The Demise of a Shining Star

March 15th, 2018 was a dark day for those who knew Anu Vidya. She was amongst the 20 trekkers in a camp who sadly lost their lives battling severe burn injuries after getting caught in a forest fire in Theni, Korangani Hills (Tamil Nadu). This spirited 25 year old was someone we proudly covered in Vegan First quite recently.

Close Encounters

Shriya, somone who knew her better than most expressed :

"To friends of Anu, she was a compassionate earthling who believed in living life to the fullest and doing more than just existing. A vegan over 8 years, an animal activist,psychologist who was planning a leap into animal assisted therapy, a zentangle artist, runner and nature lover she wore so many caps under her sleeve."

Monica Pandian, her close friend saddened by this loss wanted to share:

“Anu lived a life to break stereotypes we would have on women in fitness and on veganism. She wanted to prove that a plant based diet was more than sufficient to meet one's nutritional needs and stressed on the importance of an active lifestyle. Her biggest dream was to make it to the Everest as the First Vegan woman. She was training with Kuntal Joisher and reached till the base camp last year and decided to work on her fitness to fulfill her dream in 5 years time.”

Aarathi Swaminathan, a runner friend of Anu wished to say:

“I knew her from 2016 when we met at a Triathlon event. She was someone who had the ability to leave a little sparkle wherever she went. My journey as a new vegan begins now as an ode to her.”

Sathishwaran, a Vegan bodybuilder from Chennai who was also very close to Anu said:

"She was a beautiful human being by heart who used to rescue lots of animals and treat them in her home. When she used to come to our gym for workouts she always had a beautiful positive smile that made everyone very happy . She used to motivate each and everyone one including me. Her dreams were to climb Mt Everest in 2020, to start a art vegan cafe and animal assisted therapy shelter. Anu was well on the way to making each of those dreams a reality, and she worked so hard everyday for it. She was, is and will always be the biggest inspiration of my life."

Her Journey

Anu started her running for fun with her college friend and a cousin of hers in 2013. At first she started with 3km run, then 5km for a while and then moved to 10km within few years. Soon after that it became her obsession. From 2015 she began participating only in 21km run and regularly participated in the best marathons in Chennai like Wipro marathon, pinkathon, Chennai trail marathon, dream runners and anniversary runs by Chennai runners group to name a few.

She also began to participate in marathons outside Chennai as well. She took part in a Bangalore marathon and the one at Auroville (her favourite marathon) for 3 consecutive years & more recently in the Kodaikanal hill run.

She was an active member of the Tambaram Thunderbolts team( one of the many Chennai runners group). The 2016 edition of chennai Wipro marathon was her first full marathon. In 2017 around September , she took part in a 50km hill run near Salem, TN. In 1st week of March 2018, On March 8th 2018, Anu did a 10km run with her team which was her to be her last run.

While it's hard to accept that we lost a shining star on a tragic incident, she lead an inspiring life leaving a mark in each of one of us. We will remember her for being the girl who held the ‘liberation for all’ flag high up in the base camp of Himalayas and carry forward all that she stood for.

Anu Vidya

Resting in Power, 1992- 2018

Like this?

Read: I did not find my Buddha in scriptures, I found him in living beings
Read more: This Vegan has taken a Vow of Silence for 1 Year for Animals