Her family and friends were excited about her participation in the cultural extravaganza of the London Olympics, but least did they expect Madhura Nagendra to get embroiled in the controversy for having walked as the “mystery woman in blue trousers and red shirt” with the Indian contingent during the inaugural ceremony.
In fact, her friends in Bangalore, who watched the inaugural show on television, instantly recognised her walking next to the Indian flag-bearer Sushil Kumar. “We knew she had been selected for the cultural programme after an audition. She had also posted the volunteer Olympic pass that was issued to her on facebook a few days ago, but [we] did not expect to see her with the contingent,” said an employee of Keane Technologies here where Ms. Madhura briefly worked as the Technical Communicator.
The 27-year-old Madhura, who has been identified as “Madhura Honey,” has been in London for the last one-and-half years since she was pursuing Masters in Business Administration from one of the business schools.
“She was a fun-loving person and was very excited for having been selected to perform in Olympics. Madhura had also shared her happiness on the facebook where she felt it was once in a lifetime opportunity,” her former colleague said.
A trained Bharatanatyam dancer, Ms. Madhura worked as a television anchor before moving into technical writing.
Her father, K.L. Nagendra is a leather garment businessman, who lives in Banashankari 2nd Stage.
“We knew she would perform in a cultural programme, but do not why or how she managed to join the contingent. In fact when I spoke to her father Mr. Nagendra, he was also perplexed as to how this could have happened,” said a long-time friend of the family, adding that she may joined the contingent out of sheer excitement.
