No idle moments

Racing High

She is full of energy, spontaneous and has the capacity to juggle more than two things at a time. She is Anu Vaidyanathan, the first Indian woman to have participated in the Ironman Length Races. A computer engineer by profession, it is surprising to know that she is the only Indian to complete Ultraman and Ironman events.

Born in New Delhi and brought up in Bangalore, Anu considers herself a true Bangalorean. “I love telling people that I am from Bangalore,” she chips in. Her association with the City goes way back when she was just a three-year-old.

She regrets the fact the City has no trees as it once used to. “I am living in a very different Bangalore, different from where I grew up as a child,” she says. She did her schooling at Cluny Convent and moved to Chennai for college studies. She set up her own software firm here in the City at the age of 20. In fact, she has been a programmer ever since she stepped into high school.

Anu’s day starts at 4 am and she doesn’t know when it comes to an end. “There is so much to do in a day. I am a very competitive person, I prefer to be in the game everyday and cannot sit idle at any cost and land up feeling very weird if I sit quiet for some time,” adds Anu.

A lover of natural food, she stresses a lot on leading a healthy lifestyle. She says, “I am against processed food and believe in exercising everyday. My advice to everybody is to exercise everyday and take good food. I advocate a healthy lifestyle.”

When asked whom she looked up to, she says “Every lady, who I see in the mornings in canvas shoes and who walks for her health, is my hero. It makes me feel so happy to look at their energy, even when they have so much work to do after they get home. It is nice to see them juggle so many things and still find time to take care of their health.”
Shopping is something which Anu does not like much. She is forced to buy something for herself during festivals by her parents. She hates branded and ready-made clothes and prefers clothes which can be stitched according to her choice. “I am not a brand-conscious person. I like to go shopping in Hyderabad as there are so many good unstitched pieces you get there.”She loves cooking, watching movies and reading books.

And when she finds some time for herself, she rushes to take a nap. Sometimes, she likes to try out new recipes. “I love reading, I just finished reading White Tiger. I usually watch art movies or those that are off-beat. Chinese is my favourite food and MTR is one place I don’t usually miss.” Leading a disciplined life is Anu’s agenda and she tries to make the best use of her time. When asked where  she hangs out with her friends, she says, “I have a set of highly-intellectual geeky friends. They do not prefer to go out usually. So, we land up at somebody’s place and have a blast there.”