Last November nVa brought to its readers, the story about the Indian Marathoners. One a nanogenarian, and another not yet five. The latter, Budhia Singh is in the news again. On May 03, he ran 65 km. (40 miles) and entered the Limca Book of Records.
The distance is phenomenal especially since he is just 4? years old. The NYT picks on the story
When Budhia Singh, who is believed to be about 4?, ran 65 kilometers on May 3, about 40 miles, he entered the Limca Book of Records in India and, more important, stirred a national frenzy.
Budhia Singh, about 4?, trying to run 43 miles. His coach says the boy is a natural, but the run sickened him. “Master Marathon!” newspapers declared, or, less elegantly, “Run in a Million!
and brings about a whole social angle to it, which I completely disagree with. I think its a typical western analysis of a situation without going into the nuances of eastern cultures.
But others were not so enchanted. Soon after Budhia was paraded on national television as a miracle infant and a role model for aspiring child sports stars, the country’s most powerful human rights body began an investigation into whether the spectacle constituted child abuse.
Read the article and make up your mind. And remember the name Budhia. We will hear it a lot in the years to come.
