I had heard that Sujit had given the tests for agniveer and that is why I had not seem him for quite some time at the track.
This morning, perhaps because I started very early, and Ashwini only joined in later, I barely took notice of a tall runner who ran alongside Ashwini. Perhaps because we were all clad in jackets, skullcaps pulled low over our foreheads, looking straight ahead, thinking about the warm up, or trying not to think about the biting cold weather.
Only after a few rounds and because of a mishap involving earbuds did I see that it was him – Sujit. I asked him about his tests and he said he was waiting for the merit list – but I didn’t quite know what that meant.
He was awaiting to eventually go to Siliguri. His face shone and he looked older to me even as it is evident seeing Ashwini and Sujit run, how very young they are, their bodies as if still transitioning from boy to man.
Eventually, Sujit tapered off and Ashwini and I continued the time on feet, increasing pace and finishing many laps in Lane 9.
Writing about Running 