
When Dharmesh had an important message to share, text on the back of a t-shirt just wouldn't cut it. Instead he took to the streets armed with a stroller carrying his 3-year-old daughter and run a half marathon to show that 'daughters are not a burden.'
When Dharmesh had an important message to share, text on the back of a t-shirt just wouldn’t cut it. Instead he took to the streets armed with a stroller carrying his 3-year-old daughter and run a half marathon to spread his important message to the world.
Super Dad Dharmesh Varma is running marathons whilst pushing his 3-year-old daughter in her stroller to spread a positive and important message; ‘daughters are not a burden.’
Dharmesh’s unconventional running journey began after he received an email from the organisers of the Jaipur marathon requesting him to run with a T-shirt that reads ‘betiyan bojh nahi hain (daughters are not a burden)’. He liked the idea, but was compelled to send a stronger message. Hence, he came up with the idea of running with his daughter in a stroller and pitched it to the organisers of the race. When they gave him the green light to go ahead with his idea, there was no stopping him.
Father of twin daughters, Aarna and Mishty, who are a little over 3 years old, Dharmesh is a tattoo artist based in Jaipur where his wife own a pet shop. Out of his two daughters, Aarna is the one who usually comes running with her father. “Mishty is slightly impatient. She won’t sit in the stroller through 21 km. I would have to stop run midway with Mishty,” he tells India.com.
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Dharmesh’s race landed him a spot in the India Book of Records in the category of ‘Half Marathon With Stroller’ to which he received an official commemorative certificate. Dharmesh so far has run two half marathons with his daughter Aarna in tow. However, it was his effort in the Jaipur half marathon that got him his record. He completed 21.097 km in 2 hours 12 minutes 27 seconds on February 5. Dharmesh is happy with his record and hopes that one day he will make it into the Guinness Book of World Records to share his message with the world.
In a male dominated society where daughters are often regarded as a liability it’s great to see men and fathers like Dharmesh using their passions to spread such an important message!