Mysore/Mysuru: Mysore Open Forum has organised a talk on Fit@50+Women’s Trans Himalayan Expedition-2022 by M.P. Shamala, Mountaineer and Marathon Runner, at 10.30 am on Feb. 11 (Saturday) at Kalpa Kshetra Auditorium in Vijayanagar 4th Stage here.

Profile: M.P. Shamala has been a journalist, a Journalism teacher  and a corporate professional. After her Master’s (MA)in Journalism and Communication from Mysore University, she worked in various newspapers. She was also the Head, Department of Journalism in Mount Carmel College, Bengaluru.

As a Fulbright Scholar she did MS in Communication Technology from Syracuse University, New York. Later she moved to the Corporate Communications team of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Mumbai, where she served for over 2 decades including stints at the Bombay House, the headquarters of the Tatas and retired from TCS as a Senior General Manager in 2019.

She is a fitness enthusiast and her passions include Marathons besides mountaineering. So far, she has completed 25 half marathons including the gruelling Ladakh high altitude run. She has also done a few ultra-marathons of 35, 55 and 65 kms.

It will be a first-person visual account of the journey of “Fit @50+ Trans Himalayan Women’s Expedition,” a month-long Himalayan Traverse from East of the Himalaya – Pang Sau Pass (Myanmar and India border) near Arunachal Pradesh to Drass Kargil the western Himalayan range including East to West of Nepal covering over a distance 4,900 km, scaling 37 Passes in 141 days. The expedition was led by the Legendary Mountaineer, Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan Bachendri Pal, the first Indian woman to summit Everest, as part of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav.

The expedition started from Pangsau Pass (Indo-Myanmar border), traversed through Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, West Bengal, Sikkim, Nepal (from East to West), Kumaon-Gharwal, Himachal, Spiti, Leh-Ladakh and concluded at Dras sector, Kargil.

The objective of this expedition was to raise awareness about health and fitness among senior citizens and to set an example for women that it is possible to stay fit & healthy and can dream big at any age. The participants of this 11-member expedition from across India were in the age group of 50s and 60s from various backgrounds such as retired corporate professionals, retired army person, housewives, retired locomotive driver, grandmothers, and working women too. The youngest member was 54 years old, the oldest member being 68 years.

The talk is open to all. Interested may call Mob: 94498-19536.