Tirupati trekkers set new world record

While the fad of trekking is predominantly concentrated in the northern parts of the country which can be seen only here and there in Southern parts, a local of Pilgrim City has made news by conducting a series of 'Sunday sunrise treks' for 155 weeks without any break entering into the record of sorts. The efforts were recognised by World Records India recently. The treks are still continuing every Sunday though the record considers the period from 9 April 2017 to 21 March 2020.

B Balasubramanyam, popularly known as Trekking Balu has remained prefixed to his name due to his love for adventure. He along with his brother BV Ramana founded Mosaic Adventure Commune (MAC) and used to frequent several important trekking pathways in Seshachalam since their childhood. He started the first trekking programme in the state almost two decades ago.

With an idea of making many enthusiasts including women and children to take part in trekking, Balu along with other organisers Prudhvi and Vinod started Sunday sunrise treks in 2017 and the first such trek was held on April 9, 2017.

Since then they were unstoppable till March 2020 after which Covid pandemic put a halt to their zeal which could be resumed only after Covid restrictions eased. Now, they are continuing their Sunday sunrise treks without a break duly following Covid guidelines and completed 180 weeks so far in which at least 8000 people took part.

"We have identified 30 different places around the 25 km radius of Tirupati and taking various aspects into consideration each week's trek will be decided. Sometimes we conduct a recce before fixing the programme though all the places are well familiar to us. As women and children including senior citizens are participating, such planning becomes necessary. We conducted a 'Night at forest' programme once which gave an enormous thrill to the participants. Occasionally one day treks also will be conducted from morning to evening", explained Balu.

The weekly treks commence at 6 am and end by 10 or 11 am depending on the location and they will post the details 4-5 days in advance with timings, gathering place and other precautions. For each trek the participants have to fill the registration forms and they will also indicate the difficulty level of that particular trek so that the enthusiasts may take a call.

Apart from conducting weekly treks, MAC organised photo exhibitions and published several books. It became instrumental in setting up 'Seshachala museum' on bio diversity at the 7th mile of Tirumala footpath by the state forest department. MAC also designed Jungle Book at Tirupati which gets good response from the visitors.

In recognition of its efforts they got awards from 'Wonder book of records', 'Miracles world record' and 'India book of records' along with the latest award from 'World record India'. The organisers have even approached the Guinness book of records and expect its representatives to examine all credentials soon.

"People gradually are moving away from nature with the changed lifestyle. It is important to get connected with nature and these trekking programmes help immensely in that direction. The time spent with nature gives us total relaxation and we can recharge ourselves", Balu maintained.