HYDERABAD: It’s not only wine that’s romantic, for the power couple, love is... running the world’s most marathons together. They ran marathons in all the seven continents and hold the Guinness World Record as a couple to have done it in 2010. Uma Chigurupati, director of Krsma Estates, a boutique winery, and Krishna Prasad, managing director of Granules India, say they share a friendship that has only grown stronger over the years
A Life in Wine in Uma’s Own Words
Ours is an arranged marriage. My father-in-law was a member of the Nagarjuna University senate and he first met me at the university convocation, where I was awarded a gold medal in Botany (soil microbiology). After he met me, he thought that I would be perfect for his son and later approached my parents with the proposal. It was all very traditional and of course, we met and decided to get married. But nothing could have prepared me for the curious sight of bubbling demijohns that greeted me when I went to Krishna’s house. Krishna had been trying his hand at making wine at home. The seeds were first sown around 40 years back when Krishna was a young student. Having tasted wine the local bishop imported from the Vatican, Krishna decided to try his hand at making some. One thing led to another, and soon he had a room full of demijohns, all quietly fermenting wine. Luckily for him, I shared his passion for wine which, over the years, has developed into Krsma, our wine brand.
Around the World
Around this time, we also started our pharmaceutical company, Granules India, based on the pioneering idea of manufacturing PFIs (Pharmaceutical Formulation Intermediates). With the start of Granules, our lives became so busy that our hobby of making wine had to take a back seat. But we never really forgot our dream of setting up our own vineyard. Work initially, and later the marathons took us to many places around the world. Every place we travelled to, we savoured the wine. On our travels we also began visiting wineries, where we met leading oenologists and viticulturists and gained invaluable information on both wine-making and viticulture. With my training in soil microbiology, I was very keen to increase my understanding of the terroir of different vineyards and how they affect the wine. Krishna wanted to move to the South of France and buy a vineyard there. But we came across a tiny vineyard in Hampi which we both fell in love with. I think working together on something we both loved was really great and that has been a constant theme throughout our marriage.
Setting an Example
Krishna and I share quite a lot in common, which is of course, important in any successful marriage. We are both nature lovers and believe in having a healthy lifestyle. That’s how our interest in marathons came about. While starting out, we did it to set an example for our employees at Granules India to live a healthy life. Later our enthusiasm to do something different was what drove us to run marathons across the world. The experience was exhilarating – especially while running in some of the toughest marathons on the planet. Running marathons was primarily Krishna’s idea, but I decided that I would run with him. I wasn’t sure if could do a full marathon (that’s 42.9 Km) but I tried and since then, we have been running together all over the world. Running all those marathons with Krishna also inspired me to be a part of the Hyderabad 10K Foundation. I think the experience of completing marathons on all continents and the North Pole has really inspired us and enriched our lives.
The Couple’s Rules for a Happy Marriage
Looking back on the 30 years of our marriage, I can say that we have always enjoyed doing things together - be it Krsma or running marathons, and have usually made it a point to spend most of our free time together. We also never hesitate in asking each other for help with anything. Most of all, Krishna and I share a friendship that has only grown stronger over the years. I really believe that your spouse is the mirror in which you see yourself. And the things you share with each other define who you are as well as your marriage.