When Run InSync 2.0, said to be India’s largest inclusive run, takes place at Pune University on February 14, Divyanshu Ganatra will be listening to the participants rather than joining them at the starting line.
“I will be going crazy organising the event for which 8,000 people have signed up. I’m already going nuts,” says the clinical psychologist and techie, who is also India’s first blind hobby pilot.
Run InSync 2.0 is an initiative of Adventures Beyond Barriers Foundation (ABBF), which Ganatra has founded, with a mission to make the world an equal place for people of all abilities through outdoor sports activities.
It is natural that Ganatra would choose sports as the means to bring people together. Ganatra, like many in Pune, loved the outdoors.
“When I went blind, all this was taken away from me. I was 19. I loved climbing mountains and cycling. The cycle was essentially stitched to me and, suddenly, I couldn’t even enter a swimming pool. I couldn’t go for a hike because people were like ‘how can you do that?’” he says.
For a long time, he had to relearn things and get back on his feet. “I had to, first, ensure that I was stable, but the love for sports never went away. Once I started getting back to it, there was one question that always arose — why do you climb mountains? I would answer, ‘You climb mountains because they exist’. But, you also climb mountains to inspire others,” says Ganatra.
His confidence, resilience and ability to take risks came from the outdoors. “I experience freedom and am able to navigate the world and adapt to disability. It has come from the outdoors and adventure. For me, it was a no-brainer. Why not inspire someone else to experience that joy and the positive energy that comes with it?” he says.
ABBF, founded in 2014, does a lot of sports, from trekking and hiking to high altitude climbing which it introduced for people with and without disability. “We started tandem cycling for the blind in this country, scuba diving for people with disabilities, including paraplegics and quadriplegics,” he says.
In a city of marathons, Run InSync 2.0 is unique because every race includes every kind of runner — and even walkers, strollers, wanderers – from wheelchair users, to sighted guides to athletes and newcomers. There are 2,000 people with disabilities participating in the run alongside other participants.
“The biggest challenge for people with special ability is the attitude and barriers that we face in society. It’s not that people are evil, it’s just that people don’t know that folks with disabilities exist. If you don’t even know we exist, then you don’t know what it’s like. We look like aliens to you, there’s awkwardness when we meet. For me, sport offered a great way to unite people,” he says.
It appears that society was waiting for such a platform. One company, whose MD ran with them, went back and committed to 3 per cent of his workforce being persons with disability. Another national company committed to 5 per cent. “There are so many companies that, simply out of this experience, have opened their doors and are looking at products for persons with disability,” he says.
Run InSync 2.0 will have thousands of people from the corporate world running. “Among the participants are 23 corporate houses and 68 NGOs as well as people from different industries, such as education, manufacturing and technology,” says Ganatra.
He adds that participation matters as much as representation. “I live by myself. If my washing machine wasn’t accessible, how would I do my laundry? If a food delivery app was not accessible, how would I order my food? Does my handicap come from the fact that the app is inaccessible or that I’m blind? Which one? I feel that my handicap comes because your app is not accessible. That is what we hope to change,” he says. When people run together, every step goes beyond the finishing line.
Run InSync 2.0 is an initiative of Adventures Beyond Barriers Foundation (ABBF), which Divyanshu Ganatra has founded, with a mission to make the world an equal place for people of all abilities through outdoor sports activities. (Source: https://divyanshuganatra.com) 
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