As I stood there cheering them, I knew I was part of something momentous, something so bigger than me but yet so humbling. I beamed proudly as the HoD handed them a certificate and a memento to mark the occasion. I stood there proudly beaming, trying to capture the moment in a photograph, as my friends Maya and Chaitanya Basrur completed their hundred platelets donation as a couple at the Tata Memorial Hospital. It was such a beautiful coincidence that we all got the same slot for the donation, letting me be part of such a momentous occasion.
We all had our own reasons why we started donating platelets. I remember Maya and I discussing this while we ran from Mira Road to Gorai Beach. We had different reasons but a singular objective, that is to do our bit, and in our own small way make a difference to society, in our own way, save a life. It wasn’t like we had inspired each other. Maya and Chaitanya had long since been donating before I started. I started donating platelets in memory of my Godmother, my Tatu, who had passed away because of Lung Cancer.
I admit that I felt a pang of jealousy when I saw them donating all through lockdown and I wasn’t being called. Unke platelets main kya hain jo mere platelets main nahin hain? Just kidding! But yes we were driven by the need to do some good. Through our posts we tried to shine a light on platelets donation and try to encourage others to become donors too.
In the running community you find people who love to be recognised, who love to have their moment in the sun. They want to be ambassadors and influencers. One day you find them with one brand, the next you find them with another brand. One day with one group the next day with another group. They may be deserving, or they may be not, it’s not for me to say, not for me to judge. It could be they were using the brand as a mean to gain popularity, or the brands and races using their followers as way to push their races, their products. All through this you keep wondering what difference were they making to the running community? How were they helping the community as a whole besides pushing theirs and the brand’s popularity, as done when you see every Tom, Dick and Harry named as influencers for a brand. Or a famous personality fronting a group when you know exactly what’s going on behind it all.
But one thing I’ve realised, majority of the people, runners or not, and even running groups, brands and races, look at what’s in it for them. Very rarely you find people who are selfless, or organisers and brands who put the safety of the runner in the forefront, or work towards making a difference by supporting those in need. And trust me you had a lot of scope to do so as there were so many runners who needed support.
My friends Maya and Chaitanya fall in the rare category of humans who do things selflessly, who gave without thinking what would they get in return. Making a difference and saving a life was a reward in itself. And if they could be the object of inspiration for anyone to become a donor, then that’s the cherry on the cake that they shared with many others, a way to pay it forward.
We may have not directly inspired each other, we always have kept each other motivated, whether in words of encouragement, or the best machine to donate on, we have managed keep each other motivated, and in our own way had helped affect a change.
So as I was asked by Maya to be in a picture with her and Chaitanya it made me proud that I could join them and be part of their journey. And though the number of time I’ve donated platelets would be dwarfed by the number of times they donated, I know that there’s no race between us, but somewhere we have a feeling of gratitude that we can make a difference, be the object that inspires, to pay it forward.
