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naveendop · 8 years ago

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Footloose in Munnar

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My #MunnarMarathon story goes back to the day I was in Munnar to shoot a music video on January 18. We were shooting at a beautiful tea estate where I came across a poster about the #MunnarMarathon. It was to be held on January 28, a Saturday. Some of my friends have participated in marathons. They would talk about how they met all these new, amazing people while running together. The poster of #MunnarMarathon intrigued me. I decided I want to run. I was excited.

So I got back to my laptop, went through the website and called the friendly people who were organizing it. There were four categories which I could sign up for. A 7 km run for fun, the 21km half-marathon, a 42km full-marathon and the ultra-marathon, a tremendous 72kms. I thought for a moment, and signed up for the half-marathon. I asked my friends, who had run marathons previously, how to go about it. They said I would need some amount of training to be able to run a 21 Km course. Training!

I wondered, would I really need to train to run 21 km? I’ve been running since I was a kid. And I felt I had been quite active even in recent years: I had trekked all the way to the #Everest #Basecamp for #YevadeSubramanyam, a feature film for which I was shooting along the trek. It sounds a little pompous now, but at the time, I sincerely thought i did not need, or rather no one needs any training to do these things. We all know walking, running. We’ve been doing these things since we were kids.

The trek to the #Everest Basecamp during the shoot was one of my best experiences. I realized that when you trek, you just shut your mouth and keep walking, enjoying every step you take or at-least pretend you enjoy it. Somewhere along the way you will reach your destination of the day. This experience did its part to reinforce my confidence to finish what I had signed up for on an impulse. Yes, Training

Time passed by and suddenly I realized I was only a few days away from the #Marathon date. I didn't have any running shoes. My darling pro-basketball athletic wife helped me pick some really good running shoes. I thought this was it, now I can go win this thing. I started running to every place. I did all my chores running as well. Two days before the Marathon I even ran around a stadium nearby for about an hour. My legs warmed up, my thighs started aching. I continued to walk everywhere and made it a point to go and take the stairs all the time. I read somewhere that actor James Stewart always takes stairs irrespective of how many floors he has to climb. And that's all the exercise he ever did. I would keep remembering that during my walks up the stairs.

To Munnar

Finally, the date arrived. The travel to Munnar from Kochi, where I stay, is a story for another day. Anyway, I ended up reaching Munnar at 12 in the night on the 27. Took some random hotel which was close to the #HATC( High Altitude Training Center) and the Marathon meeting point and crashed with an alarm set for 4:30am. Jan 28, On Your Marks I diligently woke-up on time and got ready with my running attire all dazzling and new. I would be lying if I said the thought of winning the marathon didn't cross my mind. I had been over confident about this from the start. I walked to the marathon meeting point, it was still dark, the sun just about giving an earthy tinge to the sky, a beautiful filter. It was not so chilly for #Munnar.

I asked around where I can get my BIB tag for the race. There were bunch of people already in-line finishing up their forms for the same. Most of them were Navy Trainees from the Kochi port, some old men came along and some young chaps, a mixed crowd. I collected my BIB. I was number H379, the digits added up-to one. I was super pumped thinking that it was going to be my position in the marathon. I came out to collect my bag and a strikingly fluorescent #MunnarMarathon t-shirt. I saw many more people warming up in their best running attire, sprinting around, doing pushups, squats and all their regular exercises. They seemed like they eat, breath and sleep marathons—pros. Serious and all focused in there look and demeanor. At this moment, another thought pops in my head, "Hey the no.1 of my total wasn't for the position, it was for first time marathon runner".

Get Set

There were a lot of people out there, old men, people in their 40's, 30's and 20's. The Marathon was going to start at 6:30 and i had some time to kill. I observed the people around me as I sipped on my Katham chai (Jaggery tea water). I did some of my own warmup exercises and saw the route of the marathon. I was somehow amused, looking at the pro marathon runners going through their protocol to get ready for the run. I spotted some first timers like me, who were looking at the pro runners in similar amaze.

There were many service men from all the defense sectors bumping into each other and exchanging niceties. They all seemed like naturals, born to run the #marathon. Around 6:00 am there was a call out for everyone who was running the half-marathon to the stage. To my surprise, there was a fitness group from Kochi that was on the stage and had some dance numbers lined up. They extended the stretching exercises to make them look and feel like dance moves. I feel I’m not such a bad dancer my-self, but i wasn't able to follow the stretches transform into the dance moves. I tried what I could and by the end of the last song, I was all warmed up.

The smiles and laughs of the dancers gave a good vibe. We all walked to the start point, and to add to the surprises cricketer Sreesanth walked through the crowd. He joined us to sway the flag for the run to begin and promote his new feature film. His producer, the villain from the film, and his lead lady were all out here for promotions. There were some group snaps being taken when everyone crowded to get a glimpse of the sportsman-turned-actor and get a picture with him. For a moment everyone forgot they were there for a marathon. I am a cinematographer myself and have never fancied taking or being part of posed pictures with celebrities. I was watching all this happen around me. Go

Finally, the whistle blew and hop, hop, hop, the runners went through the starting point, I followed, with my slow and steady pace. I knew from my experience that I shouldn't sprint and rather just keep it slow and steady. I remembered the apt cliché—the tortoise and the hare story. "Slow and Steady wins the race," I said to myself. After a few trots, I felt a bounce on my back. It was the bag and the t-shirt I got from the marathon organizers. I tied it tighter to my back to keep it from bouncing and continued my run.

This Is Munnar

The beginning few kilometers were a straight line run through the city and the path took a turn to go off-road. The sun was slowly breaking through the clouds. Everything around had a cold blue tint, the kind of color-grade I would give for an early morning effect. I could see tall trees, hear the birds chirping and felt the early morning breeze. I realized I was in the middle of #Munnar in its best natural environment with zero traffic and people. It was peaceful.

I love hearing the birds chirp. The higher branches of the trees were catching some golden sunlight. I saw some birds fly up the trees to bask in some of that warm early morning light, as if it was their ritual to get ready for the day ahead. I continued steady, and saw some gorgeous trees with the #sun rising behind them. And I couldn’t resist. I quickly grabbed my phone from the bag and click, captured the snap of the tree. I love nature, in every form. Another cliché, but it stands true every-time. Its amazes me whenever I least expect it. I was starting to look at the cloud formations in Munnar, believe me every place the clouds come in different shapes and sizes. I was like click, click, click. Everything was looking pretty. “

Hey hold on watch before you click and don't forget to keep going forward,” I thought. I wanted to see what was around every corner of the curvy road. I came across a small road leading to someone's home with some wood stocked at end of the road. As I cross these homes, I see thin smoke starting to rise from their chimneys; breakfast. I found another gorgeous old tree which was like a gate to a house up the slope next to it. The sky was a gorgeous blue by now.

Surrender

The beauty had arrested me, I was walking at a snail’s pace. The morning light played magic on the textured roofs of houses. I forgot to run. How simple and elegant the colors of the windows of these homes were in contrast to the blue sky. I was finally in Gods own country, enjoying his lovely color schemes, breathing through them, watching constantly changing lighting patterns, the complementing western ghats of Munnar and of-course the tea plantations. To my fellow marathon runners, my awe became contagious. Some of them forgot to run too, taking pictures of this gorgeous morning canvas. I was sure I did not need any prize any more. I had already got mine through walking and absorbing Munnar. This being a photo blog, you can see the moments I just had to take a picture.

I saw this tombstone nestled in a cosy corner with a charming view of the mountains. When I was grading the image, i was like let's keep this grade black and white. It felt right. I didn’t disturb the tombstone much, took my picture and moved on with my walk. I saw a quaint little temple next to a really tall tree. I loved the contrast of the heights, the skies and the clouds offered a lively background for the setting. I discovered that marathons are run together with friends as well. I spotted three such people walking together and chatting there way through the walk. I saw a moment in there.

Walking along, there were a lot of homes of tea plantation workers. A man was observing the runners, a kind smile on his face. I fell in love with the small wooden bridges which help you cross little streams of waters, there were plenty of them on the route. I was in no hurry to finish the marathon, it had to be finished within five hours. I had time. I saw some lovely red flowers overlooking an off-road path which leads into the forest. Next time, I might take that road to see where it leads to.

Where there are people, there will always be the man’s best friend. I spotted one of those guys looking down at the road at all fluorescent clad t-shirt runners. He barked to make sure they don't enter his territory. A lovely community hall with equally pretty gate stared at me. Simple and sweet, it didn`t need any other decor to make it pretty. An interesting looking tractor growled past me, it had a lovely contrasting yellow color. I spotted same #tractor about four times in my entire marathon.

The morning had begun for everyone, the birds, the dogs, tractors, chimneys, cows , tea plantation workers and the marathon runners. The cows were munching their way into the fresh, dew-covered grass. I guess they wanted to chew on the cud later in the day under a tree's shade. One cow was already chewing on the cud, basking in comfortable posture. There was a beautiful school tucked into the mountains. It looked like a perfect setting to play and study.

I had discovered during my mountain trek in Nepal that if you are tired, walk around a hill and suddenly you realize the entire terrain has changed, like a breath of fresh air. Here in Munnar it was not so much of a terrain change, but you were welcomed by some friendly engineering college kids waiting with some refreshments. They had volunteered to help the marathon organizers. You would also find them going around in jeeps for medical help. I love machines which you can ride and tractors have been one of favorite vehicles. Every chance i got to ride my grandpa`s farm tractor, I thoroughly enjoyed the power in the steering. One such driver who loved his machine was out here in the middle of my marathon route. He had just come out of his home by the road to clean the silencer of his tractor.

I saw this beautiful sea of flowers covering an entire football field. Purples, whites, reds, yellows and different shades of green. I was amazed at how beautifully they had arranged themselves all along to fill any empty spaces. A few more steps, and I see the tea plantation women with plastic netted baskets on their heads walking to work. They always have a smile on their face.

The path followed through a small village, I passed by their panchayat block, And it was not just humans. Dogs too started on their morning walks to catch-up on their friends in the neighbourhoods. I followed one of them to discover a bunch of three friends catching up and rolling over. A confession here, I love to just observe dogs playing with each other. I remember filming two of my puppies when they were growing up for their first thirty days. At this moment, my phone decides to give up on its charge, there I was, a cinematographer without his lens.

I continued to walk as I couldn't suddenly motivate myself to run. By now i had reached the half point of the marathon. We had to take a U-turn from where I saw so many of them already on there way back. I took my U-turn, picked up some refreshments—peeled oranges and small bananas—and continue my brisk walk. One chartered account from Kottayam caught up with me and initiated a conversation. He drove from Kottayam with a friend of his, who is far behind in the marathon. I thought I was one of the last ones but, I guess not. He said his friend wasn't in shape. The last adventure trip he had taken was in a forest in Shimla about 20 years ago. And he really wanted to catch-up on those lost years and trails. He was asking some generic questions. I came to know that his son and daughter-in-law had moved from Kochi to Hyderabad and were practicing law. And here, my wife and me had moved from Hyderabad to Kochi. I guess life has a subtle way of balancing itself around. Back On Track

He suggested we run for a while and I kick-started my run again. Now, I didn’t want to stop, I just kept running at a constant pace. I ran for about 60 minutes straight. I could feel the pressure on my knees and thighs, they were starting to ache. If I were to stop now, i wouldn't be able to finish this marathon. I surprised myself. By and by, I actually started over taking people. There was a rhythm that I reached, my legs in sync with my heartbeat. I could feel the joy of running now, unhindered, free.

I was enjoying the run of the marathon for the first time during the day. It reminded me of the harmony with my motorcycle and the highway during one of my trips to the #MahaKhumbmela. I realised, once you find the rhythm, you don't want to stop, it takes you on it’s own wings. I was enjoying the pain and pleasure of running and continued straight for about 8-10 kms. By now I had finished about 17kms. One of the volunteers told me I was just 4 kms away and I kept running.

The Climb

One more curve along the path and I see a steep uphill. It seemed pretty daunting suddenly. Like how a treadmill slowly comes to a stop, it was like that for my legs, the running slowly came to a halt and the walk up the hill continued. I walked and walked, it seemed like a long time. I didn’t see any volunteers giving water or refreshments and I needed them badly now. I didn’t see them in line of sight but i saw a board which said water in one kilometer.

It felt like the longest kilometer I have ever walked, all of it up the hill. When i think about it, i think the marathon guys deliberately put a one kilometer signboard for water, which was actually two kilometers in distance. Across another turn, finally I see the water guys. It seemed like the best view, I had decided I would take a break there, had two full cups of water and finished a banana and an orange. People I had left behind were catching up and I looked at the ones who were still down the slope. I continued to walk and jog intermittently. I passed by a construction site where the workers were trying to cheer me to run, but I was too exhausted by now. One of them suggested a shortcut to get to the main road. For a second I thought about it, but shunned the idea.

Music’s Over

Another curve, i see the main road and i start hearing the buzzing road, a running generator of a hotel next to the road and all sorts of sounds. They diluted my hearing capabilities. The sounds became noise. At the same time, I happy I was nearing the finish line. I missed the birds chirping. I missed all the greenery, and the thought of what lies around the curve was lost. It was honking cars, bikes, motorcycles, every possible sound you could hear. I was also hearing the music which the Marathon guys were playing at the HATC grounds. I was just about hundred meters away and I could see some kids at the finish line cheering and welcoming whoever was nearing the finish line.

You Should Try

The walk became faster and I acknowledged the kids with a smile and took my final step onto the finish line. It made a beep sound which reconfirmed that I have taken the last step of the 21.1kilometers half-marathon. One of the kids was waiting to put a medallion around me. It said "If it was easy, everyone would do it". Whenever I look at it, I think, everyone still can do it. All you need to do is keep going forward. The only training you need is to train yourselves to keep going ahead. I would say to any other marathon taker, "It’s easy, Everyone should do it".

#munnar #munnarMarathon #sunrise #dogs #runners #walkers #teaplantations #bananas #trees #earlymorning #earlybird #birds #chirpping #friends #marathon #footloose

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