This piece of article is found in the comment box of Katha section: posted by Chandra. And decided to paste here with Rung Mung Jooni in "Rung Mung Jooni blog".
Call of the mountains:::
Roshan and Nishok may pass off for regular school kids. But they have seen the world from an altitude most of us haven’t, writes Anima Balakrishnan
MARCH TO THE SNOWY PEAK: Members of the adventure club at the Panchchuli base camp.
“It was nice,†is all this plucky six-year-old is willing to say. You prod him a little further, entice him to put into words what you thought was an overwhelming experience and he shoots back the same one-liner.
You thought boys his age would feel `nice’ about slamming a six onto the window of an irritable neighbour, on driving their Age of the Empire warrior to cut down to size a few enemies or simply bullying a younger sister.
But `nice’ is what Roshan felt at 14,500 feet above sea level, on being dwarfed by the towering, snow-capped Himalayas. He was not one to be intimidated by the imposing mountains, its overwhelming beauty or intrigued by the legends of the hills.
Passion beckons
Trekking was always much more than a pastime for Roshan and his 13-year-old brother Nishok, students of Vidhya Niketan Matriculation HSS. It is the rigour of the climb, the camaraderie of the team and the ecstasy of reaching the top that eggs them on. Further, a trip to the Himalayas is every trekker’s dream.
The boys were part of a 23-member group, led by veteran mountaineer Chandra Prabha Aitwal, which went on an 11-day trek to the Panchchuli base camp, the eastern most tip of the Indian Himalayas. The trip was organised by the Science and Adventure Club, Tiruchirapalli.
But there were obstacles to be cleared before little Roshan could begin his Himalyan effort. Special permission had to be sought and rules relaxed to allow such a young boy on the trek.
“In normal circumstances, only children above the age of 12 are allowed to trek in the Himalayas. But his passion for the mountains was immense. My sister Vrinda was part of the team and that was a relief,†says Veena, their mother .
For Roshan and Nishok, curtains were raised for the trek, which began on May 12, a couple of months in advance.
“We underwent vigorous training to build up stamina. We walked for about 4-5 kms a day, did yoga, picked up weights and trained at the stadium,†recounts Nishok about preparations for his second trip to the Himalayas.
The journey
They began from Dharchula on May 12 and after trekking through Sela, Baling and Dugtu on the National Highway, pitched at the Panchchuli base at a height of 14,500 feet on May 16.
Roshan and Nishok
“Every phase of the trek was exciting. We began our day early and started trekking at about 7.30 a.m. in the morning and climbed for the next 5-6 hours. By afternoon we would be at the base for the day. We would help pitch in the tents, play in the snow, help cook dinner, which included making rhododendron soup, and go to bed,†says Nishok.
Since they trained hard, the boys did not face too many hassles at the high altitude. Nevertheless, the climb was not easy. “At one point we had to pitch in the tents when it was raining real hard,†Nishok recalls.
But the travails of the climb were compensated by some haunting view. The Panchchuli base camp, a seat of natural splendour, with five snowy peaks guarding the base, is where the Pandavas were believed to have cooked their last meal on the way to heaven.
So too was a visit to the famed Paatal Bhuvaneshwar, where Shiva and Parvathy have been immortalised in limestone.
“Getting into the cave was like crawling into the insides of a snake. The hole grows bigger as you venture further in,†says Nishok.
But for the boys, a sight that thrilled them as much as the climb was the view of the Meola glaciers.
“It was hard to realise that the glacier was actually on the move. Until you see the cracks in the snow, you don’t figure out if it’s moving,†Nishok adds.
To top the action they were greeted by a couple of avalanches on the way back.
But for young Roshan, it was hitting a hot spring while trekking down the chilly slopes that gave him a high.
Winding up, you make a last ditch effort and ask Roshan if he would like to climb the Everest one day. He dismisses the query with an impatient, “I don’t want to go to the Everest, I just want to climb mountains!â€
He may be too small to know what the Everest is, but Roshan and his brother sure know what excites them and have shown the spirit to wither challenges on the way to the summit pretty early on in life.
Source: Amar Ujala
Source: Amar Ujala
Source: Amar Ujala
Source: Jagran.yahoo
Source: Jagran.yahoo
Source: Amar Ujala
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