May 29 – Conquest of Mt. Everest

S. BALAKRISHNAN

Mt. Everest – Some random thoughts
Mt. Everest is the pinnacle of everyone’s dream – if not to reach its top at least to view the peak from as close a range as possible. I am no exception.  But opportunities don’t come knocking down your door; we have to break down the door to find them. With this grandiose idea of viewing the world’s tallest peak I broke down the door of my rented room in Sikkim and travelled to Nepal to have an eyeful darshan of Mt. Everest from Nagarkot view point; it was as close an ‘aam aadmi’ could afford to - some 90 miles separating us! Well, I am not here to boast about my humble achievement of sighting Mt. Everest. However, I would like to ensure that you read about my adventure which is available at http://thephoenixpostindia.com/viewpoint-mt-everest-zipper/  (Oh, I am ever so grateful to Google!)
Happy with this achievement, my next trip was to Darjeeling where I thought I had the royal right to visit the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute (HMI) as I had sighted Mt. Everest. There at the museum I saw the very heavy equipment and clothing of Everest climbers and once for all gave up the idea of ever climbing Mt. Everest. I decided that I had had enough of climbing the ups and downs of Gangtok in the Himalayan State of Sikkim, huffing & puffing with layers of sweaters & jackets.  HMI had the honor to have Tenzing Norgay as Director of Field Training and Advisor since its inception in 1954 till his passing away on 9th May 1986.  And it is also his final resting place. Namgyal Wangdi (that was Norgay’s original name as a Nepali Sherpa mountaineer) and Edmund Hilllary from New Zealand were the first humans to set foot on the summit of Mt. Everest on 29 May 1953.  A smiling statue of Tenzing Norgay victoriously stands at HMI, unveiled by his Everest companion, Edmund Hillary, on 25th March 1997. I felt puny and humble before Norgay, having only sighted the Peak from as far away as 90 miles (as a crow flies straight across from Nagarkot). India Post issued two stamps on 2nd Oct.1953 to mark the Conquest of Everest; Stamps then were in dull monochrome; the purple stamp was priced 2 annas (12 paise) and the brown stamp was priced 14 annas.  To mark India’s conquest of the peak, a stamp was issued on 15th Aug. 1965.
How did this peak, technically known as Peak XV, and in Nepal as Sagarmatha (Sagar=Sky, matha=forehead), and in Tibet as Chomolungma (Goddess of the Summits / Holy Mother), got the English name of Everest? A baby was born on 4th July 1790 in Wales (UK). Named George Everest, he excelled in engineering training at military schools in England. Joining the East India Company in 1806 he served for seven years in Bengal. From 1818 to 1843, he served in the Survey of India as superintendent and then as its surveyor general from 1830, when Everest introduced the most accurate surveying instruments; in the course of the project, Everest and his predecessors measured the meridional arc of 11.5 degrees from the Himalayas to Cape Comorin (Kanya Kumari), the southern tip of Indian subcontinent. As a geodesist he completed the trigonometric survey of India upon which relies the subcontinent’s accurate mapping. This brought him name and fame, including renaming Mount Everest, till then known as Peak XV, in his honour in 1865.
Well, I have some grouse about Mt. Everest. Until I reached Sikkim that lies on the lap of Mt. Khangchendzonga, world’s third tallest peak, I was under the false prestige that Mt. Everest belonged to India. How possessive! Blame my Geography teachers for my poor IQ/GK. Wish I had died with this ignorance and bliss. You see, there was no Google also then. Why Lord Shiva chose Mt. Kailash as His abode and not Everest, the tallest peak, was another intriguing issue. Maybe the locale is more enchanting with the Mansarovar Lake, etc. Further, what with the traffic jams en route Mt. Everest these days, how can we doubt His forethought!
The scary news is that Corona virus has really reached the peak! It is reported that 100 climbers and support staff are affected by Covid-19 on Mt. Everest. While Nepal had banned mountaineering in 2020 due to Covid threat, this year 408 foreign climbers were permitted to climb Mt. Everest along with around 2000 support staff. The present climbing season ends by May end. Around 54,000 Nepal citizens are employed every year only for Everest expeditions. And Nepal earns more than $300 million from Everest climbers alone.
Let us preserve Him(snow)alaya(abode) verily as such.  
(krishnanbala2004@yahoo.co.in / 9840917608 Whatsapp)