A 'trip' is mostly a way to unwind for most us, unless you are blessed with a profession that takes you places. But there are few for whom a certain journey is much more than little joys of life. It's in fact life-defining -- or even threatening. I am privileged to come across someone who defines true-inspiration. I hope the story of making her dream come true is an example for all those who wish to follow their passion.
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For Chhanda Gayen, it all started pretty early in life.
Watching a group of young boys scale the rocky face of a hillock was enough for
an adrenaline rush. And a little encouragement from parents did the rest. There
was no access to artificial rock climbing clubs and from a humble living where
the daily bread still comes from selling milk and petty grocery items,
enrolling into a top flight climbing course wasn’t even a distant possibility.
But when passion is your driving force, handicaps seems mere
part of the package. A basic rock climbing in the Susunia Hills of Purulia was
possible, and thus came the first taste of climbing in 1998. From there it took
her 8 more years to be certified from the premier Himalayan Institute of
Mountaineering, Darjeeling with an ‘A’ Grade.
A gold medallist in swimming and national level champion in
Taekwondo and Karate, she climbed the Mount Yogin 1 and Yogin 3 in 2008 – and
became the first Indian to do so in the same day itself.
But bigger things awaited her. After a couple climbs in
between, she embarked on what’s every mountaineer’s dream. And this year in May
she became the second woman from Bengal to scale the Mount Everest. She also
became the first civilian woman from the state to do so.
But this girl, who loves riding fast on a motorbike and
crooning to Bangla and Hindi songs, wanted a bit more. And she was in real hurry
too.
She climbed Mt Lhotse, the fourth highest peak in the world,
within the next 52 hours. Well, only she can tell us how it feels to look at
moon behind Everest standing at 28,169 feet. What we can say is, India is proud
to have the first ever woman in the world to climb Everest and Lhotse –
back-to-back within 52 hours!
A true story of grit and determination, dreams and
inspiration – here’s Chhanda giving a glimpse of her struggle, grit and the “ultimate”
experience.
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The journey:
“Many things that comes easy for a lot of people, wasn’t
applicable to me. Staying in Kona in Howrah, nor was I privy to many things
that big city people has. Our family’s financial condition didn’t really allow
anyone to think beyond the limited sphere.
So finally when I really got into a position where I
was capable of actually taking a shy at the world’s highest peak, it was a
difficult state to be in. I had the credentials and the skills. But that was
it. I hadn't done anything worth mentioning before that, and so I couldn't
expect anyone to sponsor. You can’t just walk up to corporate or a person and
say that ‘I can climb the Mt Everest, so please sponsor me’.
It was a really difficult time. You need a lot of physical
endurance, sometimes that’s beyond your imaginations, in mountaineering. And
therefore you have to be in top physical condition. I have always been an
athlete and an avid swimmer which helped in shaping me in the formative years.
Also the weather plays a big factor. For one single climb,
months of preparation goes in. And even then, the time-window to succeed is very
limited.
So I was desperate to make my preparedness count. But I
simply didn't have the money. I had asked for assistance, but few came forward.
I don’t blame them because climbing the Mt Everest is one many sure-shot ways
of losing your life if a little go wrong up there.
But the one person, who should have been the most
frightened, decided to throw that thought in the back burner and help me out.
Mothers usually save their jewellery for a daughter’s marriage. My mother sold
whatever little she had and decided to fund my attempt. But how much jewellery could
my mother provide -- actually not even 25 per cent of my entire expenditure
that cost Rs 18 lakhs. And so after the jewellery, came the LIC papers and
everything else that could be mortgaged. When I think of it today, it sends
down shivers down my spine. ‘What was my mother thinking? What if I had failed?
What if something untoward had happened? What would have she done after that
with practically nothing left?’
I was still short of money. But thankfully a nationalised
bank and the state’s youth department provided me with rest of the money and I
embarked on a two-month long uncertain journey.
My father accompanied me many a times on my previous expeditions. But we had lost him in 2010. It was he who had made me realise that I can actually climb the Mt Everest. So with his thought in mind I reached the base camp in April.
The acclimatisation process is a detailed one. Up their one
needs to gradually blend with bone chilling temperature and thin air. Also, many
days are spent playing the waiting game as the weather can be bad for days at
length.
Over the next more than one-and-half month our gradual
ascend continued. Apart from the difficult terrain that is a mountaineer’s
ultimate challenge, what moved me most were the dead bodies dotting the mount.
They were all climbers like me – death claimed some even before they could
realise the Everest-dream, and others never came back to tell their tale. They
all lay there, some for over decades now – in nature’s best cold-storage.
In every sport, mind plays an important part in deciding the
ultimate outcome. It’s easy to get overwhelmed by such sights and thoughts along
with the extreme physical exhaustion. My Sherpa and sole companion, Tashi, kept
telling me not to think too much and concentrate on the climb.
It was in the wee hours on May 18 we headed for the last few
hundred metres to the top. And in a couple hours came the magic moment. Every
day, there are many people doing the same thing around the world at the same
time. Sleeping, eating, talking, watching TV etc etc... But on that dawn, there
was only one person standing on the highest point on Earth watching the sun
come down below her feet. It was magical.
But 8,848 metres is not really the height where you can sit
and enjoy the view. The weather would have deteriorated, so we started
descending.
Everest was done. Yes, it truly was. But that wasn’t the end
of my journey. I wanted to push myself more. And so Mt Lhotse – the fourth
highest peak in the world at 8516 m.
But as I was to find out Lhotse was even more difficult that
Everest. The former has been climbed by quite a few people and therefore the
route can be termed ‘safer’. But I
wasn’t willing to give up. Despite being told from the base to come back as the
back-to-back physical exhaustion can be fatal, I didn’t want to let go the
chance. I guess it was the realisation that this may be my last chance – ‘I
never had the money, I may never have it again. So if I’m here now, I shall
give it everything I have.’
The climb to the Lhotse peak threw up similar sights; rather
even more dead bodies lay on this route. But this time around I was moved
little and was determined to complete the climb. I remember on the last leg of
the climb barely a few metres away from the summit the space was so less that I
actually had to step on dead climber’s hand for the final push.
And 52 hours after I had seen the world from atop it, I was
seeing Everest once again – this time from Lhotse’s peak.
I didn’t know what future had in store for me. But all I
knew was I had done it. It was only later that I knew that I was the first
woman to do this ‘hurried trip’ of Everest and Lhotse back-to-back, but at that
moment it was only bliss. I had proven my father right, I had not let down my
mother, I hadn’t disappointed anyone who supported me. And I had given myself
the courage that would from now on pave my life’s path in a different way.”
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