Twenty- five Seven

Sunday Marathon – A New Legend

January 22, 2026

I’ve been attending the Mumbai Marathon since its inaugural run. It is now 20 years and the enthusiasm is kind of wearing thin.

But still I made it to the cheering squad at the top of the Kemp’s Corner flyover ( or bottom if you are starting the run from CSMT) that is cheering the runners for the last 5 km to the finish.

My reason for doing so is to see the wonderful smile of PARUL SHETH who has been the OG sunshine girl and has been running since the Marathon began

This Sunday after running 10 whole marathons, she has attained the status of a LEGEND.

Kudos to Parul who is a professional architect and runs for sheer pleasure. She has participated in Marathons the world over, is an IRONMAN and a loving mum to two wonderful children. In fact, during this race, she ran past her son on the Coastal Road while he was participating in the half marathon.

Times they are a-changing

I remember the first Standard Chartered Marathon, which was a novelty for both the participants and the Mumbaikars. Many who participated did it for a lark. As did us gawkers who just wanted to see what it was all about. It was an age of innocence, a freshness, a feeling of fun.

Gradually, the race has become more and more professional with proper stations for water, first aid and cheering squads. StanChart moved out and today the Tata Mumbai Marathon is a well oiled machine with its sea of blue runners taking over.

I was disappointed with that. What happened to the individual runners in their eclectic gear? The runners who ran for their organisations? The runners who ran in costume?

And crowds cheering have changed too. From bringing you own chai to keep you warm, the Peddar Road squad organised a DJ one year. Tea and samosas were distributed to the by-standers who drummed and whistled their support. One enthusiastic supporter used to shout out her encouraging words that often brought a smile to the runners. But this year, she got ticked off by another by-stander who couldn’t see the humour behind her words.

Too much has changed. Everything has become too ‘woke’.

And as Parul waved to us all, I wondered if I would cheer for her next year.

Ciao,

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SATURDAY : A day of rest

January 17, 2026

A message that resonated

Our school WhatsApp group often shares motivational messages. Funnily enough this came when I was actually practising some self-withdrawl.

Like a turtle, I crawled into my shell because quit frankly, I am just fed up of doing somethng or the other. EVERY DAY. All chores.
Some jobs that have me literally driving around in circles . Visiting the same jobs multiple times till they are finally done. Errands on behalf of everyone. Groceries, lady in waiting ….

Even going on a holiday is no fun because you have to wake up sleep late according to travel schedules. You have to spend hours travelling ……

Sometimes I think we live in an avalanche and everything just gets bigger and bigger till we finally come to a stop.
So finally, this Sarurday, I decided to be. Vegetate.

And it felt good.

I worked on two projects that I had abandoned. I just felt too listless and disinterested to do them.

But the minute I decided to do nothing, I had the energy to do everything.

So I would suggest that everyone takes a step back to take a step forward.

Ciao
Sweet Surprise

January 14, 2026

Sandesh

This morning I woke up to a sweet surprise – Prima Donna came back late last night with this delightful Sondesh from Kolkata.

Bengali sweets are unparalleled in their delicacy and are always welcome no matter what. While Odisha and Bengal are fighting for proprietary rights over the Rossagulla ( both claiming to have invented it first ) Sondesh is undoubtedly of Bengali origin .

This sweet is not so sweet and it simply melts in your mouth. But the Sondesh I had this morning was really special: Nolen Gurer Sandesh made with date palm jaggery and typically available only in Winter.

So this was the perfect Sondesh to have. Especially the baked version that had a special ‘smoky’ kind of flavour to it. At first bite, it has a hint of sweetness but as it dissolves in your mouth, its magic hits the right spot.

NO KITES IN MY SKY TODAY

Photo by FOX ^.u11bd.^= u222b on Pexels.com

14th January is one of those strange days when the Hindu calendar follows the Solar one to celebrate Makar Sankrant or the beginning of the northward journey of the Sun ( Uttarayan). In my part of India it is called Sankranti and celebrated by flying kites and distributing a sweet made of Jaggery and Sesame seeds. And for those feasting at home, one can indulge in the Tilachi Poli, a flatbread stuffed with jaggery and sesame seed mixture.

At this time of year, kite flying is very popular but thought the tiny shops are busy selling kites and the manja (string coated with fine powdered glass), I can’t see any kites in my sky.

Nor have I been invited to any Haldi-Kumku so perhaps this will be another ordinary day for me.

Anyway, here’s wishing you all a Happy Sankranti.

Ciao,

May the longer days bring you joy and abundance