The date was 21 January 2007.  The event?  The Mumbai Marathon.

The buzz in the city was noticeable…  Emails from office colleagues and friends communicating their participation.  Newspapers brimming with official route details, traffic diversions in place, history of the marathon, and what have you…  Every body seemed to be gearing up for the Big Race…

Now, I’ve never been a big fan of the marathon, or any race, for that matter.  Even watching it is an unappealing proposition for me, let alone the thought of participating in it!  But, 21 January was different.

It was the day my little daughter’s playschool was going to have its Annual Sports Day!

Pumpkin – my almost-three-year-old – had been training for almost a week.  The official communication had said that she was in the “Red” team, which meant that we had to buy her a red t-shirt for the big day.  The school was serious about all this stuff.  It even designated a day for parents to come by and get their t-shirt purchases approved! 

Every day, Pumpkin would come back from school and want to make some household event or the other into a full-fledged race.  It all had to begin with, “On your marks, Get Set, Go”!  The day of the Big Race finally arrived.  It was a Sunday, and all the lazy parents had to ensure that they and their little ones are at the track by 9.45 sharp.  Needless to say, we were all very excited.  Even her dadi (grandmother) who usually does not venture out of the house on any occassion, chose to make an exception, that day.

We took our seats in time – right up in the first row!  Armed with a camcorder in one hand, and a digital camera in the other, I was ready to capture every moment of it. 

All the eager parents watched with bated breath as their toddlers participated in one colourful event after another.  The Red, Blue, Yellow and Green teams turned out to be more-or-less matched in their heights and age. 

Pumpkin – and the Red team – took part in two races : 1. Match the Colours, and 2. Match the Shapes.  (That’s her in the picture – The second one from the left.)  The basic idea was to be given a shape/colour at the start line, run the length of the (25 m) track, find the matching shape/colour, and run to the judges to register your victory!

As it turned out, Pumpkin came third in both the races she participated in!  In fact, she came second… in both.  She just didn’t get the concept of running to the judges after completing the match, so she delayed that part a little. 

Anyway, who cares if she came second or third… our little Pumpkin actually won the first two races she ever participated in!!!  As parents, we couldn’t be happier.

Looking at all the news coverage of the Marathon, the next morning, I was only glad that my priorities were clear.  The Greatest Race on Earth, that morning, was the one in our neighbourhood.