He was panting & sweating heavily, as if about to collapse. But he was feeling elated, happy & rejuvenated even after running the stretch of 40kms. His pain & the lactic acid could not overcome the happiness & the adrenalin rush he was feeling. He felt a slight pain in his left ankle & the right knee. Who won’t after running continuously for 40kms non stop? It took him 4 hours & 20 minutes to complete the entire stretch. A feat that would never have been possible, without the life saving, zingy & zealous Lemonade. The blood in his body now gushing through the veins at double the speed. Normally it is 300km/hour, but now it was at 600km/hour. The onlookers were cheering him & the other runners who had completed the entire stretch of 40kms.
The race was part of the charity for the thalassemic patients in India, who relied heavily on blood transfusions for a fresh supply of red blood cells (or the hemoglobin). Thalassemic patients have improper synthesis of the hemoglobin molecules, in turn causing anemia. The marathon was a noble cause to spread the awareness about the people who live with this disease, & yet lead a normal life. For whom blood supply is as quintessential as water supply is to any living thing, Arun was more so elated that he was able to sell 50 tickets of the race, to his friends, co workers. He had raised a handsome 25,000 rupees, along with his donation of 10,000. In a few moments from now he was about to receive the appreciation from the State health minister, who had inaugurated the run & had been kind enough to serve the runners during the race, being a renowned doctor himself.
But everything didn’t seem to be normal at the beginning. After running 5kms Arun was feeling exhausted. He felt that he had reached the threshold, his lungs about to explode, accompanied with his heavy breathing. His t-shirt was all wet, because of the sweat. He wanted to just hold the side bar of the road & lie down on his back, so that he could gain enough energy to get up at least to see another day. He realized that not having participated in any of the sports activities for the last 3 years, had made his body rusty, fragile & ductile. His physical endurance had reduced drastically. More than that, it was his mind that had gone numb, letting him go into a complete seizure. Blame it on his work commitments in a big software conglomerate that he had joined 3 years back. The work left him with little time & choice for his childhood love. Sports!!
He sat down partially, bending on his knees, & trying to gasp some air, amidst the runners who were passing him by. Some had iPods plugged in their ears while others were just focusing forward. Everyone wanting hard to cross the next milestone. They looked all the same, running towards a common goal, with a lot of gleam in their eyes. At the instant Arun felt so weak & bleak, & his mind told him to quit. He thought that, maybe he was not fit enough to complete the race, & that he should give up & make way for the other runners, who were overtaking him. He started walking to the nearest booth, with a lot of disappointment, & his heart aching even more. He was at the first land mark booth at 5kms, & waiting for his turn for some refreshment drinks & a fresh lease of life. He decided to quit after having the refreshment drink.
As he reached the counter, a fit looking boy about 15 years, was serving the lemonade drinks, & Arun asked him, “Hey why are you not running”. On hearing this, the boy said, “I am a Thalassemiac & can’t run, but I would love to some day, & that day I will beat them all”. Hearing this Arun was taken aback & felt sorry for the kid. The kid offered Arun lemonade that went down his throat partially splashing it on his t-shirt. He asked for one more glass of lemonade, & gulped that too, as if he had been thirsty for ages. While gutting the drinks, his eyes were constantly watching the boy offering drinks to the runners. Arun felt a chill run down his spine, & new wind brushing his air. His energy level & motivation soaring. He choked & blocked all the pain in his legs, & said to himself “Come on Arun you have to do this, not for yourself, but for this boy”. He bid bye to the boy & thanked him with great compassion. He jet set his feet on the track.
Arun did not stop for the next 10kms & kept on running, sometimes jogging slowly, sometimes sprinting & sometimes running, adjusting his pace. His pain had vanished or just that he had found a way to overcome the pain. Pain was now his companion not choking his mind & thoughts. If he felt some pain, he found out the means of overcoming the pain, by thinking of that thelassiamic boy who wanted to run but couldn’t. After all, only pain can overcome pain. The next refreshment booth that he stopped at, he met another boy whose name was Vikas. Vikas too was engrossed heavily in offering the Lemonade to the runners with great fervor. Arun was gazing at him, & the boy thought maybe he needed a spray or first aid. Vikas asked Arun promptly as to what he wanted. To this Arun Said, “Give me Lemonade with a pinch of your passion added to it”. This made the boy giggle. Vikas made actions of sprinkling something into the glass of lemonade, supposedly his passion & energy. Arun tossed it down his throat fast & thanked the boy. The boy was even more smiles now, & so was Arun.
Arun had got his kicks. Now no distance seemed far or no road seemed tough to trudge. He had pushed himself to the extreme, & that too with a light heart. He had made up his mind to finish the race no matter what may come. The Ambulances were standing by, but they weren’t going to be his chariot today. He was only going to ride the chariot of victory & triumph today. It was his victory over his inhibitions, pain & negative thoughts. The Ambulances however were rescuing people who were in dire straits, because of not following a good exercising regimen, bad working habits & to add to that, bad eating habits. Arun was sometimes looking at the ground seeing the road, as if the whole road had become his treadmill, just passing him by. Sometimes he just gazed at his fellow runners, & motivated them to keep up, by shouting “Come on Buck up”!! or “Run Boy Run”!! “Run for your heart”!! Others acknowledged his energy & effervescent calls by nodding their head in complete acceptance.
Soon Arun passed the land marks at 30kms, 35kms & 40kms. At each booth he had lemonade sprinkled with lots of energy, gusto & motivation. The lemonade had a personal touch to it. It gave him a new toss & a new zeal to fight the battle & live to the extreme. He was happy to cross the line at 40kms with just a few runners. Arun thanked the Lord, the Lemonade & the Thalassemic boys who gave him the strength to achieve what he earlier thought was unachievable. Arun had just felt the extra ordinary Lemonade had given him a fresh lease of life. Life full of zing, just like lemonade.
The race was part of the charity for the thalassemic patients in India, who relied heavily on blood transfusions for a fresh supply of red blood cells (or the hemoglobin). Thalassemic patients have improper synthesis of the hemoglobin molecules, in turn causing anemia. The marathon was a noble cause to spread the awareness about the people who live with this disease, & yet lead a normal life. For whom blood supply is as quintessential as water supply is to any living thing, Arun was more so elated that he was able to sell 50 tickets of the race, to his friends, co workers. He had raised a handsome 25,000 rupees, along with his donation of 10,000. In a few moments from now he was about to receive the appreciation from the State health minister, who had inaugurated the run & had been kind enough to serve the runners during the race, being a renowned doctor himself.
But everything didn’t seem to be normal at the beginning. After running 5kms Arun was feeling exhausted. He felt that he had reached the threshold, his lungs about to explode, accompanied with his heavy breathing. His t-shirt was all wet, because of the sweat. He wanted to just hold the side bar of the road & lie down on his back, so that he could gain enough energy to get up at least to see another day. He realized that not having participated in any of the sports activities for the last 3 years, had made his body rusty, fragile & ductile. His physical endurance had reduced drastically. More than that, it was his mind that had gone numb, letting him go into a complete seizure. Blame it on his work commitments in a big software conglomerate that he had joined 3 years back. The work left him with little time & choice for his childhood love. Sports!!
He sat down partially, bending on his knees, & trying to gasp some air, amidst the runners who were passing him by. Some had iPods plugged in their ears while others were just focusing forward. Everyone wanting hard to cross the next milestone. They looked all the same, running towards a common goal, with a lot of gleam in their eyes. At the instant Arun felt so weak & bleak, & his mind told him to quit. He thought that, maybe he was not fit enough to complete the race, & that he should give up & make way for the other runners, who were overtaking him. He started walking to the nearest booth, with a lot of disappointment, & his heart aching even more. He was at the first land mark booth at 5kms, & waiting for his turn for some refreshment drinks & a fresh lease of life. He decided to quit after having the refreshment drink.
As he reached the counter, a fit looking boy about 15 years, was serving the lemonade drinks, & Arun asked him, “Hey why are you not running”. On hearing this, the boy said, “I am a Thalassemiac & can’t run, but I would love to some day, & that day I will beat them all”. Hearing this Arun was taken aback & felt sorry for the kid. The kid offered Arun lemonade that went down his throat partially splashing it on his t-shirt. He asked for one more glass of lemonade, & gulped that too, as if he had been thirsty for ages. While gutting the drinks, his eyes were constantly watching the boy offering drinks to the runners. Arun felt a chill run down his spine, & new wind brushing his air. His energy level & motivation soaring. He choked & blocked all the pain in his legs, & said to himself “Come on Arun you have to do this, not for yourself, but for this boy”. He bid bye to the boy & thanked him with great compassion. He jet set his feet on the track.
Arun did not stop for the next 10kms & kept on running, sometimes jogging slowly, sometimes sprinting & sometimes running, adjusting his pace. His pain had vanished or just that he had found a way to overcome the pain. Pain was now his companion not choking his mind & thoughts. If he felt some pain, he found out the means of overcoming the pain, by thinking of that thelassiamic boy who wanted to run but couldn’t. After all, only pain can overcome pain. The next refreshment booth that he stopped at, he met another boy whose name was Vikas. Vikas too was engrossed heavily in offering the Lemonade to the runners with great fervor. Arun was gazing at him, & the boy thought maybe he needed a spray or first aid. Vikas asked Arun promptly as to what he wanted. To this Arun Said, “Give me Lemonade with a pinch of your passion added to it”. This made the boy giggle. Vikas made actions of sprinkling something into the glass of lemonade, supposedly his passion & energy. Arun tossed it down his throat fast & thanked the boy. The boy was even more smiles now, & so was Arun.
Arun had got his kicks. Now no distance seemed far or no road seemed tough to trudge. He had pushed himself to the extreme, & that too with a light heart. He had made up his mind to finish the race no matter what may come. The Ambulances were standing by, but they weren’t going to be his chariot today. He was only going to ride the chariot of victory & triumph today. It was his victory over his inhibitions, pain & negative thoughts. The Ambulances however were rescuing people who were in dire straits, because of not following a good exercising regimen, bad working habits & to add to that, bad eating habits. Arun was sometimes looking at the ground seeing the road, as if the whole road had become his treadmill, just passing him by. Sometimes he just gazed at his fellow runners, & motivated them to keep up, by shouting “Come on Buck up”!! or “Run Boy Run”!! “Run for your heart”!! Others acknowledged his energy & effervescent calls by nodding their head in complete acceptance.
Soon Arun passed the land marks at 30kms, 35kms & 40kms. At each booth he had lemonade sprinkled with lots of energy, gusto & motivation. The lemonade had a personal touch to it. It gave him a new toss & a new zeal to fight the battle & live to the extreme. He was happy to cross the line at 40kms with just a few runners. Arun thanked the Lord, the Lemonade & the Thalassemic boys who gave him the strength to achieve what he earlier thought was unachievable. Arun had just felt the extra ordinary Lemonade had given him a fresh lease of life. Life full of zing, just like lemonade.
Read it after 8 years, and kinda made me emotional !
ReplyDelete