The final walk: End of a 35-year-old tradition

“For the last 35 years, I have been making an annual walk from Chennai to Tirupati at the end of each year, to give thanks that another year has gone by and given me even more to be thankful for,” Dr Chinny Krishna’s post began.

He went on to say, “Some years, I have walked alone with one of my two sons accompanying me part of the way. My parents, my wife Nanditha Krishna and my father-in-law, Mr A R Jagannathan, have walked part of the way with me with Nanditha and her father walking up the last 10 km of the seven hills many times.”

This year, he started what will be his last annual thanksgiving walk on Thursday. “Covering 150 km in four days, my car will be meeting me at least twice a day with food and water,” he narrated. “In the early days, it called for good planning. Today, thanks to mobile phones, I can call the car at any time! These walks have helped recharge my batteries each year and get the new year going with a bang,” said Krishna, who is also the Executive Chairman of Aspick Engineering P Ltd.

Among those accompanying him are Tyag and Kannan, the latter with whom he graduated from engineering college 53 years ago. “Tyag, who is only 47, intends to continue each year. I will post updates daily and would like to thank all the people who have walked with me since 1984,” the write-up also said.