Chris Parsons felicitated at Karnataka Legislature after completing 30-day charity walk

The Chairman of Herbert Smith Freehills’ India Practice, Chris Parsons, was received at the Vidhana Soudha in Bangalore today on the completion of his 30-day walk from Mumbai to Bangalore to raise money for widows in India for the Loomba Foundation..A visibly relieved Parsons was honoured with the traditional Mysore turban and shawl by Kagodu Thimmappa, Speaker of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly..Other dignitaries included Umashree, Minister for Women and Child Development and Lord Raj Loomba, Member of the House of Lords and Founder of the Loomba Foundation, a charitable trust that promotes the welfare and economic empowerment of disadvantaged widows and the education of their children..Parsons, who started the arduous 1260 kilometre stretch on the 10th of January to mark his thirty years with Herbert Smith, told Bar & Bench,. “I can say that I’m very relieved to have completed it. It was a fantastic team effort, I couldn’t have done without them. The welcome I received as I walked through the countryside was amazing, everybody was interested in what I was doing. Poor things had to put up with me practicing my Hindi! India truly has adopted me as its second son.”.Lord Loomba said that Parsons’ Walking for Widows charity has raised close to 300,000 US Dollars, which will be used to provide for around 500 widows and their children..Chronicling his journey on his daily blog, Parsons braved the elements and the perilous NH 17 to complete the walk on the 8th of February, largely unscathed. This is the third time Parsons has tested his physical limits to raise money for charity, having completed two cycling expeditions in 2006 and 2011. When asked whether he would consider doing it again, he said,.“My wife would literally kill me! So, no more padhyatras for a long time.”.You can contribute to Chris Parsons cause by accessing his fundraising page.