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

Health is wealth! However, for these women it is all about health, wealth and heritage. A picture of over 1000 women participating in a marathon wearing sarees has piqued curiosity on social media.

Sanjeev, who is an aeronautical engineer, took to his Twitter account to share an interesting video. The short clip went on to garner thousands of likes, retweets, and comments.

The video is grabbing attention, simply for the fact that over thousands of women were spotted participating in a marathon in Bengaluru. The women wearing sarees of all kinds, colours, and patterns were seen walking as part of the marathon. They were seen matching their sarees with fitness shoes and walking gleefully.

Sanjeev in his tweet said that he woke up to a rather fascinating sight on Sunday. He said that thousands of women were seen participating in a run-in-saree marathon. “It was heartening to see them enjoying themselves! There is something satisfying about seeing people be happy and more so in groups!” he wrote in his tweet. Following Sanjeev's tweet, several users were curious to know why saree-clad women were taking to the streets in large numbers.
While answering one of the queries, Sanjeev said that he was told by the organisers that it was an event to dismantle stereotypes. The women were running, jogging and walking in the popular 18th Cross, Malleshwaram Grounds in Bengaluru.

What Exactly Was The Occasion?
Reportedly, the event witnessed by netizens was a saree-run marathon organised by Jayanagar Jaguars, one of the largest running academies in Bengaluru. The event was exclusively organised for women to walk, jog, and run a distance 3 to 5 kms in sarees on September 18 as listed on Bhaago India, a website dedicated to marathon events across India.

According to the organisers, a vast majority of women feel that fitness is only a privilege for those who wear activewear, shorts, and other fitness accessories that have become fashionable. According to them, because of these notions, a lot of women shied away from participating in fitness activities.
The event was held to dismantle such notions and that fitness activities are accessible to everyone. The saree-run was also a way to highlight the societal pressures on women and finding a collective means to overcome these hurdles. “This event is an initiative to help women overcome social discomfort in embracing fitness,” read the event description.