Date:01/12/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/12/01/stories/2008120158770300.htm

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Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

10K Run pays a fitting tribute to the martyrs

Staff Reporter

City expresses solidarity with all the bereaved family members in the Mumbai terror attacks

– Photos: Nagara Gopal

In unison: Actor Venkatesh participates in the Hyderabad 10K Run. (Right) Girls youth at the run.

HYDERABAD: Terrorist attacks on Mumbai had their echo on the Hyderabad 10K Run even as about scores of people lined up for the mega event on a surprisingly pleasant not-so chilly Sunday morning.

And not surprisingly, in tune with the mood of the nation, the theme of event, which is now a big hit every winter, was swiftly changed from merely being fun, frolic and fitness to a convey a message – “Our hearts are with you”.

The organisers decided to cut off the entertainment part of the event that was originally planned and instead express solidarity with all the bereaved family members in the terror attacks. Not very often does one see a terror attack evoke such emotional sentiments as this run did even if it occurred in Mumbai.

If there were any doubts whether there would be crowds at all for the event given the backdrop of the recent tragic incidents, they were erased out within minutes. Even before the sun rose on the backdrop of the Hussainsagar Lake, there were people lining up - from all age groups, different strata of society, from the healthy to the disabled, to express their feelings of oneness.

The spirit of integration with chants of ‘Vande Mataram’ was too discernible to be missed.

The most striking feature of the patriotic sentiments being evoked was the setting up portraits of the three police officers of Mumbai and the NSG commando, Sandeep Unnikrishnan, who laid their lives in the terror attacks. When the Speaker the Legislative Assembly, K. Suresh Reddy, the first to arrive at the venue walked across to sign on a huge banner ‘our hearts are with you’ it virtually set the trend for the morning.

Soon, Chief Minister Dr. Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy, dressed in a track and a 10K Run T-shirt, was spot on with the mood of the gathering as he was the next to sign on the banner.

“I wish you all to come again and again for this event every year, much fitter and stronger to face any adversity,” was his crisp message.

With singers Karunya and Adil coming up with popular patriotic numbers symbolising he mood of the morning, there were moments when the gathering had a tough time to control their emotions.

There was the glamour element too in the presence of film stars Venkatesh, Vishnuvardhan and others.

But overall, it was a run which literally stopped the Hyderabadis to ponder for a moment and pay a fitting tribute to those martyrs of Mumbai attack.