The nine Bengaluru trekkers who died due to harsh climatic conditions during their Sahastra Tal trek in Uttarakhand on June 4 had several interests apart from trekking and mountaineering.
Asha’s husband S Sudhakar, the joint secretary of KMA, was the programme coordinator for the fateful Sahastra Tal trek in Uttarakhand.
An experienced trekker, Wakekalam had explored multiple terrains in the north and south regions of India, including Karnataka, Satheesan said.
A resident of Hennur in Bengaluru, Wakekalam is survived by her husband and two sons.
A Google employee for the last four years, Hegde worked as a senior UX researcher at Flipkart and a principal UX researcher at Peepal Design.
The nine Bengaluru trekkers who died due to harsh climatic conditions during their Sahastra Tal trek in Uttarakhand on June 4 had several interests apart from trekking and mountaineering. From Covid-19 relief activities to sustainable waste management solutions, the trekkers who were associated with the Karnataka Mountaineering Association (KMA) were known in Bengaluru for various social impact initiatives.
Asha Sudhakar, 71: ‘An epitome of courage’
Asha Sudhakar was one of Karnataka’s oldest women trekkers and a member of the KMA for over three decades. Asha’s husband S Sudhakar, the joint secretary of KMA, was the programme coordinator for the fateful Sahastra Tal trek in Uttarakhand. Sudhakar survived the trek.
A former SBI deputy manager, Asha had participated in 12 climbing expeditions in the Himalayas, including Mt Black Peak, Mt Gangotri and Mt Shivling, and Mt Kilimanjaro in South Africa in 2020. She had also completed around 27 high-altitude trekking expeditions in Himachal Pradesh, Leh-Ladakh, Nepal, Bhutan, and Uttarakhand.
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“She is an epitome of courage, will power and hope who embraced a life of adventure,” mountaineer, trekker and ultrarunner Ritu Bhatia Gupta said in an Instagram post. “Asha maam was my mentor, my ‘go to’ person on mountaineering ever since I had the good fortune of trekking with her in Sikkim Goechala Trek in 2021,” she added.
Asha was conferred with the Dasara Award in 1986 by the Government of Karnataka for her feats in the field of mountaineering. She was also presented the Kalasha Award by the Inner Wheel Club of Bangalore West in 2006.
Anita Rangappa, 55: ‘Age was just a number’
Senior trekker Anita Rangappa was also an active member of the KMA. People in the trekking community recall Rangappa to be an avid trekker with vast experience. “Both Anita maam and Asha maam were avid trekkers. They have done many treks. Age was just a number for them. They were fit and fine, warm and kind people,” Ritu Bhatia Gupta said.
Venkatesh Prasad, 53: ‘Motivated others to trek’
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Venkatesh Prasad was synonymous with adventure, especially trekking. A computer science engineer from Siddaganga Institute of Technology, Tumkur, he worked as director-delivery assurance at Impelsys in Bengaluru. Prasad also headed the pan-India operations for Samarthanam Trust, an NGO working in the area of empowering people with disabilities.
“He was active in trekking for many years and definitely not an amateur. He not only went on solo treks he also used to motivate his friends and colleagues to trek. He has organised outbound treks and activities, including a recent Bannerghatta Park peripheral trek for his work colleagues,” his colleague Pravir Bagrodia recalled.
Prasad was an amiable person, a diligent planner and an avid walker with a target of walking 100 km every month this year. “His notable trait was attention to detail. He used to plan meticulously, including giving written instructions to the participants ahead of the trekking day,” said Bagrodia.
A trek to the North East was on his bucket list this year.
Sujata and Vinayak Mungurwadi, 52: Distributed oxygen cylinders during Covid
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Sujata and Vinayak Mungurwadi, who succumbed to the blizzard on June 4, ironically shared the same birth date, October 3. Alumni of BVB College of Engineering and Technology, Hubballi, they were trustees of the Uttara Karnataka Sneha Loka (UKSL) that brings together people from North Karnataka on an annual basis. While Sujata hailed from Gadag, Vinayak hailed from Hubballi.
According to their friends from UKSL, Sujata and Vinayak were a “lively couple” who were self-employed. The couple had been mountaineering for over 10 years but had only ventured into high-altitude treks, including the Himalayas, recently. Sujata was the director of an enterprise and Vinayak, who had over 27 years of experience in the IT and software industry, had founded a startup Commverse.
Their friends from UKSL recalled that Sujata and Vinayak were active in distributing oxygen cylinders and conducting counselling sessions during the Covid-19 pandemic. Just a few weeks back, Sujata reportedly distributed sewing machines to the poor.
Padmanabha Krishnamurthy, 50: A CA attached to his hometown Kumbashi
Padmanabha Krishnamurthy originally hailed from Kumbashi in Udupi district’s Kundapura taluk. He is survived by his wife, son and daughter. Krishnamurthy pursued his education in Bengaluru. A chartered accountant, the private company he was employed with sent him to the US where he became a certified public accountant. Upon returning, he continued to work with the same company in Bengaluru. Krishnamurthy had a deep attachment to Kumbashi, his native place, and contributed to the development of the Kumbashi Sri Harihara Temple. He also offered a bronze facial cover to Maladi Sri Nandikeshwara Daiva near Tekkatte. He also had plans to hold a big programme in his village in memory of his father in December 2024.
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Also read | Bodies of 9 Karnataka trekkers who died in Uttarakhand reach Bengaluru
Chitra Praneeth, 48: A pioneer in sustainable development
Chitra Praneeth is an active mountaineer and a pioneer in sustainable development. She was instrumental in setting up the HSR Layout Citizens’ Forum which actively engages in sustainable practices (HSR Layout’s waste management solution is recognized as the best model in Bengaluru). She has trained corporates, individuals, and residents in waste segregation, vermicomposting, and growing your food, among other sustainable waste management practices. She also actively championed sustainable menstruation.
Sindhu Wakekalam (44): A courageous and experienced trekker
Sindhu Wakekalam is originally from Palakkad but most of her upbringing was in Bengaluru. According to her cousin Satheesan, Wakekalam, a computer science engineer from Bengaluru, had been a mountaineer and a trekker for the last eight to nine years. An experienced trekker, Wakekalam had explored multiple terrains in the north and south regions of India, including Karnataka, Satheesan said. She specialised in local treks and adventure sports, he added. She was courageous, smart and known to be a good manager, he said. A resident of Hennur in Bengaluru, Wakekalam is survived by her husband and two sons.
Padmini Hegde, 34: One of the youngest victims
One of the youngest in the trekking group that went to Sahastra Tal, Padmini Hegde worked with Google in Bengaluru as a user experience (UX) researcher. A Google employee for the last four years, Hegde worked as a senior UX researcher at Flipkart and a principal UX researcher at Peepal Design. A BSc graduate from Christ University, she was also associated with the Dhirubhai Ambani Institute of Information and Communication Technology to undertake ‘The Meghalaya Project’ which focused on how the state used different types of sustainable design and traditional knowledge that defined their cultural identity.
