resolve that I should never give up hope.

As I stood at the doorway of the Mumbai Local Train heading towards my destination in the early morning sun. The sun shone a bright orange of happiness, hope and strength and as I looked down I saw filth, slums, children in unhygienic conditions and I dropped a tear. Its not time yet to

rest! Work to do, so let's hurry up.

Still dreaming...