Salt Lake woke up to an unusual kind of buzz on Sunday morning. Instead of the usual quiet lanes, the area around EIILM’s DN 9 campus pulsed with runners warming up, stretching, laughing and lining up at the start.
‘Swapranah Trishnah – Run for Life: Quest for a Better Life’, a socially driven 5 km marathon organised by Towards Life Foundation, in association with EIILM - Kolkata, transformed the neighbourhood into a lively track for health, hope and togetherness.
The marathon drew participants from across age groups and backgrounds
Supported by the British Deputy High Commission, Kolkata, the marathon drew participants across age groups and backgrounds. Children jogged beside parents, young adults pushed for personal bests, and senior citizens walked steadily with quiet determination. The mix of generations running side by side reflected the event’s central idea of inclusive participation and shared responsibility for well-being.
The finish line area carried its own excitement. Actresses Ishaa Saha and Priyanka Sarkar cheered runners on, while Debasish Kumar, member of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly, Swapan Banerjee from the Bengal Olympic Association, football icons José Barreto, Subhashish Roy Chowdhury and Mehtab Hossain, and Sipra Banerjee, CEO of Towards Life Foundation, added sporting and civic weight to the gathering.
Actresses Ishaa Saha and Priyanka Sarkar; member of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly Debasish Kumar; Bengal Olympic Association’s Swapan Banerjee, football icons José Barreto, Subhashish Roy Chowdhury and Mehtab Hossain; and CEO of Towards Life Foundation, Sipra Banerjee, cheered on the runners
Addressing the crowd, Prof. Rama Prasad Banerjee, chairman and director of EIILM - Kolkata, summed up the spirit of the morning. “Well-being is not an individual pursuit. It is a shared journey. When people across generations come together with a common purpose, it strengthens community bonds and nurtures empathy, resilience and social harmony,” he said.
As runners collected medals and caught their breath, the sense of accomplishment went beyond completing five kilometres. The marathon left behind a simple message that Kolkata seemed ready to embrace: a healthier, kinder city begins when its people choose to move forward together.
