Usually on a Sunday early morning the Heritage Park and its surrounding are sparsely populated.
However it was a different scene on Sunday 14th 6.00 AM itself. Why it would not be? It was the day for Swami Vivekanand Run – 2014 at Powai. Assembly time for the run was set at 7.00 AM, participants started arriving from 6.30AM itself.
Many people made-up their minds at last stage to do spot registration, many who had not
collected their kits early were busy collecting them trying T-shirts. It was a very busy scene at the facilitation counters. Crowd had started swelling by the time it was 7.00AM.
This 3.3 kM run was organized by Bharat Vikas Parishad (BVP), a service-cum-sanskar oriented voluntary organization. First such run was organized in Sept. 2013 to commemorate 150th anniversary of historical speech by Swami Vivekanand , who represented India at the Parliament of the World’s Religions (1893) at Chicago USA. This first ever run for a different cause drew good response which enthused organizers to make it yearly event.
Preparations started as early as in July 2014 however the activities picked up speed after August week. Many leading organizations came forward to join as sponsors the participants numbers rd 3 also started steadily rising. Many corporates and social organizations had decided to participate in bigger groups ranging from 20 to 50 participants. They could register online or fill-in a form, by the evening of 13th Shri Virendra Yagnik, regional patron of BVP delivered a crisp and insightful address to all
audience before commencing the race. Mr. Umesh Rathi a leading industrialist and regional president of BVP flagged off the race. Special guests included many leading personalities from Powai. Race for adults commenced exactly at 7.25AM as scheduled which was followed by race for senior citizens and children who were equally enthusiastic about the run.
It did not take much time for seasoned runners and the first winner completed this distance of 3.3km in just 10 minutes 34 Seconds. Winners in other categories followed soon who were all cheered by the spectators and volunteers. Soon by 8.15AM the prize distribution started and the event concluded by 8.45AM.
Swami Vivekanand Run wasn’t just a race but also a social event. Many parents and grandparents participated with their children. A spirited team of volunteers from Bharat Vikas Parishad worked relentlessly to make the event a success.
Rishikesh Joshi
