It was a burst of colour as women from various walks of life dressed in their best sarees came together at the Khashaba Jadhav Krida Sankul in Pune University on Sunday (April 16) morning to participate in a 3-km Saree Run.
According to the organisers, more than 6,000 women registered for the event aimed at breaking social barriers to prioritise their health and fitness. They included large groups of women from various organisations like Pinchi who participated in championing the cause.
Nauvari saree runner Mrunal Inamdar — the first woman to undertake the exercise of bungee jumping in a nauvari this January — was among those felicitated. “The event was important to motivate women across all age groups to look after their physical and mental health,” she said.
Among the chief guests who flagged off the event were: Dr Geetali Tilak, vice-chancellor, Tilak Maharashtra Vidyapeeth; Dr Medha Kulkarni, former MLA; Aarti Bansode, ACP, Khadki; Suchitra Kate, Ironman and one of the organisers of the Satara Hill Half Marathon; Deepa Hirey, athlete; actors Vibhavari Deshpande and Ashwini Giri; and Subeena Arora, president, Army Wives Welfare Association, Southern Command.
“Women play different important roles in everyone’s lives and are always the key to keeping the entire family healthy and fit. They understand the importance of health but, somehow, cannot prioritise their own fitness. They face many challenges while pursuing fitness. What better force than a saree that unites women of India? Saree is an integral part of an Indian woman’s lifestyle. It unites women across age, caste, creed and economic backgrounds and hence the saree run is a platform to share their challenges and find fitness solutions,” said Pramod Deshpande, race director of Taneira Saree Run.
The jog/walk/run by Taneira Saree was organised along with Bangalore-based fitness company JJActive, which has fitness centres pan India. JJActive has been organising this saree run for the last seven years in Bangalore, and this was the first time they brought this event to Pune. This event is scheduled to happen in five more cities this year.
