Bhubaneswar: Ramabai Ranvir had never stood at a starting line before. At 47, the widow from Maharashtra’s Beed region had spent her days cooking in other people’s kitchens, stretching every rupee to keep her two daughters in education. She knew little about races or timing or training. What she did know was that the winner of a local 3 km run would receive Rs 3,000 — money that could buy books and ease the constant worry of supporting her girls.
So on August 29, when she heard about the Amrut Daud organised near Dnyandeep Academy to mark the 75th anniversary of the Bharatiya Shikshan Prasarak Sanstha, Ramabai decided to try. She joined a group of young police aspirants heading to the event. She was the only one without proper shoes, the only one dressed in a simple saree and ordinary slippers. When the race began from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Chowk towards Bhagyanagar Chowk, she ran with quiet determination. Midway, her slippers gave way. Without hesitation, she picked them up and continued barefoot on the rough road, saree fluttering, feet striking the ground.
Younger runners in sports shoes and tracksuits watched her overtake them one by one. In about 30 minutes, the woman who had never trained for a race crossed the finish line first in her category. The organisers, moved by her grit, awarded her the prize money.
For Ramabai, the sole breadwinner of her family, the amount was more than a trophy. One of her daughters is pursuing a B.Sc. degree while the other is preparing for police recruitment. For her, every rupee counts.
“I run every day for my children’s future,” she was quoted saying.
In a world that often celebrates polished athletes and expensive gear, Ramabai’s barefoot run in a saree has become a quiet reminder of what true determination looks like — a mother’s love measured not in medals, but in the courage to keep going when everything else falls away.
