Wow wow wow… I was simply amazed. The temperature was close to 40 degrees…. 31/8/2008 can never be forgotten in my life. I witnessed one of the spectaculars. I was privileged to be a part of one the biggest event in the country but I would say biggest event in the world rather. We didn’t have greats like Sachin, SRK, or the Bachans to promote the event. Yet it turned out to be a massive massive hit. All these things refer to the Chennai marathon. People hold your breath for a minute….. It was recorded that nearly 1.7 lakh people participated in the event. The place was so heavily crowded that the Chennai run turned out to be the Chennai Walk rather.
I am proud to be part of Chennai. I have always wondered why people here have not gathered as in Calcutta, Bombay, and Delhi for certain things like Conditional Access Systems, Fuel Price hikes etc. But I learnt that people in Chennai never mind spending their time on something very useful like the marathon. The theme for the event was Chennai Life Marathon “Idhu Silar life mara than”(That is this MARATHON is to change certain people’s life). This event was organized to help raise funds for children to leave work and join the school. There were cheerleaders, multi-colour banners, so many corporate advertisements, and Balloons in different colours flying all around.
I was more moved when I saw a certain section of that crowd. There were physically and mentally challenged people in the crowd. I was out of words. My heart was full of joy seeing their involvement in such a noble cause and it was also sad to hear that a student lost his life in Marathon due to Cardiac arrest. I just pray to GOD that for the sake of these people let the money be used for the purpose it was collected. May the soul of the deceased rest in peace. Also saw people dressed in green, black, and leaves to support the causes for less fuel usage and saving the environment. But it was noticed by only a few. Hope it gathers momentum soon.
The Chennai crowd always rocks…… Vandharai Vazhavaikum Tamizhagam(“We make people from all races, creeds etc lead a healthy life) is true. this is yet another feather to the cap of the Chennai crowd. I still remember the standing ovation that the Pakistani Cricket team got when they won over India @ Chepauk. Regardless of which team played in the IPL Chennai crowd never booed any Indian playing against Superkings. We love u Chennai. “ROCK ON CHENNAI”
But I was really let down by the way it was organized. Man management was very poor. It became more of a mess for some people. But my blog’s intent was to wish and salute the people of Chennai with such a great heart. Hope the organization learns from its mistake and puts up a better-organised Marathon from next time.
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