Women's Day : Reminiscing with Gratitude...
On the eve of International Women's Day a very respected senior sent me one of my pictures with the comment ' balloon of energy'.
I had once read somewhere that the balloon flies not because of the air outside but because of the air inside it...
I took a close at the picture which had been taken during the most memorable of the events of my life- ‘Women’s Marathon’ organised by Nagpur District Administration last year.
The third wave of Covid had been receding and things were falling back into a routine when the thought of organizing an exclusive event for mothers and daughters as a Women's Marathon came to my mind. It flashed like a huge event so even before discussing it with my team I felt it was important to get a green signal from the police. I shared the thought with the Deputy Commissioner of Police and the Commissioner of Police who endorsed the idea and offered their full support.
A spate of meetings were held thereafter with all the concerned departments including the Zila Parishad, Municipal Corporation, Education and Sports department.
I still remember the kind of response the proposal received when I suggested that we could plan it as an event for approximately fifty thousand women. There was a lot of apprehension in every one's mind. However, the then Hon’ble Guardian Minister and Minister for Energy , Dr.Nitin Raut encouraged me and post that there was no looking back.
It's very heartening to recall how each and every officer and their teams put forth the best foot to make the Women’s marathon a historic success. The spirited support of all line departments the PWD, Traffic, Health, Publicity and Sports department played a huge role in arranging logistics on the ground as well as digitally to facilitate organizing an event of such magnitude meticulously.
In a matter of just five days everything was rolling. The event had a ten kilometers run, a five kilometers run and a dream run of just two kilometers for mothers and daughters with good prizes including an E scooter for the winner in the ten kilometers category.
My team of revenue officers, the Resident Deputy Collector, Sub-divisonal Officers, Tahsildars, Naib Tahsildars, Circle Officers and Talathis played their role with dedication to make it a success. They also appealed on behalf of administration to corporates for sponsorships which added to the grandeur of the event.
An impossible deadline and a shoe string budget was the cause of worry for many. However registrations kept increasing and on the D Day more than twenty thousand were registered on website.
The magical support from all including the print and electronic media made us fully prepared and we were set for the event which was planned a week after 8th March.
The theme , ' Break the Bias' was set to beautiful lyrics by Ms.Monica Saluja from Panipat with lilting music by Vikas Relhan of Kurukshetra. I also received guidance from Ms. Sumedha Kataria, Retired IAS , Haryana who had the experience of organizing the Panipat Pinkathon, the largest Women's Marathon till date in our country.
The event was to be presided by the the Honble Guardian Minister in the presence of then Honble Minister for Sports and the then Chairperson of the Zilla Parishad. The local Members of Parliament and Members of the Legislative Assembly had promised to be there.
I was keeping my fingers crossed with silent prayers in my heart for success of the event. The concern regarding the response at starting point Kasturchand Park was making my heart beat faster than usual. I reached there early and saw a steady stream of participants rolling in even as we began the energising Zumba with gym trainer Gaurish and Fitness Expert, Madhumita.
The unique blend of folk and cultural music with fitness dance had everyone tapping to the tunes.
By the time the first event of ten kilometers began the crowd kept surging. The ten kilometers run was flagged of by the dignitaries at the expected time. After about fifteen minites, the five kilometers was flagged off too and took off smoothly.
A sea of mothers and daughters walked in for the dream run which was converted to a walk to avoid injury.
By the end of it all the women were happy and glowing . As for me I could never figure out how I managed to sustain my energy and live it all.
When I ponder over it now , I realise that I was a balloon of energy not because what was outside but what was inside me.
The strength which I had was not my own but the strength of my team.
This Women's Marathon was certainly an example of administrative strength with the total support of the government and the Hon’ble Ministers.
As I looked at another of my pics from the event with my hands raised in joyful abundance, I realised that behind this smile were the sweat and tears of my parents, the confidence and trust they reposed in me and the unflinching support of my siblings, partner, husband, son, family, friends and colleagues.
Truly can any one be successful without support of another? Have men become successful without women in their lives?
This Women's Day let us not shy in asking for support. Let us reach out to one another , let us be there for each other whether as man or woman.
For as Hellen Keller has said , Alone we can do so little and together we can do so much....
