Pushpa Prakash was 65 when she laced up her trekking sneakers for the very first time.
It wasn’t a protracted or well-known path — only a quick one she took together with her daughter. However one thing shifted that day. The air was crisp, her tempo regular, and for the primary time in years, she felt a form of freedom she hadn’t identified she was lacking.
“I’m somebody who would by no means let any alternative slip from my hand,” the Bengaluru resident says.
That intuition to embrace the unknown, to say sure, formed what got here subsequent.
Within the three years since, Pushpa — now 68 — has gone on 49 treks throughout India, together with seven within the Himalayas. She’s additionally skydived in New Zealand, scuba-dived on the Nice Barrier Reef, taken the best bungee bounce in South Africa, and swung over gorges in Zimbabwe and Zambia.
What makes it all of the extra inspiring is that Pushpa wasn’t all the time this adventurous. It was solely in her 50s that she started carving out this life — slowly, steadily, selecting one trek, one problem, one leap at a time.
‘I wished to dwell life totally’
Pushpa’s urge to discover started in her early 50s. “Once I look again at my life, since childhood, I by no means gave up on something regardless of a variety of discouragement. In each robust state of affairs, I learnt one thing or the opposite. That’s why at this time I’ve a lot willpower,” she shares.
By the point she reached her 50s, that quiet resolve had grown right into a starvation for expertise. “I wished to dwell life totally and use each alternative to develop,” she says.
Most individuals her age settle into routines, selecting consolation over danger. However Pushpa wished one thing completely different. She went skydiving in New Zealand, walked on glaciers there too, took the best bungee bounce in South Africa, the best tower bounce in Macau, and even swung over gorges in Zimbabwe and Zambia — ticking off one daring feat after one other. It wasn’t about proving something to anybody; it was merely her approach of seeing age as an invite, not a limitation.
‘My daughter turned my motivation’
Pushpa credit a lot of her trekking journey to her daughter, Suma Narasa Prakash. It began with quiet morning walks by wooded trails, simply the 2 of them — mom and daughter — matching one another’s tempo in snug silence. These small, unassuming outings turned the primary steps in direction of one thing far larger than both of them imagined.
“When she noticed me do the small treks with grace, she steered I might strive the upper altitude treks too,” Pushpa shares with a smile.
Since then, Pushpa has scaled the Everest Base Camp at 18,000 toes and trekked throughout trails like Dhimanakindi, Kanakapura, and Vananthimari close to Bengaluru.
On most treks now, Pushpa and Suma stroll aspect by aspect. The paths have develop into their shared language, one which has introduced them even nearer with every climb.
‘My self-discipline is the rationale I can trek at 68’
Pushpa doesn’t hit the gymnasium or observe any fancy routines. She merely sticks to a way of life that’s regular, conscious, and deeply rooted in self-discipline — one thing that’s formed each step she has taken, on the path and off it.
“I don’t have any BP or diabetes points, all due to the easy and wholesome life-style that I’ve been following for a few years now,” she says.
Her daughter gives extra particulars. “She will get up throughout what we name the Brahma Muhurta (3:15 to five:30 am). She begins with mudra meditation, does a number of asanas, and prompts her stress factors for general wellness.”
Each morning, Pushpa feeds the birds in her backyard earlier than getting began on the remainder of her day. She does all her family chores herself, takes on counselling appointments, volunteers her time, and makes house for prayer. Her meals are easy however thoughtfully put collectively: greens, greens, fruits, a mixture of seeds, a clove of garlic, and rice — 3 times a day, with out fail. Junk meals doesn’t function on her plate, and by 10:30 each night time, she’s quick asleep, resting for no matter tomorrow brings.
“My psychological wellbeing and the disciplined life I lead are the 2 principal causes I’m able to undertake treks and journey sports activities at this age,” she says.
She doesn’t prepare a lot. She merely lives properly.
Pushpa doesn’t observe a health routine within the standard sense. There aren’t any morning walks or gymnasium visits, no strict coaching schedules or trackers. And but, at 68, she’s climbing Himalayan trails with the form of stamina that surprises even seasoned trekkers. She simply retains transferring, staying energetic from the second she wakes as much as the time she winds down. That, her daughter Suma says, is the key.
“Once I watch her trek, I by no means see her cease to relaxation or say she’s drained. She simply retains going. She doesn’t hand over — ever. She is a gifted individual,” Suma says.
Fellow trekkers and guides are sometimes greatly surprised by her quiet energy. “She listens, follows directions to the T, and strikes by robust trails with a lot grace,” Suma provides.
In 2024, that spirit was recognised when Pushpa was named ‘Trekker of the Yr’ by VLAW (Voices of Main Adventurous Girls), an organisation honouring girls who push boundaries.
The award was a nod to her refusal to decelerate. When you have been in search of an indication to begin one thing, deal with Pushpa’s story as a reminder: essentially the most highly effective journeys start when most assume it’s time to cease.
Edited by Khushi Arora