2023-July-13
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Breaking Barriers by Buddying Up
BY RAVISHANKAR RAO · DIRECTOR GLOBAL BUSINESS OPERATIONS · INDIA
3 MINUTE READ · 4 MINUTE LISTEN
After the privilege of hosting Divyanshu Ganatra — India’s first blind solo pilot — at Cisco India’s Beyond Horizon Series in 2020, it was amazing to partner with him again.
This time, it was through his Adventures Beyond Borders Foundation (ABBF) for an Inclusion Run at the Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) World 10K, one of India’s most well-known running events. During this run, leaders from different organizations were paired with a person with a disability to complete the 10K run together.
It was held in Bangalore on May 21, 2023, and approximately 30,000 runners participated.
More than 30 employees participated from Cisco, including two employees with disabilities.
Apart from me, four senior leaders partook: VP CX Centers APJC Pallavi Arora, Senior Director Catalyst Engineering Sunil Panjwani, Director Catalyst Engineering Rishikesh Basu, and Director Collaboration Engineering Sandeep KS.
On the day of the event, we reached the venue early to be given a quick overview of the general rules for when running with our partners who have disabilities: To over-communicate by providing verbal cues or describing what we see, to not make any assumptions, and to clarify what the person with a disability prefers.
For instance, if they would prefer being tethered with an elastic band or untethered by holding an elbow.
With these formalities completed, soon, it was time for the run. We were given some time to orient ourselves with our partners.
I was paired with Jayesh Chandanshive, a student with a visual impairment, who surprised me over the course of our run.
For example, he could mentally calculate when he had traversed a kilometer and calibrated his speed just by feeling the type of surface he was on, such as tar versus concrete.
In Pallavi’s words, “The TCS 10K Inclusion Run was an incredible and enriching experience for me to build a personal connection with my partner.”
“I have run more than 10 editions of TCS World 10K, with times less than 50 minutes,” shares Rishikesh.
“But this edition was a different experience. To understand my partner Umair, to be part of his happiness and excitement, and successfully complete the run. The whole experience with ABBF was very inspiring and filled with happiness.”
Sunil adds, “The overall experience was fantastic. Just participating in the event exposed the biases we carry. It was an experience that will help me be aware of our biases and respond in an appropriate manner.”
Sandeep also shares, “ABBF helps people with disabilities to dream big and be a part of many activities — be it flying, tandem cycling in the mountains, or rafting.”
“Being a part of this Inclusion Run gave me the opportunity to have a better perspective of their challenges and allowed me to have a meaningful conversation with my partner.”
May 21, 2023 will always hold a special place in each of our hearts. It was a deeply rewarding experience that taught us more about ourselves and helped us to confront our unconscious biases.
We also connected with the people we ran with, underscored the importance of trust and patience, and learned to think and act more inclusively.
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