At a time when the young and middle-aged are hitting gymnasiums only to shed the extra baggage or gain ideal physique, two senior citizens of the city are trekking up the hillocks in and around the city to prove their mettle.
Not to let their energy go waste, M. Sambasiva Rao and P. Seshu Babu, both in their 65th year, kick-started a mission to scale all the hillocks in the vicinity of the city in the shortest duration possible.
Recently, they reached the peak of the Moghalrajpuram hill in less than 10 minutes climbing hundreds of steps and walking a rough tract.
“We have lost the way, otherwise we could have done this in about seven minutes,” said Mr. Sambasiva Rao.
Mr. Rao, a retired private employee living in J.D. Nagar, is an athlete and capable of running the 400-metre race even now. Mr. Seshu Babu lives close by in Ayodhya Nagar.
They choose a hillock every week-end and scale it with ease during evening time. They call it an evening walk. “We recently climbed the Tirumala hill in one-and-a-half hours and then thought of setting on this mission of climbing all the hills in the city in the least possible duration and tell people the advantage of staying fit and healthy,” they said. Mr. Seshu Babu, a retired officer of Central Bank of India, though not an athlete, joined Mr. Rao.
“We have so far climbed Indrakeeladri, Durga Devi temple in Moghalrajpuram, and Moghalrajpuram hill. We took not more than 15 minutes to complete each one. We will soon explore Sitanagaram and other hills and then set an official record. Probably, we would be the only persons to visit all the hill tops in the city known for hillocks,” Mr. Rao said.
“The younger generation needs to know the value of staying fit. Unfortunately, they are now unable to do so. We are healthy because of our lifestyle and habits. We would like to send a message to the youth by making our effort known,” Mr. Seshu Babu said.
