The adventurous life

There is No Stopping, penned by Uma, tells the narrative of their entrepreneurial journey, adventurous travel, and challenges. The book is a brief life trip of Uma and Krishna’s that is full of adventure, courage, and a risk-taking mindset. “And with a focus on our lives as marathon runners, running in the most extreme and gruelling circumstances in remote regions, as well as the hurdles we’ve faced and the amount of hard work that has gone into it,” says Uma, co-founder and executive director of Granules India, who also owns a vineyard.

Inspirations

“My father-in-law, late Dr Chigurupati Nageshwara Rao, was the fundamental inspiration for the book,” says Uma adding, “He emphasised the importance of writing a book about our adventures. He advised that even if you are not interested, write at least for the sake of future generations.  One advantage was that I always kept a journal of my feelings and experiences, which made writing a book much easier.”

Adrenaline: The rush factor

The book itself began with the journey of travelling to Antarctica. “We visited Antarctica twice, once in 2010 and again in 2015. We ran a full marathon for the first time and a half marathon for the second time. The weather was extremely harsh. It was a great adventure that gave us a lot of confidence because getting to these places is quite difficult,” says Uma.

In her book, There’s No Stopping, Uma says, “The adrenaline rush and the wonderful feeling that came from being members of the Seven Continents Club, particularly the 777, which is seven runs in seven continents in seven days, was something we could never have anticipated.”

Uma and her husband have been honoured by the Guinness Book of World Records for running marathons on seven continents in seven months, culminating with a marathon at the North Pole.

“We felt on top of the world while holding the flag at the North Pole. I was unable to trace the image; else, I would have included it in the book.”

“Extreme marathons gave a new dimension to our life and allowed us to push our endurance limitations. Krishna used to get up at 3 am and practise for the run, while I used to get up at 4 am and go for long runs every day before heading into the office.”

“Before landing on the ice block, our chopper drifted 1 metre, if the pilot was not alert, we would have sunken into the deep Arctic ocean,” she recalls of her experience in the North Pole.

Couple Goals

The couple travels all over the world for Granules India and winemaking. They visited wineries wherever they went, met oenologists and viticulturists, and purchased newer wines. “The initial challenges, such as the shortage of skilled workers, were followed by accolades, worldwide recognition, and the distinction of being the 46th greatest vineyard in the world in 2020.” Uma claims that none of the other Indian wineries got as much praise.

Life in Granules

Krishna established Triton Laboratories shortly after their wedding to manufacture medicinal components for paracetamol. Uma chose to collaborate with him as a co-promoter. “It was not easy for us to establish Triton Labs, which ultimately became Granules. Choosing the less travelled way and the hardships, and finally success, the ups and downs, and the value addition, thinking outside the box, and especially for Krishna, for his 35 years of committed labour in the Pharma industry, in the recognition of doctorate,  which is very satisfying,” says Uma adding, “The other dimension is our service operations, which include providing training in pharmaceutical and allied fields to rural youngsters, with the goal of creating jobs.”

The Great Runs

Great run over the Mongolian desert, the Gobi Desert, the Atacama Desert, and Chile, which took about 11 hours to accomplish due to the challenging terrain.

In the Pipeline

Saving the planet is our primary obligation, and we are working hard to produce green pharmaceuticals that are carbon neutral procedures. It is a lengthy procedure, and we do not know when the outcome will be available. If I can accomplish that, I will undoubtedly write another book.