Ex-Cop Leaves Behind Stroke, Paralysis, Cancer and Heart Attack To Run 50K Kilometres
Hyderabad: Being told he would not be able to walk on his own after suffering a brain stroke and paralysis in the right side of his body in 2000, 75-year-old Harihar Singh is a battle-hard veteran who not only made a recovery but also recently completed 50,000 kilometres of running.
“When I was on duty as a traffic circle inspector on Tank Bund Road at 3 am, I got a brain stroke, right-side paralysis and I was unable to speak. I was in ICU for 11 days and doctors said I had to crawl throughout my life. After getting discharged, I needed the support of two person for several months to walk. This shattered my spirit,” he said.
A retired additional deputy commissioner of police in 2007, fate was unkind to him. Singh, in 2003, was diagnosed with stomach cancer, and 80 per cent of his stomach had to be removed. A year later, he suffered a heart attack, needing five stents after being diagnosed with three main blockages and two small ones. He also underwent surgery to have a bladder stone removed, but came back fighting strong.
Singh is now the only man on record to simultaneously undertake ‘kapalbhati (fast-paced breathing exercise)’ while jogging, for five kilometres.
“Four months after the paralytic attack, I started walking on sand. Wherever I used to find sand, even at a construction site, I used to go and walk in it,” Singh said, of his perseverance to regain total balance.
After retiring from the force, Singh singularly focused on his fitness as his primary priority. “I used to jog 10 kilometres every day, without missing even a day. This inspired me to take part in marathons. My first marathon was in 2008, the Hyderabad 10K run. From then on, I started taking part in any marathon organised in the city,” he said.
Singh’s day starts at 3.30 am, with yoga followed by jogging. He then consumes turmeric milk with eggs and dry fruits. He said that physical exercise is a must for all.
Living with his wife in the city, Singh’s forefathers settled in Hyderabad from Ambala in Punjab. He is fluent in five languages, English, Hindi, Punjabi, Telugu and Urdu.
He currently serves not only as an inspiration to those seeking to live a healthy life, but also as an answer to a question in the Telangana Public Service Commission exam, with the ‘Sardar Harihar Singh vs State of AP’ the judgment in a 1999 case, wherein Hyderabad was held to be an integral part of the Sixth Zone, after he challenged the then TD government in the High Court.
In Singh’s police career, the case that garnered the most attention was the 1978 Rameeza Bee rape case, the fallout of which sparked riots and the city was placed under curfew. Singh was the first person to open fire against the mob, with a judicial inquiry later accepting his action.
He says that the current traffic situation is among the toughest jobs in the city.
“The traffic issue started from 2000, when I was as Tank Bund… then, agitation rallies were allowed up to Telugu Talli statue, making it a stressful job. We use to be on roads to control the traffic situation amid harsh conditions,” he said.
