This morning I went for a walk around my neighbourhood. Tomorrow is my 5k so I didn't want to work out, but I also didn't want to let my muscles lie dormant. The sun was rising, and one of my absolute favorite things about morning in India is the way the new sun shines through the dust.
As I was smiling about that, I tripped. I believe I have mentioned it before, but Bangalore isn't exactly a pedestrian-friendly city.
This got me thinking about Olympic runners. I always love the short biographical documentaries that they make about the "hopefuls", the "underdogs", and the "bests". The ones of runners from Africa are always so serene and inspirational; may fave is always the aerial shot of the runner taking beautifully long strides down a dirt road with nothing else in sight.
I laughed out loud. I would love - LOVE - to see a short doc about a runner born and brought up in Bangalore (or any other "developing" city with a population of multimillion, at that). It would start with the new morning sun shining through the dusty air and gleaming on the colorful buildings. And then show the Olympic hopeful dodging uneven bricks and jumping over holes in the sidewalk that leave the open sewer a dangerous variable to your morning run. The arial view would zoom out slowly - first, the runner. Then, a dog will start to bark. and chase him/her. another dog would join. and another. and another. Two old men would walk by, arms in mountain pose, as they do their morning yoga walks. The woman sweeping the street doesn't even look up as the runner passes by, and s/he gets a faceful of garbage-filled dirt. A bike comes out of nowhere and the runner has to jumps out of the way to avoid getting hit. An auto was on the other side of the bike, and honks loudly, swerving in the exact same direction as the runner, who then has to dead halt to avoid another deathly collision. It would be even better if the auto was on its morning school route, which means that there are about 14 children inside and the runner is kind enough to stop to pick up the books that they dropped as a result of the swerve.
Wow. It sounds more like a video game than a biographical short. And I'm getting tired just thinking about it...but I'm smiling big. Please, India, bring some city-runners to the Olympics. I want to watch the story of their runs. In fact, I would probably find them more inspirational than the peaceful and reflective films from the plains of Africa. If someone can become an Olympian by running through Bangalore, there's hope for us all.
As I was smiling about that, I tripped. I believe I have mentioned it before, but Bangalore isn't exactly a pedestrian-friendly city.
This got me thinking about Olympic runners. I always love the short biographical documentaries that they make about the "hopefuls", the "underdogs", and the "bests". The ones of runners from Africa are always so serene and inspirational; may fave is always the aerial shot of the runner taking beautifully long strides down a dirt road with nothing else in sight.
I laughed out loud. I would love - LOVE - to see a short doc about a runner born and brought up in Bangalore (or any other "developing" city with a population of multimillion, at that). It would start with the new morning sun shining through the dusty air and gleaming on the colorful buildings. And then show the Olympic hopeful dodging uneven bricks and jumping over holes in the sidewalk that leave the open sewer a dangerous variable to your morning run. The arial view would zoom out slowly - first, the runner. Then, a dog will start to bark. and chase him/her. another dog would join. and another. and another. Two old men would walk by, arms in mountain pose, as they do their morning yoga walks. The woman sweeping the street doesn't even look up as the runner passes by, and s/he gets a faceful of garbage-filled dirt. A bike comes out of nowhere and the runner has to jumps out of the way to avoid getting hit. An auto was on the other side of the bike, and honks loudly, swerving in the exact same direction as the runner, who then has to dead halt to avoid another deathly collision. It would be even better if the auto was on its morning school route, which means that there are about 14 children inside and the runner is kind enough to stop to pick up the books that they dropped as a result of the swerve.
Wow. It sounds more like a video game than a biographical short. And I'm getting tired just thinking about it...but I'm smiling big. Please, India, bring some city-runners to the Olympics. I want to watch the story of their runs. In fact, I would probably find them more inspirational than the peaceful and reflective films from the plains of Africa. If someone can become an Olympian by running through Bangalore, there's hope for us all.
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