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Internal Drive is Enough

By Radhika Batra '06

It was an early March evening in Bagar and the dry heat of the summer had already creeped up on us. I hurriedly tied my shoes, filled up some water bottles and headed for the track. Running practice was about to begin and I had to be on time as Bagar’s first five kilometer race date was approaching in nearly two weeks and I wanted the participants to take preparation more seriously.

To my delight about fifteen kids showed on time: the regulars including, Dalip and Bhanu, as well as some new faces who had learned about the race from the speaking stints another fellow and I had made at various schools in order to publicize the first ever race in town.

“Today we’ll be running nine laps around the field,” I declared. “Please stick around for stretching and exercising afterwards. Keep a steady pace. 1…2… --“

“Wait, Didi, what is this? Who are all these new kids? They look too weak to run. They won’t be able to complete the entire race. What’s the point of having them here?”

Dalip’s words disappointed me. In my broken Hindi I tried to convey that the kids present were all eligible to run because they had turned in signed forms and were in the age range ten to fifteen.

I defended the kids, “It’s not fair that you get a chance to run but they don’t. You should just look at this situation as an opportunity for healthy competition.”

Dalip did not look satisfied and when he went back to the starting line, he shook his head and mumbled something to Bhanu who seemed to be in accord with him.

Dalip’s attitude towards the new kids was disheartening. While one of the objectives of a community-wide race was for children to participate in sports together with their friends, not ten minutes had passed and Dalip could not tolerate that today’s attendees were not as adept at running as he was. I thought about discussing this idea with him again after practice but decided to focus on providing encouragement to the new attendees as today’s goal of nine laps was no small feat.

As jaded and unhappy as Dalip and Bhanu initially seemed, their emotions did not stand in the way of their performance. Instead of leaving practice, they both came in first before any of the other children as both are strong runners.

“You guys did great! Thanks for understanding,” I said with a grin. “I just want you to know that since you both are given a chance to participate in the race, I think these kids should get that chance also. And if they don’t win, or even if they don’t finish, at least they will have tried.”

They nodded their heads and the two of them headed to the inner field for exercises.

Once most of the kids had finished running, we followed Dalip and Bhanu and I began leading the stretches. Over a period of a few minutes, there was an influx of new kids. They joined in but many were not executing the exercises and stretches properly. On his own, Dalip took them to the side of the field and worked with them on the fundamentals, knowing that I was overwhelmingly occupied with the first group.

Dalip’s leadership initiative was impressive not only because his Interaction with the kids was so natural but also because he recognized that this was a point in time where his expertise was needed.

Beaming after practice, I lauded Dalip and Bhanu for their focus. “Over the past couple of months you both have proven your commitment to excellence. What do you think about not only training for this race but also training for running a 42 km race called a marathon in Mumbai next January?”

Bhanu’s eyes widened and he turned to Dalip smiling. For someone as tacit as Bhanu, this much excitement meant he was genuinely interested. “Really, Mumbai? Yes, Didi, we want to run in Mumbai!”

I do not think these kids needed much inspiration; their internal drive seems inspiration enough. All they needed, as I have noticed with many of the children here, is a bit of guidance and a platform for themselves and those around them to recognize their talent.

April 2007 begins the training for the Mumbai Marathon 2008.

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