by S.N. Venkatnag Sobers
These days, when people are setting records in sports, entertainment, science, technology etc., every other day, here is a family that achieved the same feat way back in the 1990s. This family has its name engraved in the Guinness Book of World Records and Limca Book of Records for Travelling to the Highest Motorable Road- Khardung La in Ladakh and for being the Youngest Marathon Luna Riders in 1989 and 1993 respectively.
Though the news was widely published in many newspapers across North India, not many know that the couple and their children, who created the record, are natives of Mysuru. Yoganand, a retired bank employee, and his wife Shyla Yoganand, who lived in Pune for most of their lives, have returned to their native to live the rest of their lives at the place where their ancestors had roots. In fact, Yoganand’s father Dr. Ramaraju, lived in Vidyaranyapuram for many years.
While Yoganand and Shyla became the first couple to travel to the highest motorable road-Khardung La on a Kinetic Honda during 1989 creating a Guinness Record, their sons Prithvi and Manu entered the Limca Book of Records as the Youngest Marathon Luna riders in 1993. They travelled from Dehra Dun to Gangotri covering a total distance of 3,250 kms on 35cc Luna Wings. The journey, which started on May 9, 1993 ended on May 26, 1993. The purpose of this expedition was to collect water samples from River Ganga and spread the message to save the holy river from pollution. Prithvi was 11-years-old and Manu was 9-years-old when they undertook this expedition. Currently, Prithvi works as a software engineer at San Francisco and Manu works for a private bank in Dubai.
While this is the story of the two sons, their parents’ story is even more fascinating. Initially, Shyla did not know how to ride a two-wheeler. While Yoganand left early for work after dropping the kids to school, both found it difficult to bring back the kids from school. Yoganand was busy with work and Shyla was left with no option but to learn riding as the rickshawallas had refused to ply to their kids’ school as it was located in a restricted area under Indian Military.
The couple, on separate Kinetic Hondas, travelled 11,000 kms across Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana, Delhi, Punjab and Jammu and Kashimir. Interestingly, when the couple wrote to various State Governments seeking help for their expedition, none responded. It was only Farooq Abdullah, the then Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir who offered to help the couple complete their expedition.
Speaking to Star of Mysore, Yoganand said that they were treated like State Guests in Jammu and Kashmir and Farooq Abdullah had himself enlightened the couple to apply for Guinness Book of Records.
“We had to pass through 200km of swamps of the Kutch in Gujarat, 600 km of Thar Desert in Rajasthan, 250 km of dense Amar-Kantak forest in Madhya Pradesh and 3,700 km in Himalayan stretch across the dangerous Zojila pass. With no experience of travelling to such an extent, we were supported by Kinetic Honda,” he added.
Shyla Yoganand and Yoganand entered the Guinness Book of Records as the ‘first woman’ and ‘first man’ and the ‘first couple’ to have taken a normal ‘civilian’ scooter to the highest motorable point in the world. Kinetic celebrated this achievement on Indian television during the 1990 by sponsoring a weekly program on ‘Guinness records.’
The Yoganand couple fondly remembered Kinetic Engineering Managing Directors S. Hirose and Koji Wanaka for their help during the expedition. Yoganand has also helped biking enthusiasts draw the route map for their expeditions. The couple lives in an apartment in Vontikoppal close to Sri Lakshmi Venkataramana Swamy Temple.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Feature Articles / Saturday, April 30th, 2016