Every member of the Mumbai Road Runners club was well acquainted with him.
The Mumbai Road Runners or MRR is a unique club comprising runners who meet virtually everyday but in person on the first Sunday of the month for a training run of 21kms at Bandra, outside the famous Otters Club.
The run begins in the predawn darkness with the silence of the early morning punctuated with laughter of the endurance runners who assemble from far and near. Some drive down, while some simply run down 20 odd kilometres and finish the remaining 21kms with the run from Bandra to the tip of Marine Drive- NCPA.
Well, if you saw them or even heard them it would seem people had gathered to party…well that’s how the endurance runners feel, even though they are pushing themselves to finish their runs at times. Halfway through the route lies Worli. And it was at this point that the tryst with the faithful Kani ensued.
Every month, Kani would be waiting, to finish the run upto NCPA without fail. He chose the faster runners as they reached the rendezvous earlier and maintained pace with them. He was blind in one eye, that’s how he got nicknamed Kani (and someone was confused about the gender I guess). After reaching NCPA he would loll around a while catching his breath, probably have a bite of something which all the dog-o-philes plied him with.
Many speculated at his pace, training schedule as well as his training diet. All in jest of course. Till date we have never heard anyone being bitten, snapped, or even growled at by the uncrowned mascot.
He had quite a bearing too; lean, fair with an athletic build.
Over the months of his joining MRR, we had stories abounding about his cheerleading skills. Quite a few runners proclaimed he had paced them well, not letting them slacken. Some had actually felt he would turn around to encourage them when they felt their energy sap, especially around the dreaded Pedder Road, climb. No one had ever seen him return back to Worli and knowing how territorial dogs are, he was surely asking for trouble every time he ran a half marathon, as the local packs would have surely asked for their pound of flesh.
But there he would be, waiting every first Sunday of the month, when the tribe descended on the roads of Mumbai. His encounters are legendary for they speak of greater things in life: Selflessness, Reaching a helping paw, Endearing, Dedication to one’s sport and of course Unconditional love!
And then we moved to Pune.
The dog story in Pune is totally different. They swear that the 2 wheelers are their arch enemies. They ferociously attack them. Yet they adopt the crazy, early morning humans. Who aimlessly run from one neighbourhood to another.
We run with a group aptly called Freerunners. And they have been lovingly adopted by the pack that rules Kedari ground. I have witnessed two wheelers chanting the Hanuman Chalisa, swinging up their legs as they wheeze past in a desperate attempt to avoid the snarling, barking dogs that abound.
The very same come and rub against the legs of the runners, raising their heads to be patted and petted like meek lambs. They wait patiently as the runners warm up, go through their drills and then off they go with their running buddies to complete the target for the day: 8, 10, 12 or 15kilometres. Some of them have the distinction of running half marathons religiously as they have taken on the duty of cheering for their adopted hoomans!
But there are always two sides to a coin.
Every neighbourhood pack awaits the running pack to spar with. I have watched packs, silently lying-in wait, so they can bark their heads off or chase the intruders, sadly disappointed when the intruders run off with their hooman pack. The most notorious one is a huge Black Indie, who has taken a piece off many a motorcyclist, but behaves like a puppy, when Jeetu, the coach of Freerunners tells her to backoff!
Lets raise a toast to these friends and buddies of runners! Cheers and God bless!
Pic: Courtesy ‘Times of India’
