Retirement = Reset, Reinvent, Rebirth

 

10K- Navy Mumbai Heritage Run -2022

 

The end of our careers is often thought of as the end of the road. That productivity is no longer within our reach. That it's time to take off our dancing shoes and turn in our work gear. Yes, many people could be the kind who are completely lost without the routine they were used to for decades. They could be craving quietude and no new goals. But, every once in a while, we meet someone who seems to have just started his or her journey to become a new individual. Let's meet one such exceptional individual.

 

I present to you, Ladies and Gentlemen, the charming and youthful Uma Ramakrishnan, artist and senior runner. Senior because she started running after she turned 64. Always having lived an active lifestyle in her advertising job, she walked to work often. These 6km or 12km walks along with the badminton and swimming she did in her younger years along with around 6 years of Hatha Yoga in her thirties seemed to have remained latent in her system. They remained like the roots of some plants and trees that take form and spring out from the earth when the conditions are right. In the same way, her habit of cultivating and investing time into her skill of painting was built during those working years on the weekends when she finally didn't have a busy office schedule to cater to. 

 

When Uma retired at 60 nearly 10 years ago, she started travelling overseas to visit her siblings. During one of her visits to Washington, she found herself invited to speak about her art and to present her large size paintings to the audience. She learned that day how to speak about her art and to describe in words her vision that was represented in each of her paintings. 

 

DC Indian Embassy 

Another family visit got her an invitation to exhibit at the Consulate General of India, Toronto. Her time in Canada resulted in her having two other exhibitions. One, an initiative of The City of Toronto for which her entry was selected and the other at Art Hub in downtown Toronto. Could it be that the small flame that started in the US when she dared to start talking about her art had crossed the border?

 

Canada- Consulate General of India

Why stop the energy when the going's good? She found herself next at the Nehru Centre, London, presenting her art. The tiny flame of what was once just a hobby was now a fire and created something for Uma that she had never expected or projected. Was this period a Reset for her?

 

UK Nehru Centre 

The cynics amongst us could think that okay so now that promoting her Art had taken on a huge role in her life, she had this big thing to focus on and develop. That was true, but when she finally came back to Mumbai in 2019, Uma realised that she had put on nearly 17 kgs since her retirement. Her focus had changed and her change in routine had allowed for all that weight to creep in. She used an app called HealthifyMe to work on her diet and walking daily along with the diet helped her to get all the weight off.

 

During those days of walking, the people she met on her rounds started noticing and remarking that she walked really fast. They needed to nearly jog to keep up with her. Noticing this Uma just started running. She walked and ran and was noticed by others and one of them introduced her to strength and conditioning trainers Ruby and Yogesh Kanchagar who were training one day of the week at the Runners Academy of Kandivali besides their own set-up Yofitt, which Ruby manages. Uma soon found herself busy every alternate day at the Runners Academy training to run.

 

The Runners Academy is an organisation founded by Kaushik Panchal and Bindu Panchal. Within the first few months of losing weight, starting to walk and run regularly, Uma realised that running 10kms was actually no big deal. Emboldened, she registered herself for the January 2020 Tata Mumbai Marathon. She could feel the scepticism from those who found this move very rapid. Maybe her thirst for discovery was too much for some. However, Uma was sure she would complete the run easily. On D Day, she woke up early to take the special local train that was dedicated to getting the Tata Mumbai Marathoners to their starting block. She woke up so early that she had to walk to the railway station at an unearthly hour. She remembers trying to avoid any packs of stray dogs that form a part of the Mumbai-street night life. Once the race started, she soaked in the experience of that first official run like a child wanting to savour everything. Her senses were alive taking it all in. Her body was trained for what was happening and though she was committed to give it her best, her happiness had multiplied manifold especially now that she had an insider’s view of the event.  She was curious about the food offered on the way and stopped and tried some. She felt like she was flying when she saw the energy of the supporters and revelled in the ambiance of this huge ‘first’ in her life. Running along with so many people gave her a high she had never felt before. She was now addicted. Like most marathoners, she now felt like anything was in her reach and promised herself that she’d continue to participate in these kinds of events.

TATA Mumbai Marathon 2020 -10K

Unfortunately, her victory was dampened by the pandemic that hit us shortly after this race. Runners Academy however, continued their training sessions online and Uma continued to run in online races.

Here are several of the pictures of different races that Uma has participated in. The pinnacle of her success was the 2023 Tata Mumbai Marathon where she completed a distance of 21kms - half marathon. On this day having completed such a huge distance, Uma ecstatically exclaimed « Running is bliss ».

TATA Mumbai Marathon 2023- 21K. Escorted by Strength & Conditioning coaches Ruby & Yogesh Kanchgar

10K- Navy Mumbai Heritage Run -2022

10K GM Half Marathon- Goregaon Sports Club - With Runners Academy Coaches Kaushik Panchal & Bindu Panchal 

10K GM Half Marathon - Goregaon Sports Club- Running is Bliss

Jio Run Bandra 2022 - Medal received

Jio Run Bandra 2022 - Bib Collection 

The photos below are of when Uma ran the 10K RAPL - (Runnerss Academy Premier League - 2020) In house Sports Day. The team she was in was called the Black Panthers & they won. She ran the longest distance for the team, the others sprinted for the shorter distances and overal they made it in the best time.

Collection of her medals

This December Uma turns 70 and she still stays active by walking and exercising regularly. On the art scene, she is now working on abstract paintings. She learnt about this kind of painting and took up training only recently. Learning to suddenly have to create art with none of her usual shapes and forms was extremely challenging. Her adaptability and years of accepting change with an open mind helped her persevere and not give up. She had her first Solo Abstract Show in February 2024, at the Army Navy Building, Kala Ghoda, Mumbai, INDIA. Uma says she follows Vedanta philosophy and her evolution in art can be paralleled to it, from form to formless. She has definitely Reinvented herself.

Time - 10

Radiance-03

Different Strokes - 03 - Sold

Home Studio

It is clear that Uma is evidently on the right track. Visibly at least a decade younger than her biological age, one could attribute this to the way she spent the last decade. A true Rebirth.

Matheran Hike 2021

I think all of us have what it takes to experience all these moments in our lives. Stop for a moment and try to find yours.

Uma's website can be found hereunder: Website, FB & Insta Links added

www.umaramakrishnan.com

FB Page: Artist Uma Ramakrishnan - https://www.facebook.com/share/15CRtiHcAP/

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/umaramakrishnan?igsh=MTFhcG93bXRtZDRpZw==

Like what you read? Read about another inspirational person featured on my blog here

https://lekhawrites.blogspot.com/2025/04/inspirational-senior-mr-surendra.html

and 

https://lekhawrites.blogspot.com/2025/05/the-go-getter-mr-ramachandran.html