His Experiences with the higher power – Chapter 1

His soul keeps him running, his body quit a few miles back………..(Part 1)

The last memory he had before he fell unconscious was , his mother sobbing with the dreadful thought of losing her only son who was detected with brain encephalitis due to animal virus. The brain fever had reached 108 deg C at the tender age of 10 years and the doctors had to keep his infirm body on ice for few hours. The doctors almost gave up and the only medicine, perhaps, was prayer. Miraculously, he bounced back to life after 72 hours but unfortunately the illness had paralyzed the left side of his body. His speech was affected and he was bed ridden for almost an year and couldn’t move his limbs. His body had given up, however, his soul did not…..!! Incessant love, prayers and encouragement from his complete family (a quintessential bong family comprising of uncles and aunts and grandparents and cousins reinforcing his health with most nutritious diet) didn’t let him give up. They prayed in temples, mosques, gurudwaras and churches and every home of God they knew. As destiny unfolded, he started moving his left thumb slowly and then his palms and then his limbs and finally stood up on his own feet after few months. This was year 1992 in the holy town of Nashik.

The boy had put on weight due to sedentary lifestyle after his illness. Always inspired by his father who was a state level athlete and footballer in his heydays, the boy joined martial arts to prove his mettle. He started doing his first push-ups and squats inside the bathroom to hide the inability of his body. Going beyond the endurance of his body, he used to wake up at 0500 everyday to practice. He used to practice in dark before sunrise so that he could not be seen struggling by anybody else. He still remembers the evening when he broke down in front of his father confessing that he just couldn’t do a ‘pull up’ how much ever he tried……He kept pushing his body inspite of failures. This was year 1998.

1999, the boy managed to join the Armed Forces of his country and realized that there were far more capable boys who were either great sportsmen or were just born brawny. He found himself nowhere and was labelled as a non-performer by his divisional officer and seniors . He pushed his body beyond his abilities, however, could not pick up any sport to a level where he could represent his organization. He started running……searching for something which even he didn’t know. He used to keep dreaming whilst running.

Unfortunately, he used to have black outs at the end of every competitive run. Whether it was the exhausting training camps which involved intense running with rifles and heavy bags behind or the x-country races….he fainted in every competitive run. He ended up in hospitals being unconscious and vomiting bile. He failed to understand what kept him running when his body had given way….why didn’t he stop when he felt dizzy……..why didn’t he stop running by making some medical excuse…….He had no answers , when his seniors and training officers sought explanation for his constant failures….But he ran….He thought of quitting, but ran harder…though his body gave up miles back!!!!

He ran up the hills, he ran on the road, ran at night, ran during rains and ran after getting drunk. He just ran and he started loving his long endurance runs. He won a bronze

medal in uphill cycling competition which was his first medal ever in the Armed forces organization he served. He didn’t stop thereafter. He started participating in triathlons, in athletics, in marathons…..He ran his first marathon in 2004 during Mumbai’s first international marathon. He took part in X-countries and started securing his position amongst the first three. He took part in athletics (5k, 10k, 3k steeplechase). He explicitly remembers his former divisional officer saw him practicing in an athletics ground and said “you are running as if its your last day on earth”….. It was not a passion but a prayer for him. He doesn’t remember if he missed any of his morning runs even when it rained heavily or even when he drank till 0200 AM the night before. He won multiple awards at various levels in his organization. In 2006, he made it to the X-country team of his organization within Armed Forces.

Though he was not the best , he tenaciously came a long way. He had an unforgettable journey…..That’s why it's well said that , it’s the journey which matters and not the destination!! He still runs and owes it to God, his higher power, his soul who kept the spirit alive against all adversities though his body had given up few miles back…..