Para Athletics

Aur bhai, "Laughter Chefs" ka promotion toh railway station ke bade screen pe bhi chala rahe hain — mujhe toh aisa lagta hai jaise koi bhajiya bina adrak ke bech raha ho, dikhne mein to thik hai par taste mein kuch nahi. Mera baap apna khaansi daba daba ke pakore fry karta hai do din se, aur ye log bade aram se hasne ke liye paise le rahe hain. Humara Ranchi FC ka goalkeeper Kalyan bhi yeh

तीजको दिन मेरो साइबर क्याफेमा एक जना अल्पाइन स्कीयर आयो, उसको दाहिने खुट्टा थिएन तर उसले मलाई सिकायो कि कसरी वर्षाको बिजुली कटौतीमा पनि इन्टरनेट बिना नै PHP को पुरानो कोडलाई मनले debug गर्न सकिन्छ। उसको focus देखेर मलाई लाग्यो—हामी सबैले आ-आफ्नो खालको guide runner खोजिरहेका छौं, चाहे त्यो track होस् या code को syntax error।

I was stitching collars today, thinking of the news about Neha Bora. My own daughter is studying, and these school fees make every seam important. If something happened to her, all our careful stitching of life would come undone.

Last week, found an old Philips transistor radio at the second-hand market near Paradise. Took me three evenings to fix, but now it catches the athletics commentary clear as day, baabu. Better than our TV during power cuts, listening to the races while I sort my tools.

Ehna sport classes di list vekh ke menu yaad aaya — ek din mere Omni ch ek young ladka aaya, long jump karda si, prosthetic leg naal. Chahe usda start bumpy si, par ohda leap vekh ke mainu yaad aaya mera purana engine, jo ratt-katt karda hai par kadde vi tere tak pahuncha dinda. Koi committee na bana ke, market ne apne aap decide karna ae — jo performance de, ohno class. Baaki, mainu taan eh log apne 'adjustments' naal change kardene, te main apne Omni de engine naal karna seekh liya.

My Didi in Jorhat runs a small tea stall near the disabled school, and last month she told me how one of the blind boys timed his own sprint with a bamboo stick tapping the track edge. They didn’t have a guide runner or proper lane markings, but he insisted on the exact distance. I’ve been thinking, bhaiti—if we want classification to be fair, shouldn’t we start by asking the athletes what they actually need measured, not what the rulebook assumes? The data from their own practice tells more than any committee’s guess.

That neem tree outside my balcony—bhaiya, it lost a big branch in last week's storm, but it's still standing, roots deeper than any landlord's notice. Reminds me of those blind runners I saw on TV, with their guide tied by a string, moving like one body. Makes you think: we all need something to hold onto that won't let go, kaisa hai? My younger one asked why they don't just run alone, and I said beta, sometimes the strongest way is to trust another person's eyes.

Arre, today at the district meet I saw a javelin thrower from Rohtak—blind since birth, but his release angle was so perfect the official had to double-check the measurement. It reminded me of my bhaiya fixing the tractor axle last week: both men finding the exact spot where force meets balance. You ever notice how we assume "disabled" means "less," but then you watch a seated thrower and realize they've simply traded legs for a different kind of leverage? Makes you think who's really the limited one here.

Barao, David Jonsson — mhaka vatata te dhakkyache pole-varun aadli English rich brat nasun, khalchya jivanachi maati ghetleli manus. Kalchi saankali, mazi Mitali school pasun aali tedna mhunnali, "Baba, aaj school madhe ek pole-vault champion aaila, tichya legs nahi, but tine bronze." Me vichar kelo, tea mula-poranna bhashan dile ki paus-pani padla? Maka he jonsson akkho itihas firavto — aamche Goem, kella-kella tarvotti re, without the right shoes or nothing. Baki, me kelana mazi purvi donor cycle chakri bandhun thevta, tea Cross country saathi tayar keli — porgim lagta chipssa bina khel naka, pan he porgim dogam-pasun kela, taka pahije official support, direct, nahi tuffler funding.

कल रात पापा टेंपो का टायर पंचर करके आए, तो मैं सोचता रहा कि जिसके पास एक भी पैर नहीं है, वो कैसे दौड़ता होगा। फिर माँ ने भुजिया लाकर द

The quiet hour before opening, when the sun hits

My para, he tapes his old spikes with electrical wire—works fine for practice on the hill road. I tell him, same way I tell my regulars when they struggle on the pull-up bar: the number on the stopwatch is what matters, not the shoes. Sngewbha to see more of you all here, running your own race.

Sajan dropped his shot put right into a puddle after practice, and I swear my kitchen feels the same post-rain struggle. We all fight our own humidity. Watching you athletes adapt reminds me to tweak my mango pickle brine one more time—the balance is everything.

Lairik yaothokpa matamda, phou-oitombi warongbu yengba yumshang

Ai bhau, he Nandan Nilekani ani tench digital payment talk... my avó spent forty minutes yesterday trying to pay the new chapel roof donation online, anant error message. Sometimes all this ‘efficiency’ just means the aunties with the collection plate have to walk further in the rain.

The Commonwealth Games, pa? I see they’re talking about funding cuts for para athletes again. Reminds me of the time I had to choose between buying a new blouse for my mother or paying for my daughter’s extra dance class — numbers don’t lie, and outcome is what matters. If they can show me the data that these cuts leave more athletes better off, I’ll believe it. Until then, I’ll just keep my father’s clock ticking and my own accounts balanced.

मेरा बेटा रोज कहता है, "अम्मा, मुझे इंजीनियर बनना है।" और मैं सोचती हूँ — जब स्कूल-कॉलेज में पढ़ने वाले लड़कों को सालों-साल बिना सुनवाई के बंद रखा जा सकता है, तो हमारे बच्चों के सपनों की क्या गारंटी? आज फैक्ट्री में ब्रेक पर नीता से बात करते हुए मन

અરે, અમારા સોસાયટીમાં એક છોકરો છે—એક પગથી જન્મ્યો, પણ દોડે એવો કે પવન પણ પાછળ રહી જાય. ગઈકાલે એની મા આવી હતી શીનમાં, કહે છે નેશનલ લેવલે સિલેક્ટ થયો. મ

कल सुबह चाक पर एक मटका बनाते वक्त मैंने सोचा — ये पैरा एथलीट भी हमारी मिट्टी की तरह हैं, ताकत से भरे पर किनारे पर खड़े। हर धावक अपनी दौड़ में अपना ही कानून लिखता है, ठीक वैसे जैसे कोई कुम्हार गीली मिट्टी को अपनी उंगलियों का हुक्म मानने पर मजबूर करता है। मगर ये सोचकर बड़ा गुस्सा आता है कि हमारे यहाँ हरियाली के बीच से भी सबसे पहले जो पौधा मुरझाता है, वो किसी सबसे कमज़ोर बच्चे का होता है। शहर में हर ओर प्लास्टिक की बोतलें देखता हूँ तो लगता है — मौका तो सबको मिलना चाहिए, पर किस्मत के बँटवारे में कहीं किसी से बेइंसाफ़ी हो रही है।

da was telling me about Dhamaal 4 yesterday over tea — all that running and shouting on screen, kasto comedy. I told him, hajur, real dhamaal is watching our little one-legged boy from the village sprint up

Your daughter in Surat sent me that list this morning, haa. I scrolled past all those star names thinking of the young woman in the lane next to mine who cleans salons — she works twelve hours and cannot afford a single ticket. Never mind the film, who will even put a roof over her head if the rent keeps climbing like this?

ഇന്നലെ ബസ് സ്റ്റാൻഡിൽ ഒരു സ്പ്രിന്റർ ട്രെയിനിംഗ് ചെയ്തുകൊണ്ടിരിക്കുമ്പോൾ കണ്ടു, അവന്റെ ഓരോ ശ്വാസത്തിന്റെയും ക്രമം. ആ ലെഡ്ജർ ബുക്കിൽ സംഖ്യകൾ ക്രമീകരിക്കുന്നത് പോലെയായിരുന്നു, ഒരു പ്രാക്ടീസ് പ്രോബ്ലം സോൾവ് ചെയ്യുന്ന quantitative aptitude. സ്പീഡ് എന്നത് കാലുകളിൽ മാത്രമല്ല, ശരിയായ കണക്കുകളിലും ഉണ്ടെന്ന് തോന്നി.

My old tailor shop’s Singer machine—the one that screams like a stuck goat on denim—taught me more about resilience than any textbook. That noise, that struggle to finish one seam, is the same I hear when I watch our para athletes push past a jammed wheelchair or lose grip on the javelin. I saved for two years for a new motor, and it still broke last week fixing a schoolteacher’s kurta. We need better, not louder.

আজ সকালে কাগজে পড়লাম কমনওয়েলথ গেমসের আয়োজন নিয়ে এত বিতর্ক... আমাদের দোকানের সামনে পিচ ফাটা রাস্তাটাই বছর দুয়েক ধরে মেরামত হয়নি, আর তারা এত টাকার খেলা আয়োজনের কথা ভাবছে। মা বললেন, "ওই পয়সা দিয়ে যদি প্রত্যেক গ্রামে একটি করে ভালো মাঠ বানানো যেত!" আমার মনে পড়ে গেল, ছোটবেলায় আমরা কত সহজেই মাটির উঠানে দৌড়াতাম...

They're making another film about leaving home and grand journeys. Ma and I watched the old one on the TV, her knee propped up. I think the real odyssey is trying to get home before the rain, with the medicine, in time for our cup of tea.

Bhai, maine apne aakhon dekha hai jab ek blind runner ne apni guide ke kandhe ka bharosa karte hue 100m mein national record toda — aur usne practice bhi asphalty track pe nahi, mitti pe kari thi. Jo log kahte hain "ye sport easy hai", unko ek baar uth ke baitha do seated throw mein, phir baat karein. Saara talent equal opportunity nahi milta, bhai — magar jo milta hai, usse kamaal kar ke dikhana padta hai.

आज एका delivery च्या वेळी एका पोलिसाने मला रोखलं, OTP चा screenshot दाखवायला सांगितलं. त्याच्या स्टॉपवॉच वर तीन मिनिटं गेली, पण व्हॅन ड्रायव्हर माझ्यासाठी थांबला होता. काही नियम अडचण निर्माण करतात, पण काही लोकंही तुमच्यासाठी थांबतात हे आज पटलं.

Another year waiting for a new bus stand they promised for the differently-abled. Umar Khalid's name on the radio just made me think of my son in Lucknow, and that familiar fear—when will simply wanting what's fair become a risk a father has to calculate? We build stadiums for races, but the path to get there should be safe for every runner.

Breathing in that after-rain petrichor on my scooter, I thought of your starting blocks. My old radio’s battery is like a para athlete’s chair—essential, and worn from good use. I sketch fast because the light changes; your seasons of training must feel the same. Every delay has a cost.

mera gulmohar tree ke neeche baithe, daily ka ledger reconcile kar raha tha. Socha, athlete log bhi apna personal record todne ke liye roz practice karte honge, jaise main har mahine ki savings ko ek nayi figure tak pahunchane ki koshish karta hoon. Us consistency ka balance sheet hi toh final medal deta hai.

The talk of the Commonwealth Games coming back in 2026 has my old radio playing M.S. Viswanathan songs all morning, dear. I just hope the new stadiums don't mean they'll pave over the vegetable plots in the empty lot next to the railway quarters—those ladies trade their spinach for my hibiscus for our hair masks, pa.

लॉक अप का सीज़न दो? भाई, मेरा तो हर दिन लॉक-अप है — ये डीज़ल की कीमत ने मेरे पम्प को बंद कर रखा है। पर असली मज़ा तो तब आता है जब बच्चे पालक खाते हैं और मैं नीम पर तोतों को बहस करते देखता हूँ — उनका झगड़ा

Oh, RSS — I see their shakha sometimes near the park where I walk, all white shirts and discipline. My son’s friend joined them last year; he’s a decent boy, helps me carry flour sacks without being asked. But then I think of the para athlete from our gali who trains alone because no one wants to fund his blade runner spikes — main kehndi, all that order outside means nothing if inside the house we don’

raat ki shift se aate waqt, purane stadium ke paas se guzri toh dekh ki chhote bacche dopahar ki coaching se pehle daud laga rahe the. unki koshish dekh ke laga, har ek ke liye sahi samaan aur thoda guidance mil jaaye toh kaun peeche reh jaata hai? par yaad aaya, mere bhaiya ke cricket ke liye bhi ek coach ki fees bharne ko kaafi jugad karna padta hai.

My old cassette player finally gave out mid-field recording, so I'm using my morning runs to map the rhythm of the tram bells instead. It's a different kind of meter, bhai – less about the stopwatch, more about the swing of the thing.

My father’s betel nut trees need the monsoon but the roof needs repairs too — asa, that’s how it is. Watching these para athletes run, I think of our village boy who lost his leg to a landmine and now just sits by the road, no one timing his throws. If the state can build a stadium for the big city meets, kenei? can’t they send a coach to our hills? The ones who are hurt the most always wait the longest.

Chalo, I was timing one of my students—a boy with a prosthetic leg—on the 100m yesterday near the canal, using my old phone’s stopwatch. His first run was 18.2 seconds, but on the fifth try he hit 16.9, and the look on his face was worth more than all the mock tests my laptop has left in it. You can talk about biomechanics and class rules all day, but show me the data on how many kids improving 1.3 seconds in one session actually go on to compete, and then we’ll know if the system is working for the ones who have to borrow shoes.

Bhai, I was recording the tram bell at Shyambazar last week—caught a rhythm in the clang, almost like a starter’s gun. Makes me think: for our para athletes, the real race isn’t just the track, it’s that moment the system decides what ‘possible’ means. My friend’s younger brother, a F56 javelin thrower, broke his district record on a borrowed chair—no sponsor, no government van, just chai from a roadside stall. That’s the heartbeat, bhai.

balle, today my seedlings have just broken surface and I was remembering those para athletes I saw last month at Ludhiana’s ground. There was one seated thrower, his focus was so deep, just like watching water find the perfect level in the pipes. It makes my own small struggles with the pump feel like a practice run.

aaj temple la bhendi gheun jaat hotana, ek wheelchair runner la practice madhe pahila. tyancha guide-kaka barobar ek number sync madhe hote, itke janavar chukicha pan nahi. mi ek vel school madhe timekeeping karaycha hota, toh synchronization khara changla disayla lagla.

Beta, yeh para athletics wali baat sunke mera mann karta hai ki apne paint bucket ke paas baith ke sochu — aaj kal ka system dekho, jo ladka school mein sabse aakhri khaana khaata tha, uske liye alag se plate nahi thi, par yahan track par uski race alag hai. Achha laga yeh jaanke ki koi judge kar raha hai haq se, na ki convenience se. Bas ek cheez — jab main apni cycle ki chain tape se jodta hoon to woh chalti hai, lekin kya hum log bhi aise hi temporary fix se kaam chala rahe hain? Speed chahiye, lekin sakht system bhi chahiye, warna woh ladka phir wahi aakhri rahega.

Arre yaar, watching these sprinters with their guide runners — it reminds me of my old tawa. If the surface isn't level, the paratha burns uneven, no matter how good the

You know, I watch the throwers in the seated events, and it reminds me of pulling the weft tight on my loom—eche, that same snap of the wrist, the whole body speaking through one motion. I worry about the javelin girls who are told they cannot throw far because they sit; my sister was told she could not wear my best phanek because she had a limp from a childhood fever. Chakcha, that noise. Let them throw, let them wear what they want. We measure a thing by how it holds, not by how it starts.

last night sketched a storyboard for the new tea shop's ad. kept redrawing the runner's form, trying to get the lean just right. my ceiling fan’s steady hum was the only pace-keeper i had.

हाँ, भई, तेज दौड़ने वाले बच्चों को देख के बस याद आया—पिछले हफ़्ते मेरी दुकान पर एक अंकल आए, बैसाखी पर, और सिर्फ एक बोतल पानी लेने। उन्होंने कहा, “हमें देर हो गई, बेटी, पर ज़िंदगी की रेस में अब भी दौड़ रहे हैं।” उनकी बात सुन के लगा, यहाँ कोई मेडल का खेल नहीं, बस अपनी ज़िद पूरी करने का। वह अंकल रोज़ सुबह खेतों के रास्ते पर चलते हैं, धीरे-धीरे, पर कभी नहीं रुकते। उनके जूते की पट्टी भी टेप से चिपकी थी—बस यही असली ताकत है, भले टाइम ना हो।

Only, even here in the village, the talk about trains makes my neighbour's son, who throws from his chair, anxious about getting to his competitions. Yaar, when the schedule shakes, it's not just a delay for him, it's a whole dream needing a new plan. But we manage, no? Tape and a little cleverness fix more than machines.

My cousin is a guide runner for a sprinter here in Sikkim, and watching their morning drills by the track made me think a musician’s rhythm isn’t so different from an athlete’s. That sync must feel like a perfect, shared breath. I hope your training this week is full of that ramailo feeling.

Every morning at the plant, I watch the youngest packers sprint for the 6:55 bus. My old knees cannot, but I time them from the gate. If you have that fire, train hard and run fast – for the ones who cannot. The state must find every last one of you and give you the track.

असल में, जब मैं अपनी 2012 डिज़ायर में दिन के दस घंटे ढाबों के चक्कर लगाता हूँ, तो मैंने देखा है कि ज़िंदगी में सबसे अच्छी रेस वही होती है जो अपनी रफ़्तार से चले—बस पक्की सड़क और ठीक ब्रेक चाहिए। मेरी बेटी की इंजीनियरिंग फीस के लिए जोड़े हर रुपए में हिसाब है, ठीक वैसे ही जैसे पैरा एथलीट के हर सेकंड और मिलीमीटर में सच्चाई होती है। मैंने कल अपने बेटे की साइकिल

Aiyyo, I was fixing an old school clock this morning—the one they use for the sports day—and I got thinking about your para athletics timing systems. In my shop, if a packet of rice weighs wrong, it costs a poor family their whole week’s budget; so I always check the government’s standards before trusting a new scale. Does anyone here have the actual data on how these new sensor mats compare to the manual stopwatches for accuracy? Because if your event is deciding who gets a scholarship, you better have proof that machine isn't dropping a tenth of a second on a boy from a village.