Photo Courtesy – www.lonelyplanet.in
So you are a working woman with a hectic schedule and added to that you are a mother of school-going kids. And you feel that there is no ‘me’ time for you? Take heart, it’s never too late to start off on anything that you wish to do, whatever your age may be.
Take my own case. I am pushing 50 and on the way to menopause. But in spite all the hot flushes, I have also taken up running as a sport. In the last week of October this year, I ran my first half marathon, from QutubMinar to Red Fort, passing several other Delhi landmarks on the way. For more than two decades I worked at a journalist with offices at Delhi’s Fleet Street: Bahadurshah Zafar Marg near ITO. And on that October morning when I ran past ITO crossing, nostalgia flooded my memories. Here I was running past Delhi Police Headquarters (PHQ), where I used to hang around as cub reporter, looking to get an ‘exclusive’ angle to murder or fire that had rocked the city. Who would have ever thought that one day I would be running past PHQ, instead of looking for a news story there? And there’s more: I quit my job at 47 after working as a journalist for more than 25 years and translated my passion for adventure into a business venture. I take groups of women on adventure trips now for a living!
But I’m not the only one. Here’s 36-year-old Shailja Sridhar. She was an active person but two kids and the challenges of stay-at-home parenthood kept her grounded. Then she decided to break out and make time to follow her passion. “I started cycling on a whim and enjoyed it a lot. Running with some friends occasionally, I decided to sign up for my first half marathon. Now, just two years later, I have done more than 20 half marathons, my first full marathon and I have an ambition to become faster!” she says.
Shailja’s crowning glory was the moment she clocked 3:51:58 at the Berlin Marathon, a timing of under four hours for a distance of 41.195 kms and when won the Delhi Pinkathon half marathon in Delhi earlier this September. “I have enjoyed every moment of this journey. And found hidden reserves of energy and passion within myself for everything in life,” says Shailja.
Mirroring Shailja’s case is Deepa Ajit’s. She too began running four years ago, when she first moved to Gurgaon after a stint abroad. She recalls her first run, a 5 km one, where she struggled to even finish. “It was during this event that I met many other runners and people who had a passion to do new things,” says Deepa. And she hasn’t looked back VIDYA DESHPANDE from there. From running she moved on to trekking and mountain climbing. “I decided to climb to Everest Base Camp without too much planning. My sister-in-law and I hired a Sherpa from Kathmandu and some porters and we set off,” she says.
That was her first experience of a high altitude mountaineering trek. But she had tasted blood. The very next year she planned a proper trip with 8 other like-minded women and undertook an even tougher climb to the Annapurna Base Camp. And now her sights are set on Mount Kilimanjaro for next summer. “Age is no barrier”, she says,’ When I was young, my parents never introduced me to any sport, I too bunked sports class in school. But when I took up running, I began training hard and now have the stamina, endurance and the right knowledge to undertake such treks.”
But it’s not only adventure that women are finding compelling. They are taking to book clubs, professional baking, classical music and dance lessons with renewed vigor and passion. Shilpi Singh, business coach and entrepreneur, decided to take dancing lessons at 42. Shilpi always had a yearning to become a classical dancer and decided to take Kathak lessons. Not many in her circle believed that she had it in her, including her guru. “My guru is amazed to see how fast I have been able to pick up the tukra moves and the other nuances,” she says.
Being a self-made entrepreneur and business coach, Shilpi’s work schedule was very hectic. “I found I was working too hard and promised to myself to reduce my work without taking stress. So I took stock of my schedule a decided dance was the answer,” says Shilpi. “Kathak slows me down, relaxes me and helps me shed those stubborn calories as well,” she adds.
The time for action is now. It’s never too late to do something. “ Antoine de Saint-Exupery
As George Elliot’s famous quote goes: It’s never too late to be what you might have been! So step out of the box and pursue what you are passionate about. Trust me, you have nothing to lose, you might run into a more magnificent version of you!
