Ahimsa Paramo Dharma (अहिंसा परमॊ धर्मः)
On March 30, 2014, the Jains and Marwaris of Pondicherry organised a 7Km run to promote running amongst their community members.The theme of the run was centred around the basic tenets of Jainism. The run was aptly named as the Ahimsa Run, the key principle of those following the religion. They had two categories of the run – a 7 Km run for adults above 14 years and a 4 Km for children under 14 years. The route was fairly simple – started and finished at Vel. Chokkanatha Kalayana Mandapam at Vallalar Salai and the run was on the boulevard around the Pondy town.
The genesis of the run was in the participation of some of its members in the Seventh Auroville Marathon in February 2014. Many of them were running their first half marathon. They formed a group called ‘Marathon Runners’ and trained for the event. Following their experience of training for a marathon and the joy of running one, they wished to offer a similar experience for their entire community. The participants were largely from their community which helped the organisers to ease their concerns about organising a running event. They also invited students from Sathya Special School, Pondicherry.
The Organising team has toiled for more than a month to put together an event that would be memorable for the participants and encourage them to take up a more active life. They also had a good representation from the women members and children of their community. Many of them have undergone rigorous practice for over a month leading to the run. In total, over 500 runners participated in the event. Even if restricted from their community, the diversity in the age group of the participants made it a spectacle to watch.
The event concluded with a sumptuous breakfast for all participants and a felicitation ceremony for the winners as well all those who worked for the event. Kudos to the Marathon Runners for their efforts in adopting Running event as an occasion to get their community folks together. I am sure that this experience will encourage them to organise similar events involving the entire town of Pondicherry.
Running and Beyond 