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think! VARIETYSTORIES ABOUT A CHANGING INDIA
| 11S U N DAY H I N D U STA N T I M E S , M U M BA IA P R I L 1 5 , 2 0 1 2
Reshma Patil■ [email protected]
Wei Wei Han Prabhakarlives in the land of hand-pulled noodles butprefers the Maggi pack-ets and Bikaner snacks
lugged to Beijing from the home coun-try he has never seen.
Not yet two years old, the toddler —who also responds to his Indian name,Vihaan — dozes through photo shootsand is oblivious to his modelling agent,and the webpage describing him as a‘Sino-Indian mixed blood baby’.
In a new twist, expanding economicties between India and China haveled to greater people-to-people con-tact and a small but visibly growingnumber of Chindian, or Chinese-Indian, marriages.
Now, the offspring of these mar-riages are also making it into the pub-lic domain, becoming increasingly pop-ular as child models because of theirwide eyes, curly hair and otherwiseappealing appearance.
“Sino-Indian kids are popular asmodels if they look more Indian,” says
Vihaan’s father Vivek, a Patna nativewho first visited Beijing as an exchangestudent in 2005. “We plan to contin-ue our son’s modelling projects so
that he can earn his education feeshimself and be self-dependent fromthe start.”
A number of Sino-Indian couplesnow live in Beijing and prominent trad-ing centres in the world’s largestexporter, where few Indian residentswere spotted until the latter half of thelast decade. On a micro-scale, thesefamilies break deadlocked cultural per-ceptions in ways that the two govern-ments could not hope to do throughdiplomacy.
Vivek became a Beijinger after meet-ing Guo Xiuyi — Nisha, to his Indianfamily. With their combined entre-preneurial streak, the duo has built abusiness together. “Our basic rules are
to say both ‘Namaste’ and ‘Nihao’,”says Vivek. “Vihaan and I do the poojaevery morning. We eat Chinese andIndian meals but there is no meat servedon Tuesdays and Thursdays. We cel-ebrate Holi, Diwali and Chunjie (ChineseNew Year).”
When Vihaan was born, the neigh-bours flocked to see their ‘different’newborn with the curly hair and wideeyes. On a neighbour’s recommenda-tion, the parents contacted two mod-elling agencies and launched theirbaby’s career.
“We are receiving more portfoliosof Sino-Indian kids,” says Li Wang Ting,a photographer of child models at theZhima Kaimen studio in Beijing. “Thereis a big market for foreign baby prod-ucts in China and for better-lookingmixed blood Chinese kids to advertisethem. Sino-American and Sino-Frenchchildren are the first choice.”
Going back in history, the most icon-ic Sino-Indian marriage was ofDr Dwarkanath Kotnis to Guo Qinglan.Kotnis came to war-torn China on amedical rescue mission in 1938 andmarried Guo before his tragic deathin 1942. Badminton champion Jwala
Gutta, daughter of an Indian fatherand Chinese mother, is the best-knownChindian today.
“Language is the only real adjust-ment required for Sino-Indian chil-dren,” says Mehernosh Pastakia, aMumbai native who emigratedin 1991 and is married to ZhengXiao Wen.
Their son, Kershasp, or Kaisa inChinese, is now 11 and has modelledfor the Garfield and Li-Ning children’sbrands.
“I like to do more of the action pho-tos,” says Kershasp.
His parents run three Indian restau-rants in Beijing. The family praystogether every morning and celebratesIndian and Chinese festivals. Theysupervise the son’s modelling offersto ensure that homework and Hindiclasses are not disrupted.
“More Indians are marrying Chinesewomen and having stable relation-ships, compared with the high divorcerate among Chinese couples,” saysWei Wei Han’s mother, Guo. “Chinesewomen find Indian men not just hand-some but also traditional andfamily-oriented.”
Aarefa Johari■ [email protected]
Until five years ago, Mumbai-based Priyadarshini, 28, hadnever attempted a long-dis-tance run and barely knewwhat endurance running
was. She had been a swimmer inschool, pursued judo, taekwondo andkung fu in college and taken up musicas a career.
Then, in 2007, a US-based friend,Ram Sethu, convinced her to sign upfor the Himalayan 100 Mile Stage Race,among the toughest endurance run-ning races in the world.
Priyadarshini became the first Indianwoman to complete the high-altituderace — a five-day trip of navigating onfoot steep inclines and declines, stonypaths, forested areas and rarified air— and returned home a new person.
“After battling through altitude-induced hallucinations and brokentoenails, I wanted to challenge mymind and body again, and I wanted to
help others challengethemselves too,” she says.
So Priyadarshini start-ed training friends inMumbai and takinggroups of amateur run-ners on Himalayan runs.
Soon, more of herfriends were beginningto take up long-distancerunning too, and she wasnoticing a similar trendamong runners’ groupsin different cities.
Across the country,interest inanddemandforendurance tests is rising,with urban professionals,both young and middle-aged,participatinginultra-marathons, triathlonsandmountainanddesertracesas they seek challengesmore demanding thanthe
marathons that have been catching onover the past decade.
Priyadarshini and Sethu have nowlaunched an endurance racing com-pany called The Windchasers and willorganise their first event, theSandakphu 70 Mile Himalayan Race,from April 29 to May 2. The 20 peo-ple who have signed up include 14Indians, many of whom have neverrun a mountain race before.
“Marathons are the first step in run-ning, but once people get hooked tothem, they want to try greater dis-tances and more demanding terrain,”says Sethu.
Now in his late 40s, Sethu, a soft-ware entrepreneur, was a casual run-ner until 2006, when he ran a six-day,160-mile ultra-marathon across Chile’sAtacama Desert.
“On the fourth day, my body com-
pletely gave up and my mind took over.It was a surreal experience,” says Sethu.“I came out of the challenge with asense of tranquillity and humility.”
Like Sethu, many of those who arepromoting running and endurance racesin India were introduced to serious run-ning during long stays in the West.
“For the seven years that I lived inthe US, I was hooked to triathlons,duathlons and marathons. When Ireturned, I wanted to emulate thoseexperiences,” says Naina Lal, 47, theBangalore-based co-founder of RunnerGirls India, an all-women runners’group that began with eight membersin 2007 and now has more than 350members spread across Mumbai, Delhi,Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad.
Bangalore-based Runners For Lifetoo has seen numbers rise sharply —from 30 takers for its annual 100-kmrun in 2007 to 120 participants lastyear. And five-year-old, Gurgaon-basedRunning And Living has nearly 1 lakhamateur and professional runners par-ticipate in more than 30 long-distanceraces across the country every year.
A greater physical challenge is notthe only motivation.
“Running serves as a great com-plement to stress,” says Rajesh Vetcha,40, an infrastructure project devel-oper and one of the founders of theinformal club Hyderabad Runners.
“Ultra-marathons are also one of thebest ways to travel and explore newcountries,” says Bangalore-based man-agement consultant Sunil Chainani, 54,who has run marathons in Leh, Greece,Germany and the 89-km Comradesultra-marathon in South Africa.
Wanted in China: Cross-border babies
Before Mohit Oberoi dis-covered the thrills ofthe triathlon, his passion
was mountaineering. Hisenthusiasm for the out-doors even led himto start an adven-ture company thatmanufacturesequipment for rock-climbing, camping and hiking.
A few years ago he beganrunning as part of his fitnesstraining, enjoyed the feeling,and was soon hooked tolong-distance running.
“Then I heard abouttriathlons and liked the multi-sport element,” says Oberoi. “Iwas not great at swimming, butI decided to learn so that Icould participate.”
In 2010, Oberoi signed up for thehalf-Ironman triathlon inSingapore. “As soon as I fin-
ished that race successfully, I wantedto challenge myself with a new goal,”he says.
That goal was the fullIronman, considered the
most difficult triathlon inthe world (see box). In
April 2011, he completedthe gruelling test in
South Africa.“I needed a whole year
of training because the dis-tances are really long. I wasamong 1,500 people whoattempted the race, and I fin-ished it in 15 hours. It wasexhilarating,” says Oberoi.
Since then, Oberoi has com-pleted a half-Ironman inMarch and plans to com-
plete another in Australialater this year. “Regular
training and a high level of activityhas become part of my lifestyle,”
he says.
RUNNING THE GAUNTLETAn ultra-marathon, whichis one form of endurancerunning, is any race longerthan 42 km, often goingbeyond 100 km.
Many endurance races arerun on challenging terrainsuch as snow-coveredmountains or deserts.
DURATION: Someultra-runs last more thanone day, with base campsset up at various stages sothat participants can restfor the night .
ENDURANCE SPORTSALSO INCLUDETHE DUATHLON: Acombination of long-dis-tance cycling and running,performed back-to-backTHE TRIATHLON: Acombination of cycling,swimming and running.
THE IRONMAN:Organised annually in arange of cities by theWorld TriathlonCorporation, this isconsidered the mostchallenging triathlon inthe world.IT INCLUDESSwimming for 3.86 kmBiking for 180 kmRunning a fullmarathon.
WHAT IS ENDURANCERACING?
MOHIT OBEROI, 44, BUSINESSMAN FROM DELHICompleted the Ironman triathlon in South Africa in 2011
‘Cycling, swimming, running for 15 hours was exhilarating’
Every year, after watchingfriends run in the Mumbaimarathon, Kripa Sagar would
resolve to participate. Last year, shefinally did — and found that onemarathon wasn’t enough.
So in January, Sagar joined aninformal online group for runningenthusiasts — Navi Mumbai Runners.Its 10 members would go running inthe neighbourhood twice a week. BySeptember, the number of membershad risen to 120. “There’s somethingvery liberating about running. Whenpeople saw us, they wanted to join in,”says Sagar, who helps run her family’selectronics business.
By March 2011, the runners werealso looking for something more chal-lenging, so the group began to organ-ise monthly, five-hour racesin Navi Mumbai, complete withrefreshments and medical aid.
Some members started cycling as aform of cross-training, and the runningturned into a duathlon. Sagar noworganises duathlons on the secondSunday of every month. “We’re get-ting calls from enthu-siasts from acrossMumbai too,” saysSagar. “Duathlonsoffer double theexcitement.”
PRIYA R, 48,homemaker from CoimbatoreWill participate in a 70-mileHimalayan race with her son Shivanth
KRIPA SAGAR, 45, BUSINESSWOMANOrganises monthly duathlons in Navi Mumbai
‘Duathlons offer double the excitement’
Priya Ramachandran was apassionate trekkerthrough her college days,
before marriage, children andfamily commitments slowedher down.
So, in February, when acousin told her about theWindchasers’ Sandakphu 70-mile Himalayan race, shedecided to check it out. “Ilogged onto their website anddecided I had to take theplunge,” says Ramachandran.
Her 24-year-old sonShivanth Krishna, a mechani-cal engineer, has decided torun with her.
“I injured my knee a fewmonths ago so I will walkbriskly while Shivanth willrun,” says Ramachandran. “Wehave been training in the hillsaround Coimbatore and serveas a motivation for each other.”
Since the duo was amongthe last to sign up for the race,the training schedule preparedfor them by the Windchasers ismore intense than usual.
“I’ve been running 10 km aday, besides exercising at thegym. I’ve already lost weight,”says Ramachandran. “But thebiggest incentive is theprospect of seeing the world’stallest mountains up close.”
‘Shivnath and I helpmotivate each other’
ADDRESS BOOK
ON THE MOVE First, there were the marathons.Now, urban Indians are testing their limits withendurance sports such as ultra-marathons, desertand mountain races, diathlons and triathlons
NAVI MUMBAI RUNNERS: Aninformal group that organisesduathlons and runs in NaviMumbai.
E-mail: [email protected]
RUNNER GIRLS INDIA: Open towomen across India.
E-mail: [email protected]
RUNNERS FOR LIFE: A Bangalore-based runners group open to pro-fessional and amateur runners.
E-mail: [email protected]
RUNNING AND LIVING: Organises30 runs a year in Gurgaon,besides marathons in Shimla,Kinnaur and other parts of India.
E-mail: [email protected]
THE WINDCHASERS: Anendurance racing company thatplans to organise a mountain raceand a desert race every year.
E-mail: [email protected]
“Marathons are thefirst step in running,but once people gethooked to them, theywant to try greaterdistances and moredemanding terrain.”RAM SETHU, softwareentrepreneur and co-founderof The Windchasers (see box)
SPOTLIGHT With their curly hair and wide eyes, the growing number of Chinese-Indian babies are in demand as models
■ Chindian Wei Wei Han Prabhakar,also known as Vihaan, at a photoshoot for a Chinese magazine.
( )‘There is a big market for foreign
baby products in China and forbetter-looking mixed blood Chinese
kids to advertise them. Sino-Americanand Sino-French children are the
first choice.’L I WA N G T I N G , Photographerof child models at Zhima Kaimen
studio, Beijing
PHOTO COURTESY: ODEL100.NET
Kershasp Pastakia,another Chindianmodel based inBeijing, in an ad fora children’s brand.
PHOTO COURTESY:MEHERNOSH PASTAKIA
