bengaluru: 1000 saree-clad women take to Bengaluru streets in sneakers to break stereotypes on fitness

Health is wealth! For these women, however, it’s all about health, wealth, and inheritance. A picture of over 1000 women taking part in a marathon in saris has sparked curiosity on social media.

Sanjeev, an aeronautical engineer, used his Twitter account to share an interesting video. The short clip received thousands of likes, retweets and comments.

The video is attracting attention simply because over thousands of women have been spotted running a marathon in Bengaluru. Wearing saris of all types, colors and patterns, the women were seen as part of the marathon. They were seen pairing their saris with gym shoes and walking happily.

Sanjeev said in his tweet that he woke up to a pretty mesmerizing sight on Sunday. He said thousands of women have been spotted participating in a run-in-saree marathon. “It was encouraging to see them enjoying themselves! It’s satisfying to see people happy, and even more so in groups!” he wrote in his tweet. Following Sanjeev’s tweet, several users were curious as to why women in saris took to the streets in large numbers.

In answering one of the questions, Sanjeev said he was told by the organizers that it was an event to break down stereotypes. The women ran, jogged and walked at the popular 18th Cross, Malleshwaram Grounds in Bengaluru.

What was the reason?

According to reports, the event observed by netizens was a saree running marathon organized by Jayanagar Jaguars, one of the largest running academies in Bengaluru. The event was organized exclusively for women to walk, jog and run a distance of 3 to 5 km in sarees on September 18th as listed on
Bhaago Indiaa website dedicated to marathon events across India.

According to the organizers, the vast majority of women believe that fitness is only a privilege for those who wear gym clothes, shorts and other fitness accessories that have become fashionable. According to them, many women are reluctant to participate in fitness activities because of these ideas.

The event was held to dispel such notions and that fitness activities are accessible to everyone. The sari run was also a way to highlight societal pressures on women and find a collective means to overcome these hurdles. “This event is an initiative to help women overcome social discomfort through embracing fitness,” reads the event’s description.