In unathletic India, we have to look upto a 4 year old marathoner

4 yr old runs 65km. Exploitation and abuse? Budia Singh, a child born in the slums and estimated to be 4 years old, has entered India's Limca Book of Records after running 65km (40 miles) and being deemed the world's 'youngest marathoner'. "Budhia's miserable background as a slum child who was sold by his destitute mother as a toddler for 800 rupees, or $18" had served to enhance his appeal and in typical bandwagon fashion had local politicians falling "over themselves to be photographed next to the child."

However, after his accomplishment and being lauded as a miraculous child and role mole model, "the country's most powerful human rights body launched an investigation into whether the spectacle constituted child abuse."

This story has many twists and turns and is interesting on many levels:

1. As a runner, I can say with no uncertainty that running 40 miles, even for an adult, is not healthy. For a child who is nearly 4 and still developing, this type of exertion is definitely not beneficial. So as to the question of whether this is injurious/abuse, the answer seems to be yes, and his coach should be stopped from doing further damage to the child.

2. Politicians were besides themselves initially trying to personally benefit from Budhia's accomplishments. These same politicians, most of whom drive by poor slum kids everyday with little regard, were quick to jump on the bandwagon when they thought it might make them look good. This type of exploitative behavior is commonplace amongst politicians in general and Indian politicians seem to have taken this to the next level but utilizing/exploiting a child for these purposes is a seemingly low even for this group. And after the human rights uproar, these same politicians have either fallen silent or changed their stances 180 degrees.

3. Budhia's case as stated seems to indicate abuse and exploitation by his coach and politicians, but ironically, it seems that his accomplishments as "India's Forrest Gump" do afford him an opportunity to thrive (albeit his coach and others will probably thrive more and this opportunity would come at a perhaps severe cost to his health) more than a typical slum kid would. A typical slum kid faces little chance of being successful while also facing daunting human rights and societal impediments which go unnoticed by the millions on a daily basis.

4. As the article that appears in the NY Times says, "The case says much about India's thirst for athletic heroes. Despite its population of 1.3 billion, India won just one silver medal in the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, and beyond cricket, its sporting achievements are limited."

5. Does anyone care about the Limca Book of Records?

Indian Airport Saga II

Some tips, tricks and tidbits. So I just flew back from Delhi to NYC and had another unique experience. Here are the highlights:

1. Continental vs AirFrance - I flew on the direct Continental flight from Delhi to Newark in business class. Continental's 14 hour direct service beats any 1-stop trip you can imagine. Additionally, the Continental staff (with the exception of one stuffy old white woman) was pleasant, helpful and not attitude impaired unlike the Air France staff. The business class seats were not that comfortable I must admit relative to Air France, but not a deal killer.
2. Scam to skip Delhi Airport Madness - So going for the earlier Continental flight does allow you to circumvent some of the madness associated with the later flights out of India. But it's still crazy and chaotic. And so this is where I saw a few industrious and ethically challenged teenagers come with faked injuries (casts/crutches) so they could get wheelchairs and jump right to the front of the security check line as well as got them priority entrance onto the place. This highly brilliant scheme probably saved them 30-45 minutes of waiting time and hassle. The disposal of their props once on the plane did raise some eyebrows, but I do have to applaud their ingenuity.
3. Indians at airport still don't know how to behave - I still have not figured out the rush that Indian people are in to get on and off the plane. There seems to be some perception that there will not be enough seats on the plane for everyone or that getting off first somehow will get your luggage out sooner or that there is a prize for 1st on or off the plane. None of these are true and your non-deodorant wearing body pressed up against mine is not pleasant so stop f'in pushing.