Despite having no training, or even a pair of running shoes, Ramabai Ranveer sprinted barefoot to victory in her first-ever race in August. The 47-year-old widow had entered a 3km (1.86-mile) community run with a single goal: winning the prize money to help pay for her two daughters' education. When she crossed the finish line first, Ramabai from Maharashtra in western India was delighted.
The 3,000-rupee ($31; £23) prize would help her buy books and study materials for her daughters. It would not come close to covering the cost of higher education in India, or even a course at the coaching centre where one of her daughters is preparing for a government recruitment examination. But videos of her barefoot run spread rapidly on social media and in newspapers, striking a nerve as India's education system faces unusual scrutiny.
"Is it glory or a source of shame for us as a society?" one social media user remarked. Soon, a woman who had never imagined becoming a runner was being held up as a symbol of something much bigger: the extraordinary lengths some Indian families go to in the hope that education will give their children a better life. For Ramabai, the decision to run was simple.
"My elder daughter came to me early in the morning and said, 'Mummy, I want to take part in a running race'," she told BBC News Marathi from her home in Beed district. "I asked her where it was and she said it was nearby. She told me that if she won the prize money, it would help with her education." Her younger daughter, Arati, lives in Nanded and was struggling to afford books.
"I couldn't send her money to buy books and because of that she didn't speak to me on the phone for eight days," Ramabai said. "So I decided I had to run and win the race." When her slippers kept slipping off, she removed them, gathered her sari and ran barefoot, pulling ahead to win the women's 30-60 category. Her elder daughter, Pooja, also won a prize after finishing second in her age group.
But she reserved her praise for her mother, describing her as courageous. Ramabai has been the family's sole provider since her husband died in 2012. "I did whatever work I could find," she said.
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