Expeditions

#ExpeditionAparajita #They_Wonder_Why_I_do_this._I_Wonder_Why_They_Don't

I am over the  cosmos to announce that I have summited Mt Elbrus, the highest mountain in Europe on 31st August at 8:45 am Russian time. It was nothing less than an audacious odyssey. The setbacks are too many this time and it felt impossible at many points. Yet, here I am to announce that I did it!

Exactly a week before starting my journey to Terskol, a small village in Russia from where the journey to Mt Elbrus begins, I hurt my gluteal muscles and the tailbone very badly in a freak accident. I could not lift my leg high enough without pain when I left for Russia. I did not know this was just the beginning of my bad luck. I got up with a severe headache after my first night in Terskol. Ignoring this, I continued the first day’s acclimatization hike and came back with a high fever. Next two days I was bed-ridden with high fever, severe muscular pain and headache. Away from home, those two nights were the darkest nights of my life. All hopes were dying, and all sorts of negative thoughts were paralyzing me. I stood up on my feet on the third day. Still weak physically, my heart however roared— I have to do it at any rate. I didn’t want to extend my stay in a country, where uncertainty is an underscore. This means there is no time for full recovery. We have to jump in right then. We moved to the base camp on the same day and did more acclimatization hikes. The snow boots, which I was wearing for the first time, along with the crampons were at least 5kg each. Suddenly, I am carrying at least 15kg extra in my body! A day later, I did my summit push starting at 12 midnight. Away from the equator and close to the polar region, Mt Elbrus is regally known for its brutal cold. Despite all this, I conquered the mountain at 8:42am.  At the end of the day, this success made me believe that I am no less than a super human being. Why I believed I am any less so far is a mystery to me.  Mount Elbrus transformed me in every sense. 

I believe I am the first faculty from the elite institutes like IISc, IIT, IIIT, (may be even NITs) to achieve this feat of summiting Elbrus and Kilimanjaro. It is even the more special for me since I could do it in two consecutive months.  I am attaching some pictures from my odyssey. 

Now Time travel to the past. There was no higher secondary school close to my village. The whole family had to be uprooted and move to a rented out apartment (it was just a big enclosed place; no separate rooms), just so the new higher secondary school where I will take admit is cyclable.  Everyday I cycled 16 km back and forth in the worst road conditions. I didn’t care about scorching sun, neither did I care about paddling through knee deep water. I now believe that all those testing time was part of a bigger scheme.  I was made to prepare for my future. You exist, I know you exist!  

While I am not on the streets of Kolkata, my heart is. On a different playground, I fought and am still fighting along with all of you on the streets. 

#JusticeforTilottoma  

I came to South America to touch the top of it. I came to summit Mt. Aconcagua, towering with an altitude of 6961 meters. I failed. I have fallen short of merely 120 meters out of those 6961 meters. One of the most miserable moments of my life.

It was the night before the summit push. We are at camp 2 of Aconcagua, at an altitude of 5570 meters. The next day we were to move up to camp 3, which is the summit camp, at an altitude of 6000 meters and the same night, at 2 am, we were to push  for the summit gaining precisely 961 meters above camp 3. That fateful night at camp 2 would have sealed the fate of my expedition. I sensed a gush of blood coming out. It was a premature period. All my prayers to almighty failed. That moment, my heart sank, skipping several beats and my universe froze like a cold planet. How on the earth I am going to manage the next 48 crucial hours for which I dreamt and prepared for months. Yet again, I hated being a woman! Even at the comfort of home, folks find it hard to manage and here I am, having to manage it above 6000 meters, while trying to summit the highest mountain of America, fighting against all odds that nature and altitude throw in. In extreme cold (-40 degree), high wind and low oxygen, the body already struggles with its basic functionalities. As if the there is less challenges for a normal body that the nature makes it  even more harder for me.  The body becomes anaemic, low in iron and weakness sets in  and most importantly, the body does not adopt to high altitude during this period. All my life I hated this bookkeeping, but what lays ahead is of different dimension.

Only God  knows how I spent the rest of the night and prepared for the next crucial 48 hours. We moved on to camp 3 and the same night at 2 am, fighting against all odds, wearing heavy gears— dawn suit, mountain boots and crampons, I went ahead with zest and excitement. When I started, my body and mind were completely in synch and there was NO doubt in my mind. Each step was taken with absolute confidence of successful summit. For long, I walked alone slowly but steadily in the dark. At sunrise, I was way more than halfway through the summit push. I suppose I should have taken it very slow since my maximum altitude exposure was 5895 meter, which is that of Mt. Kilimanjaro, before this expedition. This is where experience probably matters. I pushed more, but not as fast as before. There was tremendous sensation of falling in sleep and the head was becoming  increasingly lighter.  I continued like this and soon I was 20 some meters below the summit.  There was just a small stretch and beyond that the coveted summit lies with glory. But all of a sudden, my head became blank. Voices from people near me sounded like coming from another universe. I tried to think about my dear ones. In my imagination,  I saw Aparajita and I are drifting apart while struggling to come closer. This is when with whatever sense I was left with in my brain, I decided I will not take the next step forward.  I am on the boundary. That one single step will take me to the world of no return.  So,  it could be Acute Mountain Sickness or low blood pressure-- at this point I am not sure what it was. My head stopped signalling to the other limbs and on the other hand, whiteout and snowfall had started to suck the last light of the day. Gathering every drop of my senses, I got down  to the safety of camp 3 with the help of Chirag da, and Mingma Dai, my fellow climbers. This climb down was nothing less than extraordinary. My body just wanted to doze off right there in that altitude, which literally means, I will pass away during my sleep. My brain knew I had to come down and lose altitude for survival. The deep desire to survive brought me back to camp 3. At camp 3, in that state of delirium, I asked myself “why can’t you be a normal daughter to your parents, a normal wife to your husband and a normal mother to your daughter and a normal professor to your institute. What the hell you are upto? ” I dozed off while murmuring this questions repetitively. Next morning, I promised to summit this mountain next time. I wanted to try it again from there. But logistically it was impossible and I was instructed to lose altitude as soon as possible.  I am not normal, and trying to pretend like a normal is in fact abnormal — that’s the answer to my question.

I came down blank next day. Random thoughts like — If I did this, or if I did that, the outcome would have been otherwise. Head was blank, but face was burnt, lips were bruised and bloodied, jaw was swollen, toes were sore, reminding me of my lost battle. Yet, my friends, here I am with all smiles. I am defeated by the mountain by a very small margin, but my spirits are unconquerable.  I will come back and touch the summit next time.

I have looked straight into the eyes of death. I have touched the boundary of life and death. Yet, I want to walk on my chosen path yet again with conviction, responsibility and preparedness.  I know that I have created my own breed.  I am here to tell you that— be the  captain of your soul and  be the master of your fate and create your own breed.

All those supported me: I will not let you down. Promise.