Book Reviews: The Day I Became a Runner

Through ‘lens of sport’ a unique story of ‘women’s history’ unfolds, both everyday and exceptional

Some requirements — safe public spaces, well-established training programmes, and a culture which encourages women to occupy space in our streets and in our parks

What the women runners reveal about Indian society

In addressing the gender inequality plaguing Indian sport, this book by Sohini Chattopadhyay does not mince any words

She can. And Sohini Chattopadhyay’s ’The Day I Became a Runner’ is a gigantic insistence of the fact that patriarchy can be an anecdote at best, and not the whole story for her.

Sohini Chattopadhyay’s book is eminently readable and emotionally charged account of a nation just learning to view women as sportspersons.

पढ़ते हुए लगा कि मैं क्यों पढ़ रहा हूँ , दौड़ क्यों नहीं रहा हूँ ? किताब ऐसा असर करती है कि आप पढ़ने से पहले दौड़ना चाहते हैं और पढ़ते हुए उन तमाम अनुभवों के साथ दौड़ने लगते हैं जो एक लड़की दौड़ते हुए हासिल करती है। अच्छा और बुरा दोनों। शोहिनी चट्टोपाध्याय की यह किताब अद्भुत है।

A journalist’s desire to reclaim public spaces for women, sets her on a quest to follow female athletes and their tryst with a young nation

Women runners in India have faced obstacles in a gendered society. Sohini Chattopadhyay’s book, ‘The Day I Became a Runner’, profiles inspiring women, such as Mary D’Souza and Kamaljit Sandhu, who have fought for a place in the hall of fame. The book also examines the stories of those who have faced humiliation, such as Santhi Soundarajan and Pinky Pramanik. Chattopadhyay’s book is an educative exercise and an editorial on the cultural and societal mores of women in India.

A girl running around like a boy,’ the neighbors used to say of Indian middle-distance runner Pinki Pramanik while she was growing up in the riverside village o

Sohini Chattopadhyay’s book, The Day I Became a Runner, weaves the story of modern India through the lives of women runners. It highlights the accomplishments of eight women runners and how their achievements helped move the needle of women’s empowerment in India. It captures the struggles of Mary D’Souza, Kamaljit Sandhu, PT Usha, Santhi Soundarajan, Pinki Pramanik, Dutee Chand, Lalita Babar and Ila Mitra, and the role of their coaches in their success. It also highlights the ‘Sunrise Project’ which trains young girls from the poorest regions of Marathwada to become professional athletes. A unique endeavor, it is a powerful reminder of how these women runners made it possible for girls to dream big.

Littered with interesting anecdotes and personal experiences, the book tracks stars from the current generation to yesteryears

Sohini Chattopadhyay’s ‘The Day I Became a Runner’ poses crucial questions about the unequal treatment meted out to female athletes in a patriarchal society

Sohini Chattopadhyay’s book brings India’s top women athletes to the forefront, providing them with a shared space in history, so that future female athletes won’t have to struggle for recognition

‘One, I began running as a way of coping with grief. And once that haze of grief started to lift, I began to notice how people stared at me.’

The author’s striking ability to put herself in the story of these remarkable athletes and to seamlessly juxtapose the personal and the universal gives the reader a layered and contextual lens.

Littered with interesting anecdotes and personal experiences, the book tracks stars from the current generation to yesteryears

The author of ‘The Day I Became a Runner’ argues that women who run “pose a direct challenge to patriarchy” as running is a solitary activity conducted in the public sphere

I bumped into Sohini Chattopadhyay, author of The Day I Became a Runner, on the dance floor at the Goa Arts and Literature Festival (GALF) in February 2024. Between sips of our drinks, our best dan…

Through her experiences as a newbie runner, the author makes very valid points about how even urban, educated women are excluded from public spaces.

सोहिनी यांनी या सर्व धावपटूंच्या कथा आणि व्यथा स्वत:च्या व्यायामासाठी धावण्याच्या प्रवासाशी जोडल्या आहेत.

पत्रकार सोहिनी चट्टोपाध्याय ने इन महिला धावकों के संघर्ष को एक किताब में दर्ज़ किया है। किताब का नाम है द डे आई बिकम ए रनरः ए वूमेन हिस्ट्री ऑफ इंडिया थ्रू द लेंस ऑफ स्पोर्ट। इस किताब में 1940 के दशक से लेकर मौजूदा समय तक की भारतीय महिला धावकों की कहानी को दर्ज किया गया है।

Even while running is a solitary sport, requiring not much beyond yourself and a path to tread, as a woman runner, you are always in the unenviable company of curious walkers. And so the author’s concerns as a hobbyist runner are funny, yet familiar. ‘The shape of my sweating—does it frame my bra line too obviously?’, she asks. ‘Do my breasts bounce offensively? Is my presence provocative?’