Yesterday, I got the opportunity to run 10 km in the Tata Mumbai Marathon 2026. One condition of this run was to run alongside a differently abled partner from ABBF. I got the chance to run with a young man named Salman.
Salman is a 23-year-old visually impaired youth. He is from a village in Ahmednagar (now Ahilyanagar) and is pursuing an M.Com in Mumbai.
We met at Azad Maidan, Mumbai, at Adventures Beyond Barriers Foundation (ABBF) tent in the morning. It was ABBF that brought us together and provided the passes, enabling us to participate for a meaningful cause. The race began, and I didn't even realize when the 10 km were completed. Along the way, I was holding his hand and guiding him in the run, but the truth is that he taught me the real lesson of life's race.
Whenever I thought of getting tired and stopping, his energy and enthusiasm kept me moving forward. I had good sports shoes on my feet, while he was wearing simple sneakers, torn inside, that was hurting him from inside and causing him pain, yet he never stopped.
Salman shared that his eyesight was perfectly fine in childhood, but it gradually started fading during his primary school days. According to doctors, he could lose his vision completely by the age of 35, but his spirit remains undiminished.
To go to college daily, he has to change two buses and two local trains. He says:
"If I sit at home, my difficulties will only increase. Education is my eyesight through which I can see ( experience) the world."
During the run, he was pushed many times, but he remained silent. Only once he shared with pain:
"Many people, despite being perfectly healthy, get disability certificates made by paying money, secure jobs, and snatch away our rights."
He couldn't see me, but the sparkle in his eyes was no less than the Koh-I-Noor diamond—especially when he said:
"If I get a good job, my parents will find peace. I am not studying for myself, but for my parents."
Salman has played football and goalball at the national level, and cricket and chess at the state level with teams of differently abled athletes. Besides this, he also played a small role in the film Shrikant—starring Rajkummar Rao—which is based on disability.
The race ended. I thought I was helping Salman, but in reality, Salman taught me how to run in life.
He, who had nothing, opened the eyes of me—who has everything.
No more complaints now!!!
Just thank you, Salman.
